Common English usage misconceptions
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This list comprises widespread beliefs about English language usage that are inaccurate or untrue.
With no authoritative language academy, English is not a prescriptive language. Therefore, guidance on what is "correct" in English language usage can come from many sources. According to R.A. Close,
Teachers and textbook writers often invent rules which their students and readers perpetuate. These rules are usually statements about English usage which the authors imagine to be, as a rule, true. But statements of this kind are extremely difficult to formulate both simply and accurately. They are rarely altogether true; often only partially true; sometimes contradicted by usage itself. Sometimes the contrary to them is also true.[1]
Grammar
Misconception: Sentences cannot end in a preposition. There is no rule against ending a sentence with a preposition.[2][3] The idea that it is definitively incorrect probably began in the 17th century, due to an essay by the poet John Dryden, and it is still taught in schools today.[4]
Misconception: Infinitives cannot be split. There is no rule against splitting an infinitive in English.[5] In some cases it might be preferable to split an infinitive.[2][5][6] In his 1864 grammar book A plea for the Queen's English Henry Alford claimed that "to" was part of the infinitive and that the parts were inseparable.[7] This was in line with a movement by grammarians in the 19th century to transfer Latin rules to the English language (in Latin, infinitives are unsplittable words, e.g., "amare, cantare, audire.").[5]
Misconception: The words "and" and "but" cannot begin a sentence.
Usage
Misconception: Two spaces must follow each sentence. Double sentence spacing is a typewriter convention that has carried over into the age of digital media. Most style guides recommend only a single space between sentences. Professionally published books, magazines, and newspapers also use a single space between sentences, but even this fact is widely overlooked.[8]
See also
References
- ^ Close, R.A. (1971). The New English Grammar: Lessons in English as a Foreign Language; More Lessons in English as a Foreign Language. London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd. ISBN 0-04-425021-5.
- ^ a b Mignon Fogarty (4 March 2010). "Top Ten Grammar Myths". Grammar Girl: Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing. Retrieved 27 March 2010.
- ^ O'Conner, Patricia T.; Kellerman, Stewart (2009). Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language. New York: Random House. p. 17. ISBN 9781400066605.
- ^ Cutts, Martin (2009). Oxford Guide to Plain English (Third ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 109. ISBN 9780199558506.
- ^ a b c Cutts, Martin (2009). Oxford Guide to Plain English (Third ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 111. ISBN 9780199558506.
- ^ O'Conner, Patricia T.; Kellerman, Stewart (2009). Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language. New York: Random House. pp. 18–20. ISBN 9781400066605.
- ^ O'Conner, Patricia T.; Kellerman, Stewart (2009). Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language. New York: Random House. p. 19. ISBN 9781400066605.
- ^ David Spencer (24 May 2011). "The Curious Misconception Surrounding Sentence Spacing". Type Desk. Matador. Retrieved 27 May 2011.