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January 14, 2012
Least Favorite Grammar Rules
Do you have a grammar rule you don't like? I don't mean a rule that truly makes sense or has a logical explanation...
...I mean rules that don't make sense when you think about them or are just plain odd - even when you follow the rules.
Here are some of my (least) favorites;
1. Avoid all adverbs
2 .Don’t use the passive voice.
3. Never end a sentence with a preposition
4. Avoid sentence fragments
Can you imagine how odd our language would be if we actually followed these rules?
How would we ever ask anyone where they are from? (violation of number 3, which itself is a violation of number 4)
Or how about a sentence like this one - without the adverbs?
Mary was usually quite punctual, but she had been too drunk to remember to set her alarm, and arrived late, cursing vehemently as she angrily climbed the stairs to work. (adverbs are in bold lettering)
Taking the adverbs out would make the sentence boring - if not incoherent.
In my writing, I use sentence fragments fairly often. They can be useful, and anything else might be too wordy or clunky. You may have noticed a few. Or not.
Passive writing can be very useful - especially if you want to be vague or evasive (and yes, there are legitimate situations where being vague or evasive can help someone save face in difficult circumstances). Consider how useful this statement might be; "Mistakes were made".
Instead of assigning blame, the focus could be on the problem, not on the person or persons responsible.
As always, send us any words or phrases that make you crazy and be sure to let us know what it is about English and language learning that you find confounding, infuriating or endlessly intriguing.
Listen, read and speak. Make your new language your own.
My best to you as you make your way through this intriguing , constantly shifting linguistic landscape.
Morf
About the author of this entry:
Morf has a B.A.from the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington and an MAT (Master's in Teaching English) from the University of Washington (Seattle).
Posted by mmorf at January 14, 2012 11:26 PM
Comments
Never start a sentence with and, but, because...
In real life, we start sentences this way all the time. In writing, doing so frequently adds emphasis, making the writing more effective.
My students (12 and 13 year olds) LOVE it when I tell them they can break this rule.
Posted by: Fran Lo at January 16, 2012 11:46 AM
You have to agree that there are certain sentences that people ends with prepositions that are not grammatically correct. for example;
Where are you at?
Why you do that for?
Where she at?
It drives me absolutely crazy. Maybe it's a NEW YORK thing.
Posted by: bonnie at January 23, 2012 10:24 PM
I've been teaching adults, preparing for a NATO exam (JFLT), for over five years. They come in with all these "rules" and then find working with texts from TIME magazine and The Economist that these rules are ignored by extremely effective and credible writers.
Thanks so much for this article, English has to make sense and be useful - and it's such a dynamic language - and that's what I love about opening the door just a little wider so that students can really express themselves and understand what they're reading or hearing.
Posted by: Nicky at January 24, 2012 05:02 AM
I urge my students to "talk like a grown up".
"Where she at" will certainly not help you in a job interview or networking session.
And yes, nothing beats reading professional writers.
Posted by: Morf at January 25, 2012 10:39 AM
