Evolving Grammar Rules

 The Grammar Rules Are Evolving or Becoming Extinct!

Are you hairsplitting grammar police based on the existing/ traditional prescriptive grammar or gravitating more towards casual/ colloquial descriptive grammar? As we are living in the era of myriads of fast-paced communication venues such as instant text messages and lots of online conversations, languages and their grammar rules are fast evolving today. English is no the exception.

Let us go over some of the English grammar rules that people ignore quite often times and are normally accepted today. Even the following examples might be out of their styles or seem outdated in any time soon. One thing you need to remember is that quite a lot of academic or formal writers are still expected to follow the existing/ old school grammar rules.

 

1.   Prescriptive Grammar: Don’t end a sentence with a preposition.

Vs. Descriptive Grammar: Yes, you can end a sentence with a prepostition.

 

E.g., Winston Churchill said “This is the sort of bloody nonsense up with which I will not put.”  

Today, you can hardly ever catch people in real life say that way.

 

You can say “Where are you at?” instead of “Where are you?”

Or “Where are you going to?” instead of “Where are you going?”

 

    2.   Prescriptive Grammar: preposition + whom 

vs. Descriptive Grammar: preposition + who

You never substitute WHO for WHOM after a preposition? Unless you are a caveman, you might have heard so many people use WHO instead of WHOM after a preposition. Yes, you can say WHO.

E.g., You bought this book for who?

        It depends on who you ask.

 

    3.   Prescriptive Grammar: You can’t start a sentence with a conjunction.

Vs. Descriptive Grammar: You can start a sentence with a conjunction.

Your writing teacher must have taught you NEVER to start a sentence with a conjunction, such as because, but, and, however, like. Today, this rule has become obsolete. Starting a sentence with a conjunction could make it sound more dramatic in your writing or speech.

 

E.g., Emma ate up the entire bowl of pasta, then devoured the side dish of mashed potatoes for dinner. But, she was still craving mud pie!

 

 4.   Prescriptive Grammar: Acronyms should be spelled out first when first appeared in writings.

Vs. Descriptive Grammar: Acronyms can stand alone from the beginning.

 

Frequently used acronyms appear in texting, social media posts, and even in some conversations.

E.g., BRB (Be Right Back), OMG (Oh My Gosh!), TBD (To Be Decided), LOL (Laughing Out Loud), and so on.

 

BTW, for formal writing, or any time you are relaying information that is not common knowledge, your best bet is to use the traditional/ classic rules for acronyms.

 

5.   Prescriptive Grammar: Between YOU and ME

Vs. Between YOU and I

 

You must have been taught to put the objective pronoun ME, HIM, HER, US, THEM when saying/ writing “between you and ________”. But informal writing makes use of between you and I quite frequently, and there are those grammarians who also make the case for the use of this phrase in more formal instances too.

 

E.g., Between you and I, this will remain under the hat ‘till we die.

(*source: dictionary.com  & clearvoice.com)