Suzannah Windsor Freeman is a writer and blogger at her site, Write It Sideways.
I recently came across this amusing post on Humorous Reminders of Common Writing Mistakes, which made me ask myself this very question.
Reading through the list of writing faux pas, I kept vacillating between, “Oh, I would never do that!” and, “Uh oh, I do that all the time.” Once, I would have referred to myself as a definite Word Nerd (because I must admit to the guilty pleasure of reading the dictionary).
Today, I’m not so sure.
So I stopped to consider what separates Word Nerds from Grammar Rebels, and what unites them in their love of language. This is what I came up with:
Word Nerds are well-educated in the technical aspects of language and believe we should obey its rules.
Grammar Rebels are also well-educated in the technical aspects of language, but they believe it’s okay (and sometimes necessary) to break certain rules.
So, what’s the one thing Nerds and Rebels can still agree on?
There are certain language rules that must never be broken. Ever. (Well, except if you’re writing dialogue and your characters can’t speak English properly.)
Here’s a list of rules that both groups of writers agree shouldn’t be broken:
* Spelling: Unless you’re talking about the difference between American and British English, spelling is not a matter of preference.
* Double Negatives: Say, “I don’t have any cash,” not “I don’t have no cash.” If you ‘don’t have no cash,’ you actually do have cash.
* Semicolons: Semicolons separate two clauses that are related to one another, but which could be used on their own. Alternatively, they can separate items in a list. Don’t use them for any other reason.
* Apostrophes: There’s no juggling these little guys. Use them only to show possession or in a contraction.
* Commas: Commas should only be used when necessary and they must be put in the right spot.
* Redundancy: Snow can just be snow–-not ‘cold snow’ or ‘white snow.’ All snow is cold and white.
* Quotation marks: There are hard and fast rules about how to use quotation marks. Learn them and use them correctly.
* Punctuation: Periods, question marks and exclamations should only be used where they’re meant to be used. No swapping allowed.
* Formal writing: If you’re writing a business letter, an formal essay or a work document, adhere to the commonly accepted rules of grammar.
Can you think of any others?
Now, for the rules Grammar Rebels routinely break:
* Split infinitives: It’s okay to say, “I’m going to pick Johnny up from school,” instead of the proper “I’m going to pick up Johnny from school.”
* Run-on sentences: I’ve seen this done in fiction to produce a stream-of-consciousness type feel.
* Sentence fragments: Your sentences don’t always have to be complete with subject and predicate. Like this.
* Beginning sentences with conjunctions: You can start sentences with and, but and or for emphasis. But don’t do it all the time or it gets annoying.
* Contractions: You can freely use contractions in any kind of informal writing. We use them everyday in speech, so they’re somewhat necessary.
* Ending sentences with prepositions: Usually you can end with a preposition and it sounds fine. In cases where it sounds better to use the more formal structure, use that instead.
* Paragraphs: Paragraphs length is up for experimentation, but variety is the key.
* “They” as a singular pronoun: You can use they or them to mean one person, informally. In fact, you probably do it all the time when you’re talking. “What did the person on the phone say?” “They said to call back in an hour.”
Which camp do you fall into? (Or should I say, “Into which camp do you fall?”)
I highly suspect there’s a little Rebel in all of us. In fact, I’m almost willing to guarantee you’re less of a Word Nerd than you might think.
When is it okay to break the rules? When is it not?
Excellent post! I just did a post on my blog about my on again-off again relationship with grammar. It's called I never met a comma I didn't splice!
I think I'm a word nerd. I write sentence fragments sometimes, but I agree with Scott–a few go a long way.
I'm a rebel as well.
Technically after a couple of days the snow usually isn't very white anymore. Usually more of a grubby brown haha. 😀
I'm about 3/4 nerd and 1/4 rebel. I break about half of those listed Rebel rules all the time, on purpose. But (see, starting with a preposition) I'm a nerd when it comes to certain ones, such as using "they" in a singular context. I don't like run-on sentences, either, but they can be done as a conscious style choice and be effective.
I guess I'm a Rebel according to certain modern choices, but I'm a nerd when I disagree.
Most important, I think, is that people who brake the rules know they're breaking them and why. I am forgiving as a reader when I believe the voice and see that a particular choice was made. I am not forgiving when it just looks sloppy.
I set up Word Nerd Army – https://wordnerdarmy.blogspot.com – so I should say that I am a word nerd. In truth, I am more of a grammar rebel. It is tricky. Some of the time I write for English readers and sometimes for American. The grammatical rules are different. I strive for a neutral space but there is none. Our common language can be a pain in the rear.
Rebecca
http://www.rebeccawoodhead.com
I'm definitely a rebel, but I knew that before you defined. But nice job summarizing those rules that even we rebels refuse to break!
@A P Mullaly:
No, the Inuits DO NOT have 200 or some other ridiculous amount of words for snow. This is where bad quoting will get you. The original source for this information had listed somewhere around 4 ords. Then someone quoting that source said "several". The quote from that source went to "many", and pretty soon, the outrageousness was off and running rampant, and we now have to deal with this urban legend.
Check out the following link for a good run-down on how the blasted thing got started:
https://www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/Eskimo-words-for-snow
I'm a Grammar Rebel but with numerous nerdy pet peeves.
Such as "an apostrophe does NOT mean 'Look out here comes an S!'"
and
Masculine assumption. I can be a feminist and still say "he" to denote a person rather than "they" which is plural. Cannot stand that.
Fragments, though, are my friends.
I love Strunk and White's snarky little bible with epigrams such as "The word is 'inflammable' unless you are worried about the safety of illiterates."
Rebel, sorry mom!
I've got a touch of the rebel in me. I love beginning sentences with conjunctions. That's just how my mind seems to function.
After years of writing papers in college and graduate school, I found it somewhat difficult to write informally when I first started writing fiction, e.g. using sentence fragments or writing my Bio in first person rather than third person. After editing a few books for spelling and grammar, I’ve learned to look up words that I’m not completely sure about, e.g. words that could be compound words or hyphenated words to make sure I spell them correctly.
I’m definitely a rebel, though, in feeling that creative writing should allow for playing with words and that "white snow" is perfectly acceptable. Several examples:
Margaret Atwood: "The future lies before you, like paths of pure white snow. Be careful how you tread it, for every step will show."
Walt Whitman: "I am an age old tree. I am stars in white snow."
From the poem VELVET SHOES by Elinor Wylie:
"Let us walk in the white snow
In a soundless space"
I understand why "white snow" might seem redundant, but I like how it conjures up a more pure and sparkling image than the simple word "snow".
A P Mullaly and shadowkindrd –
I found the linguistics of Eskimo words for snow fascinating when I read about it in graduate school. Here’s an interesting article on the subject:
Counting Eskimo words for snow: A citizen's guide. Lexemes referring to snow and snow-related notions in Steven A. Jacobson's (1984) Yup'ik Eskimo dictionary.
Thanks for all of your comments, everyone. And thanks, Nathan, for running my post! You have a wonderful community of readers here 🙂
For the heck of it, here's my favorite sentence from a college grammar/usage book:
"The passive voice should be avoided."
Unless you're writing textbooks, one assumes.
shadowkndrd:
No, the Inuits DO NOT have 200 or some other ridiculous amount of words for snow.
Probably they do. But it goes like this: English speakers hear two words spoken in Inuit as one word of a foreign language. What casual translators see as a word is actually a phrase, ex:
deep snow
crunchy snow
metling snow
slick snow
deadly snow
etc. Unless you're translating spoken German. Then, of course, six words are one word.
Speaking of favorite sentences, there's a line in Roger Zelazny's Amber series that is perfectly grammatical but so ugly my brain shudders every time I see it:
"He didn't say that he had had your tires shot out, but he knew that that was what had happened."
I was hoping this one had been selected. Excellent post.
I am definietely a rebel. But I am always trying to learn the rules better.
I realize that the language one reads and listens to can creep into your own use of language.
Recently, the second Star Wars series movies were on television running back to back. By the end of the two I watched (again), the way Yoda talks was driving me crazy.
Breaking the rules to the point of it becoming like the playing of a jingle over and over in my head is annoying to me.
I like it so much more if it feels original and not repetitive.
I agree with everything on these lists except the last one about "they". This is yucky language. It reminds me of some very awkward dialogue in "Chasing Amy" when the female character tries to disguise the gender of her new lover by using "they" instead of he or she. I suppose this thing happens all the time, but that doesn't make it a pleasant experience.
I get totally lost in lay, lie, laid, lain, lying, laying.
I need examples again and again to refer to.
But the lay/lie thing just makes me dizzy.
Next contest should be a 100 word "Bad Writing Contest"
GRAMMAR REBEL!
I love a good fragment.
When I was eight I asked my parents for an unabridged dictionary for Christmas — and they bought me one. Anybody who owns a book that requires its own table is a word nerd, but boy did it help my Verbal on the SAT's . . .
Upgrade me to a rebel, if I have to choose! Is there such a thing as organic grammar? 🙂 Predicate who? Split infini-huh? I just know if it sounds right, and when in doubt, I look it up.
I don't see myself a s a rebel as much as I see grammar as a powerful tool, a tangible aspect of a character or an entire work.
It's a key element in setting style. If I wanted my writing to reflect a by-gone era such as the Shakespearean age or the Roaring 20s I'd (try) to use the grammar of the day.
But writing in the present I'm just not comfortable being too prim. Going over board in either direction would alienate readers, don't you think?
Kristi
On the spelling rule:
There's an excellent picture book by Margaret Wild and Anne Spudvilas called "Woolvs in the Sitee." It's one of my favorites.
Nathan, it's time to blog about snow nerds.
😉
G.
I live in the middle way.
As an English Literature major I wrote many papers that observed standard MLA format. Further, I used the proper register to write linear argumentation papers that proved, fortified or furthered my point.
As I labor on my Master's in Creative Writing I break the rules, morph them and shape them into whatever I chose. I delight when I use one-word sentences.
Two systems. Both valid. And different. I live in the middle way. I meld them when warranted and separate them when necessary.
I guess that makes me a nerd rebel…
Because I know the rules, I can break them.
However, only when warranted
In my own writing, I'm most definately a rebel. In reviewing papers for English class, I'm a word nerd all the way – to the point of driving my friends and teachers crazy when I nit-pick too much! What really bothers me is when people use words in ways that make little sense, as if they pulled everything out of a thesaurus instead of thinking for themselves, or at least checking with a dictionary.
@Ghostfolk: I find that passive sentance hilarious! I'll have to tell my teacher.
To go boldly where no individual has gone before. That's where it's at.
It is my opinion that in all cases one must be flexible. I believe in breaking rules when it is necessary. That said, sometimes I think people break rules just to break them, and that irritates me.
I'm an Appalachian Writer, and many of my characters are Appalachian as well. I want authenticity. So yes. I may have a character say, "I aint go no cash." That is how a mountain man from Eastern Kentucky would say that sentence.
As to the show issue, it may be true that all snow is cold, but all snow is not white. That's important to remember. (Don't eat the yellow snow!)
I believe that all rules were made to be broken, or at least bent. The trick is to know when to break them and when not to. Not to be redundant or anything, but in my opinion that's what makes a good writer.
Denise 🙂
I'm a Rebel, born and bred; I've actually gotten into a fight with a girlfriend over the way I use commas. She's not my girlfriend anymore, but the commas had very little to do with that.
"* “They” as a singular pronoun: You can use they or them to mean one person, informally. In fact, you probably do it all the time when you’re talking. “What did the person on the phone say?” “They said to call back in an hour.”"
um, NO. i'm down with the rest of them, but this one is not ok. ok, sometimes it's ok, but almost always it's not. 'they' is just wrong, and the correct usage is rarely awkward– i'm a feminist, but i usually use he OR she, not he-or-she or s/he. makes things less awk AND allows for self-righteous indignation at other people's poor grammar.
A writer friend recommended your blog and I feel I've found a real gem. I am going to start sending students here for some eye-opening ideas on writing. Thanks.
Interesting post, though I have to point a redundancy–punctuation listed at the bottom of a list consisting mostly of punctuation rules. Um. Yeah. What am I? A mix of both, though, as noted, leaning more on the word nerd 🙂
WORD NERD. Take it or leave it.
and check out my blog post on vocabulary blogs, freerice, being an english language fangirl, and much, much more.
http://www.transatlanticsketches.com