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Descriptivism isn’t “anything goes” | Motivated Grammar

https://motivatedgrammar.wordpress.com/2011/11/07/descriptivism-isnt-anything-goes

Descriptivism isn’t “anything goes”. November 7, 2011 in English. Questions to the reader. One of the most common claims levelled against descriptivists, and against linguists of every stripe, is that our linguistic philosophy amounts to “anything goes”. Whenever anyone says something, the thought is, we will take it as a valid sentence in their language. But undeniably ungrammatical utterances like These is a big problem. Do I think they’re ungrammatical? In two of his posts. But it’s important en...

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Slow down a second | Motivated Grammar

https://motivatedgrammar.wordpress.com/2009/08/16/slow-down-a-second

Slow down a second. August 16, 2009 in adjectives. Have you ever had to confront a dirty truth about one of your childhood heroes? I graduated from high school and went on to college at Wilson’s alma mater, excited about all the stuff on campus named for him or otherwise honoring him. And then, during my junior year, I started reading about how Wilson was actually a pretty heavy-duty racist, even for his time. (This came from reading Lies My Teacher Told Me. Yes, you read that right. 1b) *Varla insists o...

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The seductive fear that you’re using words wrong | Motivated Grammar

https://motivatedgrammar.wordpress.com/2013/12/05/the-seductive-fear-that-youre-using-words-wrong

The seductive fear that you’re using words wrong. December 5, 2013 in bad arguments. You wonder, could it be I’m using it wrong? That niggling uncertainty kicks in, the same niggling uncertainty that’s pushed you to educate yourself all these years. It creeps further, darkening your mind. Have I been using words wrong? Your breath quickens — how many others have thought heard me say them before this stranger came up and told me I was wrong? Have I used one of them lately? Have I been judged? Which she de...

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The Fortnight Before: 01/18/13 | Motivated Grammar

https://motivatedgrammar.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/the-fortnight-before-011813

The Fortnight Before: 01/18/13. January 18, 2013 in et cetera. I’ve been meaning to set up some sort of occasional round-up of interesting pieces on the rest of the Internet, and with the new year, there’s no better time to start. I’ll be posting these (hopefully consistently) every other Friday, starting today. This edition is going to go a bit outside the past 14 days; I hope this doesn’t sour you to it. A couple links with commentary:. Jonathon Owen’s post on relative pronouns. That (journalistic) edi...

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Arguments | Motivated Grammar

https://motivatedgrammar.wordpress.com/arguments

Have another bad argument? 1: Usage From Years Past. Perhaps the most common claim of prescriptivists is that they’re battening the hatches of our language against the ravages of our ill-educated age. This claim comes through in arguments that a certain form should be preferred because it is what the great writers of years past used. Oh, it’s a seductive mistress, this argument. Wouldn’t we all like to write like those great names of yore? 8220; His example,. I should not have succeeded without his help.

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Debunked Myths | Motivated Grammar

https://motivatedgrammar.wordpress.com/debunked-myths

Below, you’ll find a list of all the various grammar myths that have been discussed here on Motivated Grammar, with links to the discussions. All of a sudden. Vs all of the sudden. Used in inanimate possession. Apostrophes with final s/z. Can’t help but. English doesn’t follow Latin grammar. Formal language as ideal language. Gender-neutral language isn’t something new. New Year’s Day. New words in a dictionary as a death-knell for English. Vs to no end. One of the only. The reason is because. Rejecting ...

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Style | Motivated Grammar

https://motivatedgrammar.wordpress.com/style

Look, one other thing to keep in mind is that a lot of the stuff you’ll read in prescriptivist screeds are matters of style. There is a lot of information that should be thought of as virtually unbreakable rules of grammar — that English word order is subject-verb-object and not object-verb-subject is not a matter of style, but rather a rule of grammar. My personal preference for saying (1) instead of (2):. My favorite restaurant is located off of the highway. Between the three of us. You Don't Say.

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Links | Motivated Grammar

https://motivatedgrammar.wordpress.com/links

Here will go the links to people who I agree/disagree with. Here are those who polemics I denounce, and those who also sort through the vitriol to determine what’s really right. And some standard-bearers whose opinions you should be familiar with, right or wrong. This list is still expanding, as is probably obvious. Jack Lynch’s Guide to Grammar and Style. Paul Brians’s list of errors. Merriam-Webster Dictionary of English Usage. The Elements of Style. 1918) – predecessor to that little book foist ...

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All of what sudden? | Motivated Grammar

https://motivatedgrammar.wordpress.com/2011/07/20/all-of-what-sudden

All of what sudden? July 20, 2011 in English. All of a sudden. All of the sudden. Today I get to pretend to be a big-time radio DJ, a regular Casey Kasem or Delilah*, by sending out this post by request to Mike Pope. One of this blog’s earliest followers. (If you’ve got a similar simmering question, drop a line at motivatedgrammar at gmail dot com. And I’ll try to look into it.) He suggested I look into the debate between all of a. And all of the. And it turned out to be a pretty interesting topic. On Go...

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Singular “they” and the many reasons why it’s correct | Motivated Grammar

https://motivatedgrammar.wordpress.com/2009/09/10/singular-they-and-the-many-reasons-why-its-correct

Singular “they” and the many reasons why it’s correct. September 10, 2009 in agreement. Suppose you were reading and came to the following line:. 8220;She kept her head and kicked her shoes off, as everybody ought to do who falls into deep water in their clothes.”. Would you …. A) continue reading, because that’s a perfectly acceptable sentence, or. B) throw a tantrum and insist that the author is an imbecile speeding the wholesale destruction of the English language? Geoffrey Chaucer is widely credited ...