Hi I’m Elliott. This is Mental Floss on YouTube. Today I’m going to tell you some
misconceptions about the English language and grammar. Keep in mind that a lot of people
live by these rules, which is totally cool. The moral of this episode is that even grammar experts
disagree on some of this stuff. So, it’s just kind of fun to talk about.
Misconception #1: Never begin a sentence with a conjunction, like “but.”
I’m going to go ahead and quote directly from the Chicago Manual of Style on this one...
“There is a widespread belief—one with no historical or grammatical foundation—that
it is an error to begin a sentence with a conjunction such as 'and', 'but', or 'so'.
In fact, a substantial percentage (often as many as 10 percent) of the sentences in first-rate
writing begin with conjunctions. It has been so for centuries, and even the most conservative
grammarians have followed this practice.”
Misconception #2: Paragraphs must be a certain number of sentences.
You may have heard that in order for a paragraph to be a paragraph, it must have a certain
minimum number of sentences, like three or five. But, a paragraph really only needs at
least one sentence and one main idea. In fact, a paragraph can just be a single sentence,
like the ones you often see in books and newspapers. According to Martin Cutts, in the Oxford Guide
to Plain English, “If you can say what you want to say in a single sentence that lacks
a direct connection with any other sentence, just stop there and go on to a new paragraph.
There’s no rule against it.” Go crazy guys.
Misconception #3: 2 There’s a clear rule for where to put the apostrophe in a possessive
singular noun ending in the letter “s.” So, let’s say you’re trying to write out
“the boss’s report.” Do you spell boss “B-O-S-S-apostrophe-S” or “B-O-S-S-apostrophe”?
Well, experts disagree on which is correct. If you’re writing in Associated Press style,
you should go with the second one. But other style books recommend the extra S after the
apostrophe. You pretty much get to choose as long as you stay consistent.
Misconception #4: Don’t end a sentence with a proposition.
According to Fowler’s Modern English Usage, “One of the most persistent myths about
prepositions in English is that they properly belong before the word or words they govern
and should not be placed at the end of a clause or sentence." This rule was invented in the
17th century, but modern grammar experts acknowledge that sometimes a sentence is clearest with
a preposition at the end of it. For example: “You should cheer up.” and “You’ve
been lied to.” You haven't been, that's the sentence.
Misconception #5: Don’t split infinitives. In English, an infinitive is usually the form
of a verb starting with “to,” like “to walk” or “to eat.” Some believe that
it’s wrong to stick a word in between the “to” and the verb itself (like, “to
quickly eat”). This rule became widespread thanks to Henry Alford, a 19th century scholar,
who decided that splitting infinitives was "entirely unknown" to English speakers (ignoring
the fact that even Shakespeare was known to split an infinitive). Nowadays, most grammar
guides will tell you to avoid doing this when possible. But, there are times when it’s
okay. For example, the famous Star Trek line, “To boldly go where no man has gone before.”
Misconception #6: “Caesarian sections” are named after Julius Caesar.
Actually, Caesar wasn't the first person born via c-section, as the story goes. And many
experts claim that he wasn’t even born that way because back then, c-sections were only
performed if the mother had died during childbirth. And we know his mother lived for years after
his birth. Pliny said that it was actually one of Julius’ ancestors who was born this
way, giving the family its name -- after the Latin “caedo,” meaning to cut. It’s
also possible that the Caesars were named for another feature typically associated with
that name, like a thick head of hair or grey eyes.
Misconception #7: You are not “good,” you are “well.”
You’re allowed to answer “How are you?” with either “I’m good” or “I’m well.”
That’s because “am” is what’s known as a “linking verb,” which means it should
be followed by an adjective. Both “good” and “well” can act as adjectives after
a linking verb. Mic drop.
Misconception #8: Only use “whose” to refer to people.
Many people will tell you that you should only use “whose” when you’re talking
about people, not things. For this one, we don’t need to look any further than the
Oxford English Dictionary, which claims that “whose” has been used as the possessive
form of both “what” and “who” for centuries. So, it’s totally okay for me
to say that this is a show whose host is named Elliott. That's me.
Misconception #9: “Literally” can never mean “figuratively.”
This might be the most controversial one on the list, so I’m going to start with a quote
from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: “But there was a change in Gatsby that was
simply confounding. He literally glowed.” There’s also a nice quote from The Adventures
of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain: “Tom was literally rolling in wealth.” Which knowing Tom Sawyer,
that could have been true.
My point is that you can’t blame teenagers for misusing the word “literally.” Authors
have been using the word “literally” to mean “figuratively” for a very long time.
Literally. Nowadays, the Merriam-Webster dictionary lists two definitions for the word: 1) in
a literal sense or manner, and 2) in effect.
Misconception #10: “Decimate” means “to kill one in ten.”
A lot of people will scold you for using “decimate” to mean “destroy.” They claim that word’s
original definition is “to kill one in ten,” so that’s what it means. Well, it turns
out, when the word emerged in the mid-17th century, it meant both “to put to death
(or destroy) one of every ten” AND “to tithe.” Etymologists don’t know which
meaning came first, so the “original definition” argument isn’t a good one. Plus, the Merriam-Webster
dictionary definition of “decimate” includes “to reduce drastically especially in number”
alongside the two original meanings.
Thanks for watching Misconceptions on Mental Floss on YouTube, which is made with the help
of all these nice people. If you have a topic for an upcoming Misconceptions episode that
you’d like to see, just leave it in comments and we'll take a look at them. I'll see you
next week! Bye!