Episode Transcript

Top Ten Grammar Myths
Episode 97: February 29, 2008

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Grammar Girl here.

March 4 is National Grammar Day. So I've created a special grammar-related top 10 show to celebrate the occasion.

Organizer Martha Brockenbrough, who writes about grammar and language for Encarta, has fun suggestions for National Grammar Day, including holding a good-grammar potluck at your office or school and mixing drinks she calls grammartinis. She also suggests correcting other people's grammar, but I hope that instead of marching into grocery stores and scratching out misplaced apostrophes, people will spread the word about the language myths that well-meaning people argue about every day in offices around the world.

To help you along that path, here is my list:

Grammar Girl's Top 10 Language Myths:

10. A run-on sentence is a really long sentence. Wrong! They can actually be quite short. In a run-on sentence, independent clauses are squished together without the help of punctuation or a conjunction. If you write I am happy I am glad* as one sentence without a semicolon, colon, or dash between the two independent clauses, it's a run-on sentence even though it only has six words. (See episode 49 for more details.)

9. You shouldn't start a sentence with the word however. Wrong! It's fine to start a sentence with however so long as you use a comma after it when it means "nevertheless." (See episode 58 for more details.)

8. Irregardless is not a word. Wrong! Irregardless is a word in the same way ain't is a word. They're informal. They're nonstandard. You shouldn't use them if you want to be taken seriously, but they have gained wide enough use to qualify as words. (See episode 94 for more details.)

7. There is only one way to write the possessive form of a word that ends in s. Wrong! It's a style issue. For example, in the phrase Kansas's statute, you can put just an apostrophe at the end of Kansas or you can put an apostrophe s at the end of Kansas. Both ways are acceptable. (See episode 35 for more details.)

6. Passive voice is always wrong. Wrong! Passive voice is when you don't name the person who's responsible for the action. An example is the sentence "Mistakes were made," because it doesn't say who made the mistakes. If you don't know who is responsible for an action, passive voice can be the best choice. (See episode 46 for more details.)

5. I.e. and e.g. mean the same thing. Wrong! E.g. means "for example," and i.e. means roughly "in other words." You use e.g. to provide a list of incomplete examples, and you use i.e. to provide a complete clarifying list or statement. (See episode 53 for more details.)

4. You use a before words that start with consonants and an before words that start with vowels. Wrong! You use a before words that start with consonant sounds and an before words that start with vowel sounds. So, you'd write that someone has an MBA instead of a MBA, because even though MBA starts with m, which is a consonant, it starts with the sound of the vowel e--MBA. (See episode 47 for more details.)

3. It's incorrect to answer the question "How are you?" with the statement "I'm good." Wrong! Am is a linking verb and linking verbs should be modified by adjectives such as good. Because well can also act as an adjective, it's also fine to answer "I'm well," but some grammarians believe "I'm well" should be used to talk about your health and not your general disposition. (See episode 51 for more details.)

2. You shouldn't split infinitives. Wrong! Nearly all grammarians want to boldly tell you it's OK to split infinitives. An infinitive is a two-word form of a verb. An example is "to tell." In a split infinitive, another word separates the two parts of the verb. "To boldly tell" is a split infinitive because boldly separates to from tell. (See episode 9 for more details.)

And now, the number one grammar myth, which my Twitter friends chose over splitting infinitives [fanfare music]

1. You shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition. Wrong! You shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition when the sentence would mean the same thing if you left off the preposition. That means "Where are you at?" is wrong because "Where are you?" means the same thing. But there are many sentences where the final preposition is part of a phrasal verb or is necessary to keep from making stuffy, stilted sentences: I'm going to throw up, let's kiss and make up, and what are you waiting for are just a few examples.  (See episode 69 for more details.)

You can find more information about each of these myths in the Grammar Girl archives at quickanddirtytips.com, where you can also find my contact information and all the other great Quick and Dirty Tips podcasts such as Money Girl and Legal Lad.

Grammar Girl Summer Tour

Thanks to everyone who has voted on the cities I'll be visiting this summer. I'll probably announce the results the week after next. The tour is to promote my print book, which is coming out in July, and I just found out that you can preorder the book online. Right now it's available at Amazon.com, BooksAMillion.com, and you can also preorder it from your local bookseller by searching Booksense.com. I imagine it will also be available soon online through Powells and Barnes & Noble. So preorder it now to get an extra 5% off and you'll also be one of the first people to get it when it comes out in July.

That's all. Thanks for listening and happy National Grammar Day.

*A Digg user with the handle AndrewJC made an excellent point about this example: if you read it to mean "I am happy THAT I am glad," it's not a run-on sentence. A better example would be a sentence that can't be interpreted in multiple ways--something like I am short he is tall.

Related Grammar Girl Episodes

Ending a Sentence With a Preposition
Episode 69: August 03, 2007
Unlawful Versus Illegal
Episode 68: July 27, 2007
Neologisms
Episode 67: July 20, 2007
All Episodes

Comments (114) for Top Ten Grammar Myths |  Subscribe to Comment

don Says:
4/9/2008 2:33:58 PM
I wonder if some of you read the post before complaining about it... Grammar Girl has clearly admitted that "up" is not a preposition in "throw up" in the previous sentance she says that they are "part of a phrasal verb."
Don Says:
4/9/2008 2:22:56 PM
Coleki, sorry about singling you out… you seem to have lots of company in your desire to trash Grammar Girl just because she understands the fluidity of the language. Y'all can just get over yourselves. djb
Don Says:
4/9/2008 2:20:01 PM
Gee! People jump on the least possible mistake… (Well, I may occasionally point-out an omission or an inconsistency, but at lease (I hope) it doesn't sound mean or pompous as Ian, JM, and Coleki do in their missives! Saying that the examples are wrong, and that the writer doesn’t know her stuff is just plain rude. Ian, it would have been more accurate for you to say that Grammar Girl was incomplete in her example and definition and directed people to the linked page for a more completed discussion. "Mistakes were made." is a passive voice sentence; one reason to use the passive voice is that the actor who takes the action of the verb is unknown or undisclosed. JM, while your grasp of Latin and the literal translations are quite remarkable, had you followed the link, you would see that #5 was a distillation of the show she did on these two items and she did give the original Latin. (So, I'm being more generous to you than you were to Grammar Girl here… There is nothing to say you hadn't gone to that page to get the definitions that she left off here…). You guys do understand that she is recapping shows that she did and there is no way she could have done the entire ten shows in one episode, right? Get with the spirit! Coleki, I've decided not to respond to your missive. I had previously been unaware that you were the sole arbiter of what was and was not proper. Bit, here's a news flash. irregardless of your personal views and desires, the language is a fluid thing… Laser was not a word sixty years ago, but then nobody had thought amplifying light through the stimulated emission of radiation. I have no doubt that had you been around back then, you would have argued that laser wasn't a word so you forbade its use. (It would, however, still be a common word today had you been there then.) You can't hold back the breeze, blow with it. djb
Don Says:
4/9/2008 1:58:13 PM
It probably is just a regionalism (I was born and raised in the south.) but my understanding is that there is a huge difference between "Where are you?" and "Where are you at?" in their meaning. If someone asked me "Where are you at?" I would never answer that I am sitting at my desk, writing an email." I would be far more likely to answer that I am baffled at the person who thinks that "Where are you?" and "Where are you at?" are the same questions. The general usage of the former (where I come from) indicates a desire to know one's physical location while the preposition on the end of the later indicate a desire to understand one's attitude on some issue or another. Colloquially, you will often hear it without the verb: "Where you at?" Is this common only in the south? By the way, I agree that one should remove any superfluous (or extraneous) prepositions from the end of the sentence. djb
Don Says:
4/9/2008 1:47:43 PM
A note on enstarstarstar's comment below… The "in" in "inflammable" is not the same "in" as in "incomplete." It is not from the Latin "in" prefix (meaning not) as in INdecent, ILlegal, or IMproper (as Grammar Girl explained, the IN mutates to IM and to IL depending on the word negates) but rather, is from the Latin preposition in which means (basically) "very." It is the prefix in INcandescent, it also mutates (like the prefix) but in this case, it will sometime become EN, as in ENflame. I was always taught that the difference between flammable and INflammable was one of intensity. Flammable things (like paper or cloth) burn. INflammable things (like gasoline or grain dust) burn explosively. That they burn is not in question, it is just that one burns explosively. Granted, anything can be made to burn explosively, pulverize paper to a dust and it will burn explosively. Candle wax burns, but if you can atomize it, it will explode when ignited. djb
Carlos Prado Says:
4/5/2008 9:05:58 PM
Hi, there "Grammar Girl" staff. I love your show. I found you by chance and since then I'm helplessly hooked. I hope you keep doing things this interesting and entertaining. Thanks! By the way, I'd like ask a question: , are there any very common phrases we, Spanish speakers, use that, even though are grammatically correct, sound unnatural,weird or funny? Thanks again and I'll keep tuned in!
Sam :D Says:
4/3/2008 6:43:41 AM
This is *sniffles* SO BEAUTIFUL! This is going to give my writing quite a bit of a boost and now I understand why passive voice is better for science papers than English papers! Thank you!
kiki Says:
4/2/2008 1:30:06 AM
I am thoroughly amused by the vast majority of the comments here. Especially the comment about how ain't is a word because it's in the Oxford English Dictionary and irregardless isn't a word because it isn't. Well, I just went to the OED online and looked irregardless up. It is, in fact, in the Oxford English Dictionary. First documented usage in 1912. There you go. Dang, I love the screwed-up English language.
Brent Hodgson Says:
3/30/2008 12:27:16 PM
@weakljani and "a uniform". The rule stands. There is no vowel sound at the start of "uniform because it's pronounced "you-ni-form" and the "you" y sound is not a vowel sound. So was it a "useless argument" you raised? Or just "an uninformed" comment? I think you see my point! ;) @Graham Nickols Although arguably correct, "what" and "why" ask similar questions from different points of focus, and are not interchangeable. @Warner Anderson The beauty of the English language is in its Adaptability. If neologisms were never invented, we'd be speaking Old English, some Saxon dialect, or perhaps French - and having the same problems with the inflexible nature of language as the French are having now. @Janice Campbell raises a good point. In this example, the neologism is necessary for clarity. @RonF That's exactly what I was thinking when I read "to boldly tell" Maybe the verb "to go" wasn't adequate for the purpose of this article? @Shane You're correct - these are verb particles. Another example would be "When he heard the crash, he looked up." @rpmason I laughed too! @goofy Examples like that are grammatically incorrect... but only until they're used often enough. ;) @Arnold Attard Great comments! @Johnny Chimpo There's a comment down the bottom of the post about this. (See asterisk) @Brian Get your facts straight! From Wikipedia: "Irregardless is primarily found in North America, most notably in Boston and surrounding areas, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, and was first acknowledged in 1912 by the Wentworth American Dialect Dictionary as originating from western Indiana" I think that's enough..
sana rizvi Says:
3/28/2008 3:22:11 AM
to enhance grammar skill and writing it is useful site.
Kelly Says:
3/24/2008 4:14:41 PM
Thanks for this! I used some of your points to continue an ongoing grammar argument with a friend. He still doesn't believe me, but it was nice to still have someone else on my side ;)
Katy Says:
3/23/2008 4:29:35 PM
some good tips ere, thanks! but those t-shirts are sooooo nerdy ;0)
Trevor Says:
3/19/2008 5:38:33 PM
I would add #11 -- Contrary to popular belief, it is acceptable in some cases to begin a sentence with a coordinating conjunction such as "but" or "so."
heather (errantdreams) Says:
3/19/2008 2:12:32 PM
Great post! Passive voice is often also the preferred voice for academic writing. I knew students who got in trouble in their science classes in college for *not* using passive voice.
Phil Says:
3/18/2008 5:31:51 PM
I beg to differ with your assertion that "irregardless is a word in the same way that ain't is a word". "Irregardless" is a twentieth-century conflation of "irrespective" and "regardless", doubtless coined by some poor soul with mediocre word retrieval skills. "Ain't" is an archaic contraction of "am not". If you consider "ain't" an informal word, how do you classify contractions, as a rule?
Witchwoman Says:
3/18/2008 2:11:21 PM
There is a new grammar trend sweeping America and I don't know if it's grammatically correct. If someone says "We are needing your help" instead of "We need your help" is that correct? Why would you use the former? It's kinda driving me nuts. I hear it on the news, co-workers, everywhere. Help :)
jay Says:
3/15/2008 5:36:28 PM
For what are you waiting.
Leah Says:
3/14/2008 2:15:10 PM
Can you say "more even," as in getting more revenge against someone who has already gotten 'even with' you? It seems that 'even' is a state of finality, as both sides have balanced out their actions against each other... so more even is like saying more perfect.
John Says:
3/13/2008 11:12:50 AM
weakljani, "uniform" and "ukele" start with a consonant sound - the same sound as in "you" and "yes".
weakljani Says:
3/13/2008 5:01:19 AM
Rule #4 says one uses an before words beginning with a vowel sound. The words "uniform" and "ukelele" don't follow this rule. Hmmm...
John Says:
3/11/2008 3:53:29 PM
1. Wow, there's a lot of hatred for "irregardless" here. Remember that there's a difference between describing a word and advising people to use the word. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries there were many other words that followed the same pattern as "irregardless": unboundless, undauntless, uneffectless, unfathomless. No one complained about them. 2. The idea that "unique means one" is an etymological fallacy. One of the meanings of "unique" is "unusual, rare" and has been for over a hundred years.
Jaigin Says:
3/10/2008 2:28:55 PM
"I am good" means the opposite of "I am bad." Good and bad in this example are adjectives. They modify the pronoun "I", so they're revealing the character, i.e. the goodness or badness of the speaker. . "I am well" means the opposite of "I am poorly" or "I am down". Now you have the adverbs "well" "poorly" or "down" which aren't talking about you but how you are, so they're modifying a verb. I know this is an analysis but the idea with language is to convey meaning and in the example there's actually quite a difference in meaning between "I am good" and "I am well." As we lose these difference in meaning, we become less able to express our ideas with clarity. Some would even say this could lead to less clarity in our ideas.
toneee Says:
3/10/2008 12:03:10 PM
Run-on sentences (I wasn't aware they were called that) are the absolute worst. I proofread for a living and the majority of our writers don't have any idea how to punctuate. I'm sure some of them are afraid of fullstops, as they often mash up two or three sentences into one big incoherent mess.
rpmason Says:
3/10/2008 9:29:57 AM
Wow, 100 comments. If you write in all active voice, there's a good chance your readers will start dozing off. During an edit, I purposefully go through my work and look for sentences that are suited for passive voice and switch them up.
Adam Says:
3/10/2008 3:00:11 AM
Joe said: "Unique means one. The number one offense in grammar is using unique with a modifier. “Very unique” should be a capital crime." While you're correct that many speakers misuse the added emphasis I disagree with you because levels of uniqueness can be compared. An item that is one of ten is less unique than one of ten thousand; 'very unique' would be one of a large group.
drawlr Says:
3/10/2008 12:10:10 AM
Grammar Girl is the result of the new grammar that started being taught in the 60s and 70s. The dumbing down of the English language.
chrissy Says:
3/9/2008 9:37:47 PM
Passive voice might not be correct but try to use it in a scholarly paper and you will get marked down for it. As has been pointed out, this only works for informal speech. Not for writing formally. So they're not really correct if you still can't use them in formal writing. For instance, you can butcher grammar however you want when you're speaking. If people do it enough, it will become accepted. That still doesn't make it okay for formal use, that's just how language evolves.
Jasmine Says:
3/9/2008 7:47:32 PM