Grammar Divas Are Back In The House - Rules Or Not?

How thrilled am I that the Grammar Divas agreed to come back for Round Two of their informative blog? Please help me give a great big M & M welcome to Annie Oortman and Darlene Buchholz.

Good morning, everyone. We’re the Grammar Divas! Two fiction writers with a grammar fetish.

Thanks, Liz, for inviting us back to your blog. Today, we thought we talk about a few grammar rules our English teachers drilled into us that have become flexible over the years.

Everyone has his or her own feelings about each one of these. Feel free to share yours, please.

To Split or Not To Split… That Is The Question
An infinitive is the form of a verb that comes after to as in to love, to cheat, or to kill. A split infinitive is when another word (usually an adverb, sometimes an adverbial phrase) comes between to and the verb.

To boldly go where no man has gone before. (The best-know example in the world… err… universe.)

The population is expected to more than double in the next ten years.

For the record, no authoritative grammar and usage text exists that forbids split infinitives.

Remy decided to quickly remove Natasha’s dress.

Now, don’t go all crazy and start splitting infinitives willy-nilly just ‘cause you can. A reader should never be confused about the picture your writing paints. Split infinitives can easily distort that picture. So, if you can move the offending word without losing the gist of your sentence, go for it.

Remy decided quickly to remove Natasha’s dress.

OR

Remy decided to remove Natasha’s dress quickly.

Okay, we fixed the split infinitive, but we didn’t clear up the confusion. Did Remy remove Natasha’s dress quickly or did he make the decision to remove the dress quickly?

Remy decided to remove Natasha’s dress before she changed her mind.

If you have to mangle a sentence to avoid splitting an infinitive, DON’T.

In an attempt to rescue the hostages, the SWAT team decided brazenly to raid the plane. = Awkward

In an attempt to rescue the hostages, the SWAT team decided to brazenly raid the plain. = Better

Split or not to split? It’s up to you.


Starting Sentences With Conjunctions
Most of us were taught not to start a sentence with a conjunction because we could possibility create a sentence fragment, which isn’t a grammatically complete unit.

(On a side note, fragments in fiction are an acceptable style technique. Well done, they add to the professionalism of a polished manuscript. Poorly done, however, they come off like a tryout for the talent show at the annual office Christmas party. For more, check out “Intentional Fragments: Stylish or Fiction Faux Pas” at www.grammardivas.com.)

Know the Fanboys? No, they’re not the latest rap artist or an entry into the rising number of vampire tv shows. (For the record, there is a move called “Fanboys” and a website, but neither has anything to do with the topic at hand.)

Fanboys is an acronym for seven conjunctions that you can start a sentence with as long as you’re very careful. The key is to make sure you include the main clause the word refers to either in the preceding sentence or later in the same sentence.

F—For
A—And
N—Nor
B—But
O—Or
Y—Yet
S—So

Incorrect: And smart, too.

Correct: She was a nice girl. And smart, too.

Simply follow with a comma? No, unless there’s an aside that needs one.

Incorrect: And she loved her job.

Correct: And, despite the extra work, she loved her job.

What about other popular conjunctions? Because is a subordinating conjunction meaning for the reason that or since. It’s okay as a sentence starter as long as you include the main clause later in the sentence.

Because no one believed Steve was gone, no one reported him missing.

Hopefully is an adverb meaning it is hoped (that). Without a comma, it means a moderate amount of hope. With a comma, it means an extreme amount of hope.

Hopefully CatyAnn’s husband would arrive soon.

Hopefully, CatyAnn’s husband was alive.

However is a conjunctive adverb. Without a comma, it means in whatever manner or to what extent. With a comma, it means nevertheless.

However Pollyanna tried, she couldn’t get her mind off Darnell.

Pollyanna couldn’t get her mind off Darnell. However, she wasn’t trying hard enough.

There were (there are/there is) is not grammatically incorrect as a starter, but tends to make your writing weak and boring. It’s easier simply to rewrite.

There were two angry male voices behind the door. VS. Two male voices argued behind the door.

Start a sentence with a conjunction? Go for it, but be careful.


Ending A Sentence With A Preposition
The Grammar Divas butt heads on this one a lot. (A preposition links a noun or pronoun to another word in a sentence and usually indicates direction. Think to, with, from, at, in, near, by, beside, above, and about.)

“Don’t do it,” Annie says. “Simply fix it.” She recognizes that ending a sentence with a preposition isn’t a grammar horror. However, if the goal in fiction writing is to write cleanly and seamlessly and to avoid pulling your reader out of the story, why do it? Since most people believe ending a sentence with a preposition is incorrect, they’ll hone in on the writing and pull themselves out of the story. Since fixing the issue is easy, why not fix it?

Marilyn wondered where her husband had disappeared to.

Marilyn wondered where her husband had disappeared.

A preposition is a terrible thing to end a sentence with.

Ending a sentence with a preposition is a terrible thing to do.

“Wait just a minute, girlfriend,” Darlene says. Although she doesn’t disagree (at least in theory) with Annie’s premise, she’d never encourage anyone to make such a broad stroke of judgment. Ending a sentence with a preposition does not necessarily weaken an idea or sentence structure.

“If love be the food of love, play on;” William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night

“The smallest worm will turn being trodden on.” William Shakespeare, King Henry VI, Pt. III

“Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time; for that’s the stuff life is made of.” Ben Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanac

Darlene wants you to consider the ending-a-sentence-with-a-preposition rule as a guideline only. But like all guidelines you might decide to ignore, you have a responsibility to know what you’re doing or the rule will come back to bite you in the you-know-what. So do it as long as you keep the meaning clear and don’t create an odd-sounding sentence.

End a sentence with a preposition? It’s up to you.

(For the complete fight… err… discussion, check out “Ending a Sentence with A Preposition… Grammar Divas Point/Counter Point” at www.grammardivas.com.)

What do you think? Split or not to split? Start a sentence with a conjunction? End a sentence with a preposition? We’d love to your experiences and opinions.

Also, feel free to ask a grammar question if you have one. Darlene and I are here to help.