The Grammar Myths Clinic (Split Infinitives &c.)

Some "rules" get repeated so often that everyone believes them — but they're not actually rules at all. They're grammar superstitions: old habits handed down like schoolyard rumours, often invented hundreds of years ago by writers who admired Latin and wanted English to behave the same way. It doesn't. And if you keep obeying these myths, your writing goes stiff and wooden — which is the exact opposite of what grammar is for. Knowing which rules are real and which are myths saves you from twisting your sentences into knots for no reason, and lets you spend your energy on the things that genuinely change your meaning.

Myth 1: "Never start a sentence with and or but."

You can — good writers do it all the time for effect. And it can make a point land harder. Open almost any novel, newspaper or top-marked essay and you'll find sentences beginning with And and But all over the place. They give your writing flow, contrast, and the occasional bit of punch. The only thing to avoid is stringing five in a row — "And… And… And…" — but that's overdoing it, not a broken rule. One quick check: if the sentence would still stand on its own with the And or But deleted, you're fine.

Myth 2: "Never end a sentence with a preposition."

"What are you waiting for?" is perfectly natural — and far better than the twisted "For what are you waiting?", which sounds like a Victorian letter. Prepositions are the little relationship words: to, with, for, about, of, on, in. The myth says you mustn't leave one at the end, so "the person I spoke to" is supposedly wrong and you're meant to write "the person to whom I spoke." Nobody talks like that, and you don't need to write like that either. Modern English — including careful, formal writing — ends sentences on prepositions all the time when it's the clearest option. This myth was borrowed from Latin hundreds of years ago and never really fitted English.

Myth 3: "Never split an infinitive."

An infinitive is to + verb (to go, to run, to understand). Splitting it means popping a word — usually an adverb — in the middle: to boldly go. There's nothing wrong with it, and sometimes it's the clearest way to say something. The most famous line in all of science fiction, "to boldly go where no one has gone before," is a split infinitive doing its job beautifully. The reason the myth exists is, again, Latin: in Latin an infinitive is a single word that can't be split, so someone decided English shouldn't split its two-word version either. But English isn't Latin, and putting a short word in the middle is often exactly where it belongs.

Why these myths stuck around

It's worth knowing where these came from, because it makes them much easier to ignore. Back in the 1700s, a handful of grammar writers admired Latin and Greek and tried to make English copy them. Latin infinitives can't be split, so English "shouldn't." Latin didn't leave prepositions at the end, so English "mustn't." Those preferences got copied into advice books, the advice books got copied into schoolbooks, and teacher after teacher passed them on for two and a half centuries — until a preference started to feel like a law. But repeating something for a long time doesn't make it true. When people actually study how skilled writers write — in novels, newspapers and serious essays — they find these three "rules" broken constantly, on purpose, because breaking them makes the writing clearer.

What ARE real rules?

Plenty of things genuinely matter, and it's worth telling them apart from the myths. Real rules include:

• Subject–verb agreement: the dogs run, not the dogs runs.
• Apostrophes: it's (it is) versus its (belonging).
• Sentence boundaries: not gluing two full sentences together with just a comma.
• Spelling the words correctly.
• Double negatives in formal writing: "I didn't do anything," not "I didn't do nothing."

The myths above are about style, not correctness. Breaking a real rule can genuinely confuse your reader or change your meaning. Breaking a myth just sounds slightly old-fashioned to a few people — and usually not even that.

The fix: know the difference

When someone gives you a "rule," ask one question: does breaking it actually cause confusion, or does it just sound old-fashioned to some people? If breaking it muddles your meaning, it's a real rule — keep it. If it only sounds a bit unfamiliar, it's a myth — write the clear, natural way. And here's a handy move if a teacher marks one of these: politely ask whether it's an actual error or just a preference. Sometimes a school or exam board prefers the conservative style, and that's fine — you can choose to follow it for them, the same way you'd wear the right uniform. That's a smart choice about your reader, not proof the myth is real.

Why it matters

This matters because chasing fake rules is exhausting and it makes your writing worse. Every second you spend rearranging a sentence to avoid ending on for is a second not spent making your idea clear and interesting. Worse, the "corrected" version is usually stiffer and harder to read than what you started with — so you lose twice. Meanwhile the rules that really count, like apostrophes and agreement, are the ones a marker actually circles. So the goal isn't to break rules for the sake of it; it's to know which fights are worth having. Trust clear, natural English, save your energy for the real rules, and don't let a two-hundred-year-old superstition boss your sentences around.

Quick check

Myth or real rule?

1. "You can't start a sentence with because."
2. "A subject and verb must agree."
3. "You must never split an infinitive."
4. "It's and its mean different things."
5. "You can never end a sentence with a preposition."

Answers

1. Myth — you can, as long as you finish the sentence. "Because it rained, we stayed in."
2. Real rule — the dogs run, not the dogs runs.
3. Myth — to boldly go is perfectly fine, and often clearest.
4. Real rule — it's = it is; its = belonging. Mixing them up is a genuine error.
5. Myth — "What are you waiting for?" is natural and correct.

Where next

• Why Does My Writing Sound Stiff or Wordy? — style vs correctness.
• Ending a Sentence With a Preposition — myth 2, in detail.
• Double Negatives — a genuine thing to watch, not a myth.