20 Important Rules for the English Language
A quick and quirky ‘Top 20′ list of the most common rules broken in the English Language.
- Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
- Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
- And don’t start a sentence with a conjuction.
- It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
- Avoid cliches like the plague.
- Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
- Be more or less specific.
- Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
- No sentence fragments.
- Contractions aren’t necessary and shouldn’t be used.
- One should never generalise.
- Don’t use no double negatives.
- Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
- Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary.
- Never use big words when a diminutive one would suffice.
- Kill all exclamation marks!!!!
- Use all words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
- Use the apostrophe in it’s proper place and omit it when its not needed.
- Puns are for children, not groan readers.
- Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.
Avoid making yourself look dumb
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18 Comments
Generally this is great, but…
Commas aren’t necessary in the example but commas are certainly a necessity.
There is also a time and a place for contractions - and generalisations, and exclaimations. Repeated punctuation is bad bad bad. (Three periods in a row is actually an ellipsis and counts as one.)
Parenthetical remarks can be appropriate (though they are sometimes better to be a proper sentence).
But, yeah… generally good advice. ;-)
Is this a joke? I’m not talking about the humorous writing style, which is fine. I’m talking about the rules themselves.
Don’t end sentences with prepositions? WRONG. DO end a sentence with a preposition when the effect is pleasing and natural.
Don’t start sentences with conjunctions? WRONG. A conjunction is often the perfect start to a sentence.
Split infinitives and sentence fragments may also be fine in the hands of a competent writer.
Which I guess is what it boils down to: *any* rule is trumped by a competent writer who knows when and how to do so. Rules do have their place as useful guidelines. But we also need to realize when a “rule” is antiquated or was never a good rule in the first place. (I’m looking at you, “no final preposition” and “no beginning conjunction” pretenders to ruledom.)
Splot, this list doesn’t appear to have been written for your “competent writer”. Rather a starting point for things to avoid when wanting to write formal or ‘proper’ English.
Personally, I hate it when someone ends a sentence with a preposition, regardless of the setting. I find sentence fragments are horrible in anything other than creative writing. Just plain wrong.
Rules are made to be broken but it’s best to know the rules before you do break them. I guess that’s your point. And I, for one, think its a good list to start with!!! (All puns intended.)
Dont spel rongly.
Some how…. I think, but I’m not sure…. but some how I think the humor was lost on the previous posters. And I’d like to not that I’ve been rong about such thinks before ;)
You forgot my favorite!
“The passive voice should never be used.”
:-)
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i study in school i need english language in my live because i like this language
Is it not reality than british write horrible english? :p Just sthing i read from official reports of cambridge university. lol.
Very interesting tip. If you wanna read 10 tips for learning english take a look at http://englishexperts.blogspot.com/.
How about the rule of never starting a sentence with a reflexive pronoun? In India a popular way of introducing oneself is, ” Myself is Ram Kuamr from Bonbay.”
Sorry, it’s RAM KUMAR form BOMBAY!
How about the rule of never starting a sentence with a reflexive pronoun? In India a popular way of introducing oneself is, ” Myself is Ram Kumar from Bombay.”
What is the way to introduce oneself in India, among college students, for instance: what are the words, what the body posture, any shaking of the hands?
about English language structure
blah blah blah all your comments are irritating can’t you just follow the tips don’t be so boastful not all people are good at english so if you have a probelm keep it to yourself
w0w… itz nice ah…
i nid this in scholl bec. this is my proj. tnx 4 dis..
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