GRAMMAR MYTHS
Grammar can be tough. There are a lot of rules to follow, and a lot to wrap your head around. Some of the rules we learn in school, though, arenāt exactly accurate. While some function as helpful guidelines for style and form, other so-called ārulesā are inventions, or āsuperstitions,ā as the lexicographer Henry W. Fowler called them. Here are some common grammar myths: 1. You canāt end a sentence with a preposition Most of us learned in school that ending a sentence with a preposition was a mistake. This ārule,ā however, is misguided, dating from the 17 th century, when several notable writers tried to codify English to fit more neatly with Latin grammar. Clearly, there are instances where attempting to avoid ending a sentence in a preposition results in a statement that is either over-formal or simply poor English. An over-formal example might be: āHe told her that there was nothing of which to be frightened.ā An example of poor English (or Yo...