Surprise, surprise! I agree with almost all of the claims made in this video, and since I'm feeling magnanimous, the one claim I have a slight and only possible disagreement with is one I'm inclined not to fight about. Watch the video, then let's have a discussion.
In sum, the faux "rules" listed in the video are:
1. Don't split the infinitive.2. Don't use double negatives.3. "None" is always singular.4. Don't end a sentence with a preposition.5. Don't confuse "less" and "fewer." (my one quibble)6. "Hopefully" has only one meaning.
There's a bit of a meta-issue throwing things off, though: it's when canny experts—like the presenter above—weigh in with their You think the rules are X, but you're wrong, then spend the rest of their time following the rule that's supposedly wrong. Imagine the above speaker, for example, using double negatives like didn't do nothin'. Can you? Me, neither. Or listen for when he uses less instead of fewer. I bet he doesn't. Steven Pinker once tried to make the bizarre case that between you and I is perfectly grammatical. His pretzel logic was something to behold, and I addressed it on my old tutoring blog years ago. Imagine Pinker himself ever saying or writing between you and I. I sometimes think that these finger-waggers, in their virtue-signaling attempts to appear descriptive and not prescriptive, often come off as not a little hypocritical.
I don't know no more about this (I'll watch the video later), but I doubt less mistakes will result after I see it. Between you and I, the fewer the better.
ReplyDelete(Grammarly doesn't agree with what I wrote above.)