{"id":990,"date":"2016-06-24T16:32:20","date_gmt":"2016-06-24T13:32:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/domynetwork.com\/blog\/?p=990"},"modified":"2018-01-20T17:32:10","modified_gmt":"2018-01-20T15:32:10","slug":"5-grammar-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/domynetwork.com\/blog\/5-grammar-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Obsolete Grammar Rules That Shouldn\u2019t Be Disturbed"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"work\"Whatever some grammarians may say, language is not a set of rules that is cast in stone that should be retained in unchanging condition at any cost. Language is a living entity and its development is influenced by thousands of internal and external factors, and no matter how much you try to make it stay the same, it will do as it pleases. Therefore, in today\u2019s English there are many good old grammar rules rules that either have been artificial from the start or have lost their relevance. Let\u2019s take a look at some of them.<\/p>\n

Split Infinitive<\/h2>\n

One of the most popular targets of self-professed grammar Nazis. The idea behind the rule is that infinitive consists of a preposition and a verb, and to separate them means splitting the whole.<\/p>\n

In reality, it is a fairly recent rule \u2013 English texts have been splitting the infinitive since 14th<\/sup> century, and only in the middle of the 19th<\/sup> century it was called a grave mistake \u2013 mostly as an attempt to make English more akin to Latin, where splitting the infinitive is just not possible. Therefore, today split infinitive is more of a stylistic preference than a grammar rule.<\/p>\n

Double Negative<\/h2>\n

For hundreds of years it was considered completely alright to use double negatives \u2013 if we consider it wrong, than we will have to do a lot of editing to bring Chaucer and Shakespeare up to our lofty standards. The rule prohibiting its use was only introduced in the 18th<\/sup> century, and following it would deprive us of such a beautiful and utterly English construction as \u201cI don\u2019t dislike it\u201d.<\/p>\n

Prepositions at the Sentence End<\/h2>\n

Again, the rule that sentences shouldn\u2019t end with prepositions didn\u2019t exist until 18th<\/sup> century \u2013 it was introduced by a clergyman named Robert Lowth, whom we can also thank for the Double Negative rule. Nevertheless, English literature before and since is full of sentences ending with prepositions, and there is no logical reasons why it shouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Starting Sentences with Conjunctions (and, or, but)<\/h2>\n

There is no logical reason why sentences shouldn\u2019t start with these perfectly innocent words \u2013 however, this rule has been stringently enforced by a number of teachers for decades. Again, what we see here is more a matter of style than that of grammar. People have been happily using ands<\/em> and buts<\/em> to start sentences for a thousand years, paying no heed to the alleged rules. Just don\u2019t use it in every other sentence, and it will be alright.<\/p>\n

Data Is always Plural<\/h2>\n

Lets\u2019 face it \u2013 there is a Latin word \u201ddatum\u201d with a plural form \u201cdata\u201d, and there is an English word \u201cdata\u201d borrowed from Latin and Anglicized, with \u201cdata\u201d being both singular and plural. It\u2019s not that there are no other examples, like agenda or insignia. After all, when was the last time you\u2019ve heard somebody use \u201cdatum\u201d in actual speech?<\/p>\n

Language is an entity that develops independently of our wishes. It is, of course, helpful to have a standard at every given moment, but it will inevitably change over time \u2013 and trying to impose old grammar rules on it is an exercise in futility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Whatever some grammarians may say, language is not a set of rules that is cast in stone that should be retained in unchanging condition at any cost. Language is a living entity and its development is influenced by thousands of internal and external factors, and no matter how much you try to make it stay…

Read more \u203a<\/span><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-useful-tips"],"yoast_head":"\nOld Grammar Rules Article on Useless English Norms - DoMyNetwork.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This article on old grammar rules will tell about a few obsolete and unnecessary norms of english language. Get to know these old grammar rules that should no longer be applied.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/domynetwork.com\/blog\/5-grammar-rules\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Old Grammar Rules Article on Useless English Norms - DoMyNetwork.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This article on old grammar rules will tell about a few obsolete and unnecessary norms of english language. 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