3 Dead Rules
Language changes and develops with the people speaking it. We do not speak the same in 2024 as we did in 1624. Not even the same as we did fifty years ago! Conventions and meanings change. This means we may have been taught rules that are no longer important. And somehow, some of us have been taught things that were never rules in the first place.
I want to go through some of these grammar “rules” that aren’t rules at all so we can stop worrying about them.
1. You can’t end a sentence with a preposition.
Sometimes this one is true. Let me break it down. If the preposition can be deleted off the end of the sentence and the meaning is maintained, that preposition needs to go. If the meaning of the sentence changes without the preposition, keep it there. Here’s an example:
Where are you at?
Where are you from?
The first question ends with at (a preposition). If we delete at, we are left with “Where are you?” which means the same thing as the original question. In this case, the preposition should be deleted because we don’t need it. Where are you?
The second question ends with from (a preposition). If we delete it, we are left with “Where are you?” which refers to a current location, not their location of origin like the original question was asking. This is a completely different question; therefore, keeping from at the end of this sentence is okay! Where are you from?
And yes, you could instead say, “From where did you come?” or some other nonsense, but that’s weird. Don’t be weird.
See CMOS 5.180 in the Chicago Manual of Style to learn more about this dead rule.
2. You can’t start a sentence with a conjunction.
This was never a rule. Just no. Start a sentence with a conjunction as much as you want—as long as it makes sense. Even in formal writing, you’re good to go. Keep in mind that starting a sentence with a conjunction is often like starting a sentence in the middle of a thought, so if it isn’t clear what you’re referring to, try rewording. See CMOS 5.203 for more info about this one.
3. Singular they is not okay.
They has been used to refer to singular nouns since the beginning of forever.
The nurse is here, but they need to wash their hands first.
The student who wins should collect their prize in the auditorium.
This works because we don’t know the gender of the subject, so instead of saying it (the other non-gendered pronoun) to refer to them and their things, we use they. It’s that simple. So this means even if someone is named Sarah (a traditionally female name), they may not be female. Until we know their pronouns by asking directly, they works just fine. And when we do ask, Sarah might say they use they/them pronouns, which is totally not a big deal because we were referring to them as a they before we knew their pronouns anyway.
See CMOS 5.48 for more information on this.
Stop holding onto old English; learn and grow with it. What other dead rules do you know of?
If you need help with these things, contact me for editing!