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Gary B. Larson
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Garbl's Myths and Superstitions of Writing
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T U | V W X Y Z For decades and even centuries, respected authorities on writing, reading, editing, grammar and word usage have disputed the following 11 myths and superstitions of writing. Unfortunately, they continue to be taught and followed in education, business, law, and government, on the internet, and in conversations between parents and children. Superstitions: "unintelligent applications of an unintelligent dogma."--H.W. Fowler, 1926 Myth: Never split an infinitive. "There is no point in rearranging a sentence just to avoid splitting an infinitive unless it is an awkward one" -- Porter G. Perrin, 1965. Acceptable usage: He wanted to really impress his boss. Other references: Lounsbury, 1908; Fowler, 1926; Leonard, 1932; Curme, 1947; Evans & Evans, 1957; Lewis, 1961; Bernstein, 1965; Follett, 1966; Skillin, 1974; Gowers, 1988; Johnson, 1991; Stott, 1991; Lauchman, 1993; American Heritage, 1996; O'Connor, 1996; Lederer & Dowis, 1999; Sabin, 1999; Lovinger, 2000; Strunk & White, 2000; Trimble, 2000; Wallraff, 2000; Walsh, 2000; Associated Press, 2002; Bryson, 2002; Merriam-Webster, 2002; Chicago, 2003; Garner, 2003; Williams, 2003 | Garbl Myth: Never begin a sentence with But or And. "One cannot help wondering whether those who teach such a monstrous doctrine ever read any English themselves." -- Charles Allen Lloyd, 1938 Acceptable usage: But don't overdo starting sentences with conjunctions. They'll lose their punch. Other references on and: Lowth, 1782; Bryant, 1947; Fowler & Gowers, 1965; Follett, 1966; Amis, 1977; Copperud, 1980; Morris & Morris, 1985; Gowers, 1988; Johnson, 1991; Stott, 1991; Burchfield, 1992; American Heritage, 1996; O'Connor, 1996; Lederer & Dowis, 1999; Sabin, 1999; Lovinger, 2000; Wallraff, 2000; Walsh, 2000; Bryson, 2002; Merriam-Webster, 2002; Chicago, 2003; Garner, 2003; Williams, 2003 | Garbl Other references on but: Baker, 1962; Pence & Emery, 1963; Payne, 1965; Follett, 1966; Amis, 1977; Gowers, 1988; Johnson, 1991; Stott, 1991; American Heritage, 1996; O'Connor, 1996; Lederer & Dowis, 1999; Sabin, 1999; Trimble, 2000; Wallraff, 2000; Walsh, 2000; Merriam-Webster, 2002; Chicago, 2003; Garner, 2003; Williams, 2003 | Garbl Myth: Never end a sentence with a preposition. "In English prepositions have been used as terminal words in a sentence since the days of Chaucer, and in that position they are completely idiomatic." -- Theodore M. Bernstein, 1971 Other references: Lowth, 1782; Bryant, 1947; Evans & Evans, 1957; Fowler & Gowers, 1965; Skillin, 1974; Gowers, 1988; Stott, 1991; American Heritage, 1996; O'Connor, 1996; Lederer & Dowis, 1999; Sabin, 1999; Lovinger, 2000; Trimble, 2000; Wallraff, 2000; Woods, 2001; Bryson, 2002; Merriam-Webster, 2002; Chicago, 2003; Garner, 2003; Williams, 2003 | Garbl Myth: Never use between with more than two objects. "Between essentially does apply to only two, but sometimes the 'two' relationship is present when more than two elements are involved." -- Theodore M. Bernstein, 1977 Acceptable usage: Officials scheduled meetings between the community college and the Lake Washington, Bellevue and Issaquah school districts. Other references: Lowth, 1782; Bryant, 1947; Fowler & Gowers, 1965; Skillin, 1974; Gowers, 1988; OED, 1989; Johnson, 1991; Lederer & Dowis, 1999; Sabin, 1999; Lovinger, 2000; Wallraff, 2000; Strunk & White, 2002; Walsh, 2000; Associated Press, 2002; Bryson, 2002; Merriam-Webster, 2002; Chicago, 2003; Garner, 2003 | Garbl Myth: Never split a verb phrase. "Because of their misconception as to what a split infinitive really is, some have reached the erroneous conclusion that an adverbial modifier must never be placed between parts of a compound verb phase" -- R.W. Pence & D.W. Emery, 1963 Other references: Lowth, 1782; Brown, 1852; Fowler, 1926; Baker, 1938; Partridge, 1942; Bernstein, 1965; Follett, 1966; Skillin, 1974; O'Connor, 1996; Sabin, 1999; Lovinger, 2000; Trimble, 2000; Walsh, 2000; Associated Press, 2002; Bryson, 2002; Chicago, 2003; Garner, 2003. "Your style will obviously be warmer and truer to your personality if you use contractions like 'I'll' and 'won't' when they fit comfortably into what you're writing." -- William Zinsser, 1985 Other references: Lowth, 1782; Bryant, 1947; Flesch, 1967; Ewing, 1974; Stott, 1991; O'Connor, 1996; Sabin, 1999; Trimble, 2000; Garner, 2003 | Garbl Myth: Never use the first-person pronouns I and me. [I]f you want to write like a professional just about the first thing you have to do is get used to the first person singular. ... Never mind the superstitious notion that it's immodest to do so. It just isn't so." -- Rudolf Flesch, 1958 Acceptable usage: The horse carried Debbie and me. Debbie and I rode the horse. Other references: Lowth, 1782; Bryant, 1947; Stott, 1991; Lauchman, 1993; O'Connor, 1999; Trimble, 2000; Chicago, 2003; Garner, 2003 | Garbl Myth: Never use since to mean because. "There is a groundless notion current in both the lower schools and in the world of affairs that since has an exclusive reference to time and therefore cannot be used as a casual conjunction. ... No warrant exists for avoiding this usage, which goes back, beyond Chaucer, to Anglo-Saxon. ..." -- Wilson Follett, 1966 Other references: Copperud, 1980; O'Connor, 1996; Walsh, 2000; Chicago, 2003; Garner, 2003; Williams, 2003 | Garbl Myth: Never begin a sentence with Because. "So novel and absurd is this superstition that seemingly no authority on writing has countered it in print. It appears to result from concern about fragments." -- Bryan A. Garner, 2003 Other references: Lowth, 1782; Bryant, 1947; American Heritage, 1996; Merriam-Webster, 2002; Williams, 2003 | Garbl Myth: Never write a paragraph containing only a single sentence. "[T]o interpose a one-sentence paragraph at intervals -- at longish intervals -- is prudent." -- Eric Partridge, 1942 Other references: Hill, 1896; Lauchman, 1993; Lovinger, 2000; Trimble, 2000; Garner, 2003 | Garbl Myth: Never refer to the reader as you. "Keep a running conversation with your reader. Use the second-person pronoun whenever you can. Translate everything into you language." -- Rudolf Flesch, 1962 Other references: Olson, DeGeorge & Ray, 1985; Trimble, 2000; Garner, 2003 | Garbl Back to top ReferencesBooks by the many of the authors below are available at Garbl's Writing Bookshelf.
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T U | V W X Y Z Back to top [ Home ] [ Style Manual ] [ Plain English Guide ] [ Concise Writing Guide ] [ Writing Bookshelf ] [ What's New ] Compiled by Gary B. Larson of Port Townsend, Washington, garbltoo@gmail.com. Updated June 9, 2008. |
