English Grammar Myths.

Are you going ? No? Okay I guess I’m the only who didn’t know there were myths in Grammar.

Anyway, just in case some people are fronting, English Grammar Myths are certains writing rules we’ve been taught are wrong, wrong, wrong. For instance, You can’t and shouldn’t use can’t and shouldn’t when writing instead Yo should use CAN NOT and SHOULD NOT!

Get your papers and pen ready because we’re going to play a game and in the process debunk some English Grammar Myths.


CHOOSE THE CORRECT SENTENCE:

1.
a. We tried hard to effect a reconciliation between the two parties. But it didn’t work out.
b. We tried hard to effect a reconciliation between the two parties but it didn’t work out.

2.
a. Colbart believed in Darwinist social policies. However he had no idea who Darwin was.
b. Colbart believed in Darwinist social policies. But he had no idea who Darwin was.

3.
a. Colbart believed in Darwinist social policies; however, he had no idea who Darwin was.
b. Colbart believed in Darwinist social policies, however, he had no idea who Darwin was.

4.
a. Mort didn’t get the job because he lied about his education.
b. Because he lied about his education, Mort didn’t get the job.

5.
a. That is the silliest idea I have ever heard of.
b. That is the silliest idea of which I have ever heard.

6.
a. She asked me to kindly put my cigarette out.
b. She asked me kindly to put my cigarette out.


Tick Tock!

ANSWERS ^{(You knew I was only kidding about the pen and paper. . . right? )}

1. A
Explanation  - The notion that one shouldn’t begin a sentence with “but” is a myth. Often beginning a sentence with “but” is a good stylistic choice because it emphasizes a contrast. Choice b is wrong because if you join the two clauses with “but”, a comma must precede it.

2. B
Explanation - However meaning “nevertheless” can begin a sentence, but when it does, it needs a comma after it. Some style manuals insist that “however” should come after the first significant words: He had no idea, however, who Darwin was.

3. A
Explanation - When “however” joins two clauses, it must be preceded by a semicolon and followed by a comma.

4. B
Explanation - Choice a is ambiguous. It could mean that Mort failed to get the job not because he lied about his education, but for some other reason.

5. A
Explanation - The persistent myth that one should never end a sentence with a preposition produces some very awkward sentences. Choice b is not wrong, but it’s very awkward.

6. A
Explanation - The infinitive is the basic form of the verb: to run, to write, to become. Splitting the infinitive means putting any words between the to and the verb: to swiftly run, to carefully write, to quickly become. The idea that infinitives should never be split is a myth created by grammarians who thought English grammar should conform to the structure of Latin. In Latin the infinitive is one word and can’t be split. No contemporary English-language authority endorses the total ban on the split infinitive. Not splitting the infinitive and preserving the intended meaning is sometimes impossible. She asked me to kindly put my cigarette out means that she said, “Kindly put your cigarette out.”

Putting kindly anywhere else in the sentence changes the meaning: She asked me kindly to put my cigarette out. She kindly asked me to put my cigarette out. In both theses sentences “kindly” modifies “asked.” Splitting the infinitive with too many words is awkward and should be avoided: We wanted to quickly, forcefully, and with good arguments ban smoking in the workplace.


There you have it. . . Myths Debunked!!!!


PS
Special thanks Topup and Blisfullynaughty for learnt and learned 

[size=14pt]Top 10 English Grammar Myths and Superstitions in Essay Writing by Good English Essays
[/size]

1. Never split infinitives
“To publicly critique someone you respect” was considered a grammatical error in the past because an adverb ‘publicly’ is placed between ‘to’ and the verb. Some professionals may still avoid it, but many publications regard it as acceptable.


2. Never use contractions in essay writing
Some English users believe that contractions should never be used in essay writing. They believe that contractions like won’t, can’t, shouldn’t etc should only be used in spoken English. This is no longer true as more and more newspapers and publications are using contractions in the writing.


3. Never begin a sentence with ‘and’, ‘but’ or ‘because’ (conjunctions)
As English evolves, this is no longer true. It is now acceptable to begin a sentence with ‘and’, ‘but’ or ‘because’. People promoting this myth are either not reading newspapers or do not care to learn proper English.


4. Never begin the essay title with prepositions
It has become a writing style for essay writing to be entitled using prepositions like ‘of’ or ‘on’. Examples of essay titles that I came across just now were
- Of Professionals and Degrees
- On Kolej Universiti Teknikal Kebangsaan Malaysia (KUTKM)


5. Never use first-person pronouns in academic writing
There is a superstitious notion that says never use first-person pronouns like ‘I’ and ‘we’ in essay writing because doing so will make your essay writing to look unprofessional. Contrary to the notion, English writers are encouraged to use first-person pronouns to draw readers’ attention and to put some life into your writing. Corporate letters should use ‘I’ to personalise the letter and accept responsibility.


6. Never refer the readers as ‘you’
Copywriters will find this myth very funny. Please take note that you can actually refer the readers as ‘you’ or ‘we’ to include yourselves. However, you should be consistent in using either ‘you’ or ‘we’ throughout your essay writing.


7. Never use ‘between’ with more than two objects
This is a popular misconception among English beginner users. While it is true that we use ‘between’ when comparing two objects, it is correct to use ‘between’ when more than two people or objects are involved. Examples taken from Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (LDOCE):
Comparing two things: In her book she makes a comparison between Russian and British ballet.
More than two people or objects:
- Tom divided his money between his children.
- Between the four of them they managed to lift her into the ambulance.
- We collected £17 between us.


8. Never use ‘since’ as because
There’s a groundless notion that ‘since’ is only used to mean from a particular time or event in the past until the present, or in that period of time. ‘Since’ can actually be used to give the reason for something. The following sentence taken from dictionary is grammatically correct.
- Since you are unable to answer, perhaps we should ask someone else.

9. Never use direct question
Using direct question in writing to arouse the readers’ interest on certain topic has become an essay writing style. When writing essay on smoking, for instance, you can include questions like ‘what are the bad effects of smoking?’ and ‘why people smoke?’ in your essay. There are debates that direct question is not suitable for academic writing.


10. Two-syllable adjectives must use the suffix –er or suffix –est form to form comparative or superlative
E.g. prettier, prettiest; gentler, gentlest; narrower, narrowest. Adding ‘more’ or ‘most’ to two-syllable adjectives to form comparative or superlative, however, is getting common and gaining ground in modern English. E.g. more pretty, most pretty; more gentle, most gentle; more narrow, most narrow.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/93909/Top-10-English-Grammar-Myths-and-Superstitions-in-Essay-Writing-by-Good-English-Essays

I don't know about you but for me, this is going to take a lot of getting used too.  . . especially #10

2. Never use contractions in essay writing
Some English users believe that contractions should never be used in essay writing. They believe that contractions like won’t, can’t, shouldn’t etc should only be used in spoken English. This is no longer true as more and more newspapers and publications are using contractions in the writing.

. . . hope my English teacher in JS 2 is reading this. I had to write a letter five times under her stern eyes. Who's having the last laugh now?

No. 7 is confusing!!!

LMAO! I know what you mean. . . at least she only made you write it five times, I'd have taken that over the ruler on the knuckles mine dished out. Gah! Wish I could go back in time and say "In your face, you sadist of a woman" 

Yep, some of these rules are gonna take a lot of getting used, I mean what is "more pretty?" You know what's even weirder or is it more weird ^{ok, this is getting confusing}. . . You can now write "Most Prettiest" 

Why diod you give the answers na?

I just took out my paper and pencil na haba! I felt so educated. . . . .before you gave the answers.

Sisikill:

[size=14pt]Top 10 English Grammar Myths and Superstitions in Essay Writing by Good English Essays
[/size]

3. Never begin a sentence with ‘and’, ‘but’ or ‘because’ (conjunctions)
As English evolves, this is no longer true. It is now acceptable to begin a sentence with ‘and’, ‘but’ or ‘because’. People promoting this myth are either not reading newspapers or do not care to learn proper English.


- On Kolej Universiti Teknikal Kebangsaan Malaysia (KUTKM)
6. Never refer the readers as ‘you’
Copywriters will find this myth very funny. Please take note that you can actually refer the readers as ‘you’ or ‘we’ to include yourselves. However, you should be consistent in using either ‘you’ or ‘we’ throughout your essay writing.


8. Never use ‘since’ as because
There’s a groundless notion that ‘since’ is only used to mean from a particular time or event in the past until the present, or in that period of time. ‘Since’ can actually be used to give the reason for something. The following sentence taken from dictionary is grammatically correct.
- Since you are unable to answer, perhaps we should ask someone else.

grrrrrrrr. . . . I despise number 6. . . . sometimes, I just can't help but to use "You" or else it won't sound right. Then I have to start my whole essay over, trying to replace the you with a significant object or person. ugh!

Number 3, lmao! I still use it "professionally". I've been been told over and over again that it's not proper. BUT I still do it, and gets penalized for it

Number 8? Never heard of it

Lmao! RubyRenny, what have you done again? You're like a cat with multiple lives. I'm getting tired of Sisikill, maybe it's time to shake things up


For that # 6, I used ONE tire. . . "One must understand" "When one decides to. . . " it just made it sound so distant, like you're speaking to an empty space. I can totally gel with #3.

Sisikill:

3. Never begin a sentence with ‘and’, ‘but’ or ‘because’ (conjunctions)
As English evolves, this is no longer true. It is now acceptable to begin a sentence with ‘and’, ‘but’ or ‘because’. People promoting this myth are either not reading newspapers or do not care to learn proper English.

I still cant wrap my head around starting a sentence with "and" or "but". I use "because" fairly frequently.

Sisikill:

4. Never begin the essay title with prepositions
It has become a writing style for essay writing to be entitled using prepositions like ‘of’ or ‘on’. Examples of essay titles that I came across just now were
- Of Professionals and Degrees
- On Kolej Universiti Teknikal Kebangsaan Malaysia (KUTKM)

Starting a title with "of" can be oddly catchy, i like to use it a lot. Using it in a sentence for me is not very often.

Sisikill:

5. Never use first-person pronouns in academic writing
There is a superstitious notion that says never use first-person pronouns like ‘I’ and ‘we’ in essay writing because doing so will make your essay writing to look unprofessional. Contrary to the notion, English writers are encouraged to use first-person pronouns to draw readers’ attention and to put some life into your writing. Corporate letters should use ‘I’ to personalise the letter and accept responsibility.

That's surprising because the use of "I" or "we" in scientific writing is highly encouraged and could be the difference between it being accepted or rejected. I must have used "we" a thousand times while writing my proposal and it was just fine.

Sisikill:

8. Never use ‘since’ as because
There’s a groundless notion that ‘since’ is only used to mean from a particular time or event in the past until the present, or in that period of time. ‘Since’ can actually be used to give the reason for something. The following sentence taken from dictionary is grammatically correct.
- Since you are unable to answer, perhaps we should ask someone else.

The use of "since" is very common in scientific journals.

Sisikill:

9. Never use direct question
Using direct question in writing to arouse the readers’ interest on certain topic has become an essay writing style. When writing essay on smoking, for instance, you can include questions like ‘what are the bad effects of smoking?’ and ‘why people smoke?’ in your essay. There are debates that direct question is not suitable for academic writing.

Depends on who you talk to, i believe the use of direct questions personalizes scientific writing and helps to engage your target audience. For instance if i were describing a hypothesis i prefer to frame it with direct questions.

It does make you (in the past, I would have used ONE) wonder how the old rules came to be. I'm looking into it but I suspect it had something to do with the British taking their penchant for formality overboard.

I'm just glad they've been debunked coz it made writing difficult.

Sisikill:

It does make you (in the past, I would have used ONE) wonder how the old rules came to be. I'm looking into it but I suspect it had something to do with the British taking their penchant for formality overboard.

I'm just glad they've been debunked because it made writing difficult.

They have not been debunked. It is more of a paradigm shift; an evolution in the written and spoken medium of English. It happens all the time and has done so for hundreds or thousands of years. That is why we even use the words you mentioned like "you" instead of "thou", "thee". Many people find Shakespearean English and the traditional biblical verses hard to comprehend as they are different modes of speaking and writing to what we have today. But, they are all perfectly correct and were in their day. The fact that language and its usage has evolved or metamorphed into something different to what it previously was does not make the old usage wrong, it may however make it archaic. With me for example, being schooled on the old style Lord's prayer of "Our father which art in heaven, thy kingdom come, thy will be done. . . .for thine is the kingdom. . . " etc and the "thy", "thou", "thee" bible, I still find it hard to go with the mordernised version of "your kingdom come, your will be done, " etc and the new bible style.

Life however does go on and sometime in future (probably not in our generation), this writing and speaking style would change further. Hell, there are many words, phrases etc that are used today which had totally different meanings when I was a little child.

^{P.S. People like the Queen (of England), still often use "one" when speaking in place of the first and second person singular e.g.  "One does not expect to find one's dog running around unchecked" LOL ,  To which I would have replied "Aye maam, indeed one does not", LOL}

Sisikill:

Lmao! RubyRenny, what have you done again? You're like a cat with multiple lives. I'm getting tired of Sisikill, maybe it's time to shake things up


For that # 6, I used ONE tire. . . "One must understand" "When one decides to. . . " it just made it sound so distant, like you're speaking to an empty space. I can totally gel with #3.

^{I did nothing o. Somehow they lemme out of the NL dungeon phew!}

Lol! I do the same thing, replaces one with you. Sometimes, it so does not sound right. "One must learn to. . . . what one needs to be certified". arrrg

Sisikill:

LMAO! I know what you mean. . . at least she only made you write it five times, I'D have taken that over the ruler on the knuckles mine dished out. Gah! Wish I could go back in time and say "In your face, you sadist of a woman"

Yep, some of these rules are going to take a lot of getting used, I mean what is "more pretty?" You know what's even weirder or is it more weird ^{ok, this is getting confusing}. . . You can now write "Most Prettiest"

Rulers on the knuckles? Shivers down my spine, my goose pimples are having goose pimples . . . bad memories I say!!!

Good work Sisikill!

I cant just do without writing cant dont shouldnt etc.

My kid sister wants to understand the usage of these 4 words.

Being/Been and What/Which.

I tried explaining but she said i should post it online for Sisi. . .

Oh my! I don’t know what to say. . . your sister gives me too much credit when it should go to my crazy professor whom I love to death.  I’ll do my best to regurgitate him. . .

BEING/BEEN (BE)

BEING is the PRESENT PARTICIPLE
BEEN is the PAST PARTICIPLE

Eg.
I will BE quiet (not started)

I am BEING quiet (Right now, in process but not completed)

I have BEEN Quiet (Past, complete)

It started making sense to me when I stopped looking at BEING as BEING but Be-ing like Walking, talking, standing.

WHAT/WHICH

When asking a question . . .

WHAT is used when there are no limit in choices for instance

Example

What would you like to eat?

WHICH is used when there are limited choices

Example

Q- WHICH would you like to eat, Jollof or Fried Rice?

I’ve come across sentences like “What and Which. . .”

Example
What and Which software should I use?”
What Software – Microsoft Vista
Which one – version 1.1

I'm going to throw a little curveball into the mix. . .

In the WHAT/WHICH (asking questions) context, WHICH is LIMITED but when it is used in a CLAUSE, it isn't. In this case, it is called a Nonrestrictive clause and it is usually compared with THAT a restrictive Clause.

Nonrestrictive clauses tell you something about a preceding subject, but they do not limit, or restrict, the meaning of that subject eg “My shoe, which I bought on Monday, is cute”. “WHICH I BOUGHT in the sentence is just additional info; it says the shoe is cute and it just happens that I bought it on Monday

Restrictive Clauses Restrictive clauses limit the possible meaning of a preceding subject or the way I like to see it, it is differentiating one from many eg “The shoe that I bought on Monday was cute” THAT I BOUGHT here restricts the meaning, it shows I am talking about the shoe I bought on monday.

I hope this helps even if just a little. I’ll look for links to useful sites. . . in the meantime, I implore other posters to contribute.

Thanks deary, just got it printed for her. . . . . .She sends lots of chocothanks to Sisi. . .

Hmmmm Chocothanks me likey!

Haven't had the chance to look for useful links but I promise, I will. ^{Scouts Honor!}

@ Sisi: Been watching this thread for going on four days now - watching, not posting, because I'm no English guru - but after that last post, I've decided to get my pen and paper. Present participles. Nonrestrictive clauses. Split infinitives. Gee, you could almost make an action movie out of those words!

kay9:

@ Sisi: Been watching this thread for going on four days now - watching, not posting, because I'm no English guru - but after that last post, I've decided to get my pen and paper. Present participles. Nonrestrictive clauses. Split infinitives. Gee, you could almost make an action movie out of those words!

I'm sorry for the lateness!

I like this website, it's got everything about writing styles and Grammar

http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/

This one is jut for funsies. . .

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2007/sep/09/grammar-gremlins-which-and-what-require-care/

Hey deary, thanks for the link.

HI all,
I'm not sure if this fits in this thread but, I keep hearing people directing others to give some other person a "standing ovation" Is this appropriate, shouldnt it be spontaneous? It's causing me concern.

yicob:

Hey deary, thanks for the link.

FifiO:

HI all,
I'm not sure if this fits in this thread but, I keep hearing people directing others to give some other person a "standing ovation" Is this appropriate, shouldnt it be spontaneous? It's causing me concern.

The confusion comes from how the word STANDING is seen.  If we look at it in the same manner we do when it is used in phrases like

Standing Invitation
Standing Order

Then yes spontaneity does not apply since both phrases imply the invitation and the order are on a regular basis.

However in the context of ovation, the standing is actually a verb. . . i.e literally standing up and applauding.

I hope that helped a little.