We’re kicking off the New Year with simple tricks and heuristics that are guaranteed to improve your writing and help you develop a sharper sense of style. But, unlike the confusing and sometimes counterintuitive rules of traditional style guides, this series offers a refreshing and relevant take on writing readable texts of all kinds.
When it comes to grammar, the purists aren’t always right.
Imagine you are in the grocery store. There are only nine items in your shopping cart, and so you move towards the sign that reads “10 items or less.”
As you stand in line, someone comes up to you and says in a tone full of contempt: “Oh, illiteracy! Shouldn’t this sign say ‘10 items or fewer?’ ‘Less’ is wrong!”
And yet, no one seems to care. Everyone knows what the sign means, but the grammar purists can’t seem to give it a rest — claiming that the word ‘less’ shouldn’t be used for countable quantities.
In some situations this is true. For instance, it sounds bizarre to say “less bills.” “Fewer bills” sounds much better. On the other hand, “one less car,” “less than 21 years of age” and “one less thing to worry about” all sound quite natural. In these, and in numerous other cases, the English language has happily accepted the word “less,” even though “fewer” is more correct.
The same goes for the singular “they.” There is a lack of gender-neutral pronouns in the English language. Because of this, opting for the singular “they” — instead of writing “he or she” — has become commonplace. (It’s also not considered ‘grammatically incorrect’.) Even Jane Austin and Shakespeare used the singular “they” to deal with the issue of gender-neutral pronouns!
But the quintessential false rule is the prohibition of split infinitives — that is, verbs like “to love” or “to go.”
Language purists have long complained that Star Trek’s Captain Kirk committed a grammatical faux pas when he declared that his mission was “to boldly go where no man has gone before.” In their opinion, he should have said “to go boldly” or “boldly to go.” (Clearly, some people have too much time on their hands.)
False rules like these stem from a misguided application of Latin grammar rules to English. For example, in Latin, “to love” is one word: amare. In fact, all Latin infinitives are one word, making separation impossible. But English is different, and grammar guides like the American Heritage Dictionary now claim that the rule forbidding split infinitives is obsolete.
Until tomorrow…
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