 | This is an essay on grammar and usage myths. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
 | This page in a nutshell: Many so-called "rules" about grammar and usage really are not rules at all. |
Most of us, at some point in our schooling, came under the tutelage of a Miss Snodgrass (or Sister Mary Catherine) who drilled into us any number of absolute rules of grammar and usage, many of them of questionable validity. But today it is widely recognized that it's no sin to begin a sentence with a conjunction or to now and then split an infinitive, and that a preposition is an acceptable thing to end a sentence with – despite what Miss Snodgrass told us in the seventh grade. Nonetheless, many editors remain in thrall of various lies Miss Snodgrass told them, and now and then one runs into an editor who has adopted one or more of these misconceptions as a grammar and usage hobbyhorse about which they feel compelled to educate their fellow editors.
Some forms of usage discussed here may have very narrow application in Wikipedia articles. But that's not because they violate Miss Snodgrass' Rulez.