Grammar Myths (Infinitives and Conjunctions)

For some, pedantry is all about correcting people’s grammar. But we like to take things to the next level by correcting people who are incorrectly correcting people’s grammar.

With that in mind, it’s time to look at a couple of common grammar myths related to split infinitives and starting sentences with coordinating conjunctions.

Grammar Myth No. 1: Never Split Infinitives!

One of the best-known rules among pedants (well-meaning and otherwise) is that you should never split an infinitive. And one of the most well-known examples of this ‘mistake’ comes from Star Trek, where the crew of the Enterprise are on a mission:

To boldly go where no one has gone before!

According to the myth, this should be ‘to go boldly’, since the adverb ‘boldly’ shouldn’t appear in the middle of the infinitive ‘to go’. But this isn’t necessarily correct.

The rule against splitting infinitives stems from grammarians applying Latin rules to English in the nineteenth century. However, English isn’t Latin, and many English writers have split infinitives without anyone complaining.

In fact, sometimes splitting an infinitive is necessary for clarity, as otherwise it might result in awkward sentences, or it might not be obvious which word an adverb modifies. For example:

The librarian asked the couple to kindly speak more quietly.

Here, we understand that ‘kindly’ applies to ‘speak’, since the librarian is asking the couple to be kind to others and speak more quietly. However, if we try to avoid splitting the infinitive, the meaning changes:

The librarian asked the couple kindly to speak more quietly.

Now it seems like the librarian is asking the couple in a kindly manner, as we’re not sure whether ‘kindly’ modifies ‘to speak’ or ‘asked’! As such, splitting the infinitive here is entirely appropriate.

Grammar Myth No. 2: Don’t Start a Sentence with a Conjunction

Another common ‘rule’ you might have heard is that you shouldn’t start a sentence with a coordinating conjunction (i.e. ‘and’, ‘but’, ‘for’, ‘nor’, ‘or’, ‘so’ and ‘yet’). This is (usually) true if the statement following the conjunction is an incomplete sentence:

I like butterflies. But not moths.

Here, for example, ‘but not moths’ is a fragment. Even this, though, could be acceptable in informal writing if ‘but not moths’ was presented as an afterthought.

It’s also good practice not to string a series of short sentences together with repeated conjunctions, as this can be repetitive and sound a little childish:

I like butterflies. And I bought a butterfly net. And I caught some butterflies. But then I let them go again. And they flew away.

Generally, though, there’s nothing wrong with starting a complete sentence with a coordinating conjunction (we’ve done it several times in this blogpost). It can even be an effective way of linking separate sentences, helping ensure that your writing flows.

So with that we’ll leave you to boldly go and split infinitives and start sentences with conjunctions as you see fit. And if anyone tells you you’re wrong, just send them here!