To follow the rules of grammar is the coolest thing and is appreciated. But being too rigid in thin things is what even grammar gurus disagree with. In our current discussion let us discuss “A Few Misconceptions About The English Language.” So without any further ado, let us start,
The “True” English is British English
The majority of people, including Brits, consider British English to be the purest type of language. The fact is that American English has retained much of the features of the language introduced to the New World by British migration. Some of these complexities to the languages, such as non-rhotic voice, which became common after the Industrial Revolution, were lost to the British over time.
Believe it or not, the Americans never lost their British accent. And to some extent, there are many simple variations other than the accent. We can code here the spelling differences, like the spellings of the words such as, color, traveled, center, caliber, are a few examples which are simpler than Britishers. And to many extents, these are more nearer to simplicity.
A Preposition Cannot Be Used to End a Sentence
“Don’t end a sentence with by, on, with, about, or some other preposition,” was another law that teachers used to enforce.
The origins of this “law” can be traced back to the 17th century when Latin-obsessed writers tried to exert their influence on the English language.
Find the following two sentences:
You have a lot to dream about!
You have a lot about which to dream
Doesn’t the first one seem to be more natural? And it all comes to a head with a preposition.
It’s Not a Good Idea to Use Passive Voice
Many online writing guides would tell you to stop using the passive voice as much as possible.
Surprisingly, the passive voice is still a part of the English language. However, unless appropriate, you should not use it excessively.
A Conjunction Shouldn’t Be Used to Begin a Sentence
It is often said that “Don’t begin a sentence with the word but!” and “Don’t start a sentence with and!” says the narrator.
How many times have you had comments like this on your essays? This “rule” was generally applied harshly by elementary and high school teachers. Despite this, there is no grammatical law prohibiting the use of a conjunction at the start of a sentence. This is purely a personal preference. No one can tell you what your style is. So, if you feel like beginning a sentence with so, go ahead and do it. However, when writing academic articles, you may want to stop it. Teachers’ stylistic standards are also fairly strict.
Infinitives should not be broken
In English, an infinitive is the form of a verb that begins with the letter “to,” such as “to walk” or “to eat.” Some people assume that putting a word between the two and the verb itself, such as “to quickly eat,” is incorrect. This rule was popularised by Henry Alford, a 19th-century scholar who said that splitting infinitives was “almost unknown” among English speakers, even though Shakespeare did so. Most grammar books nowadays will tell you to stop doing this if at all possible, but there are occasions when it’s appropriate. “To boldly go where no man has gone before,” as the popular Star Trek line goes.
These are a few and we tried our best to bring them to light. If you find some other, forget not to mention it. We will keep on bringing them to light in our upcoming blog posts. If you like it forget not to share.