Most of What You Think You Know About Grammar is Wrong

Posted on February 15, 2013 by James Ament

From Smithsonian Magazine—the introduction:

You’ve probably heard the old story about the pedant who dared to tinker with Winston Churchill’s writing because the great man had ended a sentence with a preposition. Churchill’s scribbled response: “This is the sort of English up with which I will not put.”

It’s a great story, but it’s a myth. And so is that so-called grammar rule about ending sentences with prepositions. If that previous sentence bugs you, by the way, you’ve bought into another myth. No, there’s nothing wrong with starting a sentence with a conjunction, either. But perhaps the biggest grammar myth of all is the infamous taboo against splitting an infinitive, as in “to boldly go.” The truth is that you can’t split an infinitive: Since “to” isn’t part of the infinitive, there’s nothing to split. Great writers—including Chaucer, Shakespeare, Donne and Wordsworth—have been inserting adverbs between “to” and infinitives since the 1200s.

Where did these phony rules originate, and why do they persist?

The Comma Wars

Posted on January 24, 2013 by James Ament

From mental_floss—

The Oxford comma, so-called because the Oxford University Press style guidelines require it, is the comma before the conjunction at the end of a list. If your preferred style is to omit the second comma in “red, white, and blue,” you are aligned with the anti-Oxford comma faction. The pro-Oxford comma faction is more vocal and numerous in the US, while in the UK, anti-Oxford comma reigns. (Oxford University is an outsider, style-wise, in its own land.) In the US, book and magazine publishers are generally pro, while newspapers are anti, but both styles can be found in both media.

The two main rationales for choosing one style over the other are clarity and economy. Each side has invoked both rationales in its favor….

One would think that there are more important things to worry about. Apparently not among the grammar police.

“Well-chosen words”

Posted on December 29, 2012 by James Ament

The guardians of English may be unable to resist linguistic change but they do have the power to influence it.

A reference to books on grammar and spelling…and a poem:

I have a spelling checker,

It came with my PC.

It plane lee marks four my revue

Miss steaks aye can knot sea.

Thoughts on the semicolon

Posted on November 16, 2012 by James Ament

One of my favorite authors, Elmore Leonard, doesn’t use semicolons in dialog. Kurt Vonnegut doesn’t like them at all. Paul G. Allen, cofounder of Microsoft, apparently likes to use them in a manner opposite of their purpose, which is to join related clauses. Kind of weird—from Throw Grammar From the Train.

Read the short piece to see what joining unrelated clauses looks like.

Writers’ Favorite Punctuation Marks

Posted on October 1, 2012 by James Ament

From the Atlantic Wire—Goodness, am I supposed to have “favorite” punctuation marks? Sorry, I just write and try to use the correct punctuation to convey the exact meaning I want.

Grammar

Posted on August 2, 2012 by James Ament

The Most Comma Mistakes, from The New York Times; and Some Comma Questions, a follow-up article.

Plus, 11 Most Common Grammar Gaffes on Social Media from the brainyard.

‘Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose – review’

Posted on May 28, 2012 by James Ament

From The Guardian, a review by Louise Doughty of Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them, by Francine Prose.

Reading Like a Writer is a clarion call for aspiring writers to do that most simple, time-consuming but enjoyable thing: their homework.

That sounds like good advice (probably because I claim to do my homework). As for grammar, I do like to use sentence fragments, particularly in dialog.

‘Why you should never, ever use two spaces after a period’

Posted on January 2, 2012 by James Ament

From Slate:

Can I let you in on a secret? Typing two spaces after a period is totally, completely, utterly, and inarguably wrong.

And yet people who use two spaces are everywhere, their ugly error crossing every social boundary of class, education, and taste….

While I found the article mildly entertaining, I couldn’t help but wonder if its author has a fascinating life fretting about this subject.

Scrapbook of Writing Styles Revisited

Posted on December 21, 2011 by James Ament

From Richard Nordquist: Sentence Structures and Styles:

In our Scrapbook of Styles, you’ll find over 100 short passages from writers ranging from Abbey, Amis, and Angelou to Welty, White, and Wolfe. Each passage illustrates one or more syntactic structures, rhetorical strategies, or methods of organization.

Enjoy this sampler of sentence structures and styles, and then visit the complete collection.

50 Years of Stupid Grammar Advice

Posted on November 15, 2011 by James Ament

Wow! I hadn’t seen this old 2009 article where The Chronicle of Higher Education takes on The Elements of Style:

April 16 is the 50th anniversary of the publication of a little book that is loved and admired throughout American academe. Celebrations, readings, and toasts are being held, and a commemorative edition has been released.

I won’t be celebrating.

The Elements of Style does not deserve the enormous esteem in which it is held by American college graduates. Its advice ranges from limp platitudes to inconsistent nonsense. Its enormous influence has not improved American students’ grasp of English grammar; it has significantly degraded it.

It goes on, at the link.

James Russell Ament

Essays, Journals, Book Reviews, Commentary on Literature & Culture

Tag Archives: grammar