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7 grammar myths you

learned in school
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, arent exactly accurate. While some
function as helpful guidelines for style and form, other so-called rules are inventions, or
superstitions, as thelexicographer Henry W. Fowler called them.
Here are some common grammar myths:

1. You cant end a sentence with a


preposition
Most of us learned in school that ending a sentence with a preposition was a mistake. This
rule, 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: He told her that there was nothing of which to be frightened. An
example of poor English (or Yoda English) might be: Paid for the house had not been.
In her helpful, myth-busting post on the issue, Catherine Soanes identifies four typical
situations in which it is more natural to end a sentence with a preposition.

passive structures (she enjoys being fussed over)

relative clauses (they must be convinced of the commitment that they are taking on)

infinitive structures (Tom had no-one to play with)

questions beginning with who, where, what, etc. (what music are you interested in?)
Read the entire post.

2. You cant start a sentence with a


conjunction
Another common grammar myth is the rule about starting sentences withconjunctions.
Conjunctions are words such as and, but, so, and if, which are used to connect clauses,
sentences, or words. This grammatical superstition arises from the thought that because
these words are used to connect separate clauses, they suggest the presence of
a fragment when used at the beginning of a sentence. The argument against

using and or butto introduce a sentence is that such a sentence expresses an incomplete
thought (or fragment) and is therefore incorrect. However, this is a stylisticpreference
rather than a grammatical rule.
Learn more about the finer points of conjunction use in Catherine Soaness post.

3. Double negatives are always


ungrammatical
When two negatives are used to communicate a negative, then the usage is ungrammatical.
The reason for this is that two negatives actually cancel each other out and create
an affirmative statement. For example, the sentence I dont have nothing for you is
ungrammatical because the presence of two negatives technically switches the meaning to
an affirmative one, so that it means I have something for you.
Even though the use of double negatives in formal speech and writing is nonstandard, the
use of double negatives is common in areas such asinformal speech and popular music
(Aint No Sunshine).
However, there is one use of double negatives that is entirely grammatical. In this use, the
double negative is used to express and reinforce an affirmative, by way of denial or
understatement. For example, take the sentence
I couldnt not help him. [meaning: I strongly felt I should help him]
The straight affirmative version of that sentence I could help him lacks the reinforced
nature of the double negative version.
Read more about double negatives.

4. Splitting infinitives is a mistake


For the uninitiated, splitting infinitives is the practice of placing an adverbbetween to and
the corresponding verb, as in to lightly tap. Splitting infinitives is a common peeve of
grammar enthusiasts, but like many such peeves it has been employed by well-regarded
English prose stylists for centuries. However, take care before splitting those infinitives;
many style guides and professors would still consider this a stylistic error.
These two sentences display split infinitives:
She used to secretly admire him.
You have to really watch him.
Those who believe that split infinitives are grammatically incorrect would rewrite these
sentences as:

She used secretly to admire him.


You really have to watch him.
Avoiding splitting infinitives can change the emphasis of whats being said. These
sentences dont have quite the same meaning:
You really have to watch him. [i.e. Its important that you watch him] You
have to really watch him. [i.e. You have to watch him very closely]
Read more about splitting those infinitives.

5. You cant start a sentence with hopefully


You absolutely can. This use of hopefully to mean it is hoped rather than the adverbial in a
hopeful manner has been disputed in the past several years, though it has found its way
into general acceptance. So despite the fact that all sentence adverbs were once frowned
on, nowadays you should be able to use happily, along with most other sentence adverbs
(such assadly, strangely, or obviously).
So why are thankfully and hopefully singled out for particular opprobrium? The answer lies
in the fact that hopefully and thankfully cant be reworded along the lines of other sentence
adverbs, using the constructions it is hopeful that or it is thankful that:
Hopefully, planning delays will be minimal.
X It is hopeful that planning delays will be minimal.
Instead, you have to reword such sentences along the lines of:
It is to be hoped that planning delays will be minimal.
Learn more about placing hopefully and other adverbs at the start of a sentence.

6. The passive voice should not be used


Even though your teacher possibly warned you against it, the passive voice is perfectly
acceptable. The passive tends to be used in formal documents such as official reports or
scientific papers, often where an action or situation is regarded as more significant than who
or what did or caused it:
active:
passive:

Spain beat Brazil in the final match.


Brazil was beaten in the final.

For example, in the above active example, the victor and loser of the match are made
perfectly clear by the active structure: Spain, the subject of the sentence, beat Brazil,
the object of the sentence, in a match. In the passive example, the information about Spain

is missing, thus the agent of Brazils loss remains unclear what is most important is the
outcome of the game, not the winner.
However, even though the use of the passive voice is perfectly permissible, most people
favor the active voice because of how it provides a fuller account.
Learn more about the passive vs. the active voice.

7. You cannot use whose to refer to things


Yes, you can use whose to refer to things, not only people or groups of people.
Sometimes, sticklers will insist that rearranging the sentence usingof which. The below is an
example sentence on OxfordDictionaries.comusing whose:
Gasping for breath, they reached the row of houses whose gardens led onto the park.
This is the same sentence rewritten to accommodate of which:
Gasping for breath, they reached the row of houses, the gardens of which led onto the
park.
The rewritten version using of which is clearly awkward and unwieldy. The better option
here is to simply use whose instead.
Tell us about the grammar myths that annoy you in the comments below!

The opinions and other information contained in OxfordWords blog posts and comments do
not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Oxford University Press.

Active and passive verbs


Depending on the way in which you word a sentence, a verb can be
either active or passive.

When the verb is active, the subject of the verb is doing the action, as in these
examples:
France

beat Brazil in the final.

[subject]

[active verb]

More than 300 million people

speakSpanish.

[subject]

[active verb]

Jack

will take the matter forward.

[subject]

[active verb]

When the verb is passive, the subject undergoes the action rather than doing it:
Brazil

was beaten in the final.

[subject]

[passive verb]

Spanish

is spoken by more than 300 million people worldwide.

[subject]

[passive verb]

The matter

will be taken forward by Jack.

[subject]

[passive verb]

Here, the sentences points of view have changed: Brazil, Spanish, and the matter have
become the subjects of the passive verbs were beaten, is spoken, and will be taken. In
the first example, you can see that the subject of the active verb (France) does not
appear in the corresponding passive version of the sentence. In the other two passive
examples, the former subjects of the active verbs (more than 300 million people; Jack)
are now introduced with the word by.

The person or thing in a passive sentence that does or causes something is called
the agent: more than 300 million people and Jack are the agents of the second and
third passive examples.

These two different ways of using verbs are known asvoices. In everyday writing, the
active voice is much more common than the passive. The passive tends to be used
in formal documents such as official reports or scientific papers, often where an action
or situation is regarded as more significant than who or what did or caused it:
The results were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
A fair grading system was found to be important to all students.

Passive verb forms


The passive is formed with tenses of the auxiliary verb to be and the past participle of
the main verb. Here is a table showing the passive forms for most English verbs:

Tense

Passive

Example

present simple

am/are/is + past
participle

He is taken to school by his mum.

present
continuous

am/are/is being + past


participle

They are being bullied.

present perfect

have/has been + past


participle

Have you been interviewed for many jobs?

past simple

was/were + past
participle

We were told not to touch anything.

past continuous

was/were being + past


participle

Our computers were being attacked by


hackers.

past perfect

had been + past


participle

His mother had been brought up in India.

future

will be + past participle

Arrangements will be made to move them to


other locations.

future perfect

will have been + past


participle

All the merchandise will have been shipped by


tomorrow.

Writing essay drafts


Writing the first draft
Write a rst, rough draft of your essay, using the points made in your plan as the basis
for paragraphs or sections.

Always try to keep to one main point per paragraph: make the point at the outset, then
support it with arguments, evidence, or discussion.

You may not keep strictly to your original plan since your thoughts will develop as your
writing proceeds, but make sure that you have anintroduction, a main section (or body),
andconclusion.

Once you have written a rst draft, you might nd it helpful to read it through quickly to
check that you have addressed all the points raised by the question and that you have not
wandered off the subject.

Do not worry about grammar, punctuation, andspelling at this stage: these are matters to
be addressed at the end of the essay-writing process.

Put your rst draft aside for a day or so (if youve planned enough time to do so). This
will give your mind a rest and allow you to look at the essay with a fresh eye later on.

Preparing the final draft


This is essentially an assessment, redrafting, and checking process.

Look at your rst draft critically: think of your reader, and rewrite or sharpen up passages
that seem unclear, rambling, or badly worded. For guidance on language and choosing the
right word, read our top tips for word choice.

Assess the essays structure for logical order andcoherence. Make sure your sentences
and paragraphs are linked and make sense.

You may wish to reconsider the beginning and end of the essay in the light of what you
have written orrevised in the main body of it: does the introduction still clearly state your
approach and does the nal conclusion incorporate and sum up your key arguments?

Check your facts and evidence. Have you provided all the relevant supporting data and
referenced all your sources in a consistent and accurate way?

Write a Bibliography or References section.

If you have been asked to keep to a particular word count for the essay, then now is the
time to count the words and reduce or expand your text as necessary.

When you have nished writing and rening it, read the whole essay once more for
clarity, logical structure, and relevance to the question.

Final checks
The nal stage of the essay-writing process should be a thorough proofread.

This is the point at which you must check yourgrammar, spelling, punctuation,
and formatting very carefully.

You should read the essay more than once for such mistakes, and might nd it useful to
ask a friend to proofread your essay as well if they have time: another person can often spot
errors that you might have missed.

Lastly, check that you have attached anysupplementary or supporting material, such as
graphs, tables, or diagrams, and that you have put your name, the date, the essay question
or title, and any other necessary information (such as a module or course title) at the top.

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