11 Grammar Rules That Make No Sense
When you first learn the rules for English grammar in elementary school, you find there a lot of don’ts: Don’t end a sentence with a preposition; don’t begin a sentence with because . But as you become a more sophisticated writer (and reader), you realize that many of these so-called “rules” are really more like guidelines, and are better ignored. 1. DON’T SPLIT INFINITIVES. The rule says nothing should come between the to and its verb in the infinitive, which makes “to boldly go where no one has gone before” incorrect. (According to the rule it should be “to go boldly” instead.) But the placement of the adverb is more a matter of style than grammar, and often the split sounds way better. Almost all style guides agree. 2. DON’T END A SENTENCE WITH A PREPOSITION. It’s a good idea to remove the final preposition from a sentence like “Where is he going to?” But modern style guides see nothing wrong with a sentence like “This picture is lovely to look at.” Even “Which student did he ...
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