Improper English
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In the English language, there are grammatical constructions that many native speakers use unquestioningly yet certain writers call incorrect. Differences of usage or opinion may stem from differences between formal and informal speech and other matters of
register Register or registration may refer to: Arts entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), the ...
, differences among
dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...
s (whether regional, class-based, or other), and so forth. Disputes may arise when
style guide A style guide or manual of style is a set of standards for the writing, formatting, and design of documents. It is often called a style sheet, although that term also has multiple other meanings. The standards can be applied either for gene ...
s disagree with each other, or when a guideline or judgement is confronted by large amounts of conflicting evidence or has its rationale challenged.


Examples

Some of the sources that consider some of the following examples incorrect consider the same examples to be acceptable in dialects other than
Standard English In an English-speaking country, Standard English (SE) is the variety of English that has undergone substantial regularisation and is associated with formal schooling, language assessment, and official print publications, such as public service a ...
or in an informal register; others consider certain constructions to be incorrect in any variety of English. On the other hand, many or all of the following examples are considered correct by some sources. * Generic ''you'' – e.g., "Brushing your teeth is a good habit" as opposed to "Brushing one's teeth is a good habit" * Singular ''they'' – e.g., "Somebody left their sweater" or "My friend left their sweater here" * Flat adverbs – e.g., "Drive safe" as opposed to "Drive safely" *
Split infinitive A split infinitive is a grammatical construction in which an adverb or adverbial phrase separates the "to" and "infinitive" constituents of what was traditionally called the full infinitive, but is more commonly known in modern linguistics as the ...
s – e.g., "to boldly go where no man has gone before" as opposed to "to go boldly where no man has gone before" * Conjunction beginning a sentence – e.g., "But Dad said not to jump on the bed!" *
Double genitive In English, possessive words or phrases exist for nouns and most pronouns, as well as some noun phrases. These can play the roles of determiners (also called possessive adjectives when corresponding to a pronoun) or of nouns. For nouns, noun ph ...
– e.g. "a friend of theirs" as opposed to "a friend of them" or "their friend" * Using "me" vs. "I" in the
subject complement In grammar, a subject complement or predicative of the subject is a predicative expression that follows a linking verb ( copula) and that complements the subject of the sentence by either (1) renaming it or (2) describing it. It completes the mea ...
("It's me" as opposed to "It's I" or "It is I") or other cases – e.g., "Me and Bob" vs. "Bob and I" ::''It's me again.'' * Using "I" vs. "me" in the
oblique case In grammar, an oblique (abbreviated ; from la, casus obliquus) or objective case (abbr. ) is a nominal case other than the nominative case, and sometimes, the vocative. A noun or pronoun in the oblique case can generally appear in any role exc ...
, e.g., "He gave the ball to Bob and I" instead of "He gave the ball to Bob and me". This is often called a
hypercorrection In sociolinguistics, hypercorrection is non-standard use of language that results from the over-application of a perceived rule of language-usage prescription. A speaker or writer who produces a hypercorrection generally believes through a mi ...
, since it is perceived as related to avoidance of the stigmatized incorrect use of the oblique form. See Between you and I. * The validity of ''aren't'' as a negative first-person singular conjunction for ''to be'' in interrogative uses – e.g., "Aren't I the one you were talking about?" * The grammatical means for marking counterfactuality – e.g., "I wish I were/was an Oscar Meyer wiener" and "If the pandemic didn't happen/hadn't happened". * Whether to use ''who'' or ''whom'' in various contexts * The use of ''less'' or ''fewer'' with
count noun In linguistics, a count noun (also countable noun) is a noun that can be modified by a quantity and that occurs in both singular and plural forms, and that can co-occur with quantificational determiners like ''every'', ''each'', ''several'', et ...
s *
Double negative A double negative is a construction occurring when two forms of grammatical negation are used in the same sentence. Multiple negation is the more general term referring to the occurrence of more than one negative in a clause. In some languages, ...
s – e.g., "We don't need no education" * Certain
double modal The English modal verbs are a subset of the English auxiliary verbs used mostly to express modality (properties such as possibility, obligation, etc.). They can be distinguished from other verbs by their defectiveness (they do not have participle ...
s – e.g., "You might could do it" – not considered standard, but used for example in
Southern American English Southern American English or Southern U.S. English is a regional dialect or collection of dialects of American English spoken throughout the Southern United States, though concentrated increasingly in more rural areas, and spoken primarily by Wh ...
*
Double copula The double copula, also known as the reduplicative copula, double is or Isis, is the usage of two successive copulae when only one is necessary, largely in spoken English. For example: :''My point is, is that...'' This construction is accepted ...
– e.g., "What has to happen is, is that the money has to come from somewhere" * Preposition stranding – e.g., "You have nothing to be afraid of" (vs. "You have nothing of which to be afraid") – criticized by grammarians in the 1600s by analogy with Latin grammar and by some teachers since, though many have always accepted it as part of standard English * Distinction or lack of it between the past and past participle forms of the verb – e.g. "I should have ''went''" and "I ''done'' that yesterday". * Order of quoted punctuation marks, i.e., American style ("Many dreams were characterized as 'raw,' 'powerful,' and 'evocative) vs. British style ('Many dreams were characterised as "raw", "powerful" and "evocative). Some American authorities (such as the APA and
CMS CMS may refer to: Computing * Call management system * CMS-2 (programming language), used by the United States Navy * Code Morphing Software, a technology used by Transmeta * Collection management system for a museum collection * Color managem ...
) require the former, while others (such as the LSA) allow, prefer, or require the latter. * Whether the verbs ''open/close'' to denote '' turn on/turn off'' can be used as English collocations (i.e. "Open the lights, please" for "Turn on the lights, please"). The expression is a metaphrase and is common among nonnative English speakers of Hebrew, Croatian, Filipino, French, Thai, Chinese, Greek, Italian descent, and also among
French Canadians French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...
(or speakers of
Quebec English Quebec English encompasses the English dialects (both native and non-native) of the predominantly French-speaking Canadian province of Quebec. There are few distinctive phonological features and very few restricted lexical features common among ...
), where "open" and "close" for "on" and "off" are used instead. This construction is grammatically correct but only out of context. The
calquing In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language wh ...
and linguistic transfer make this construction foreign to other English speakers. Several proscriptions concern matters of writing style and clarity but not grammatical correctness: * Dangling modifiers (including dangling participles) are often cited as potentially causing confusion. * Various style guides warn writers to avoid the
passive voice A passive voice construction is a grammatical voice construction that is found in many languages. In a clause with passive voice, the grammatical subject expresses the ''theme'' or ''patient'' of the main verb – that is, the person or thing t ...
. *
Gender neutrality in English Gender-neutral language is language that minimizes assumptions about the social gender or biological sex of people referred to in speech or writing. In contrast to most other Indo-European languages, English does not retain grammatical gender and m ...
: ** Gender-specific and gender-neutral pronouns – Replacing masculine pronouns where they are meant to refer to a person of either gender with both masculine and feminine pronouns, alternative phrasing, the
singular they Singular ''they'', along with its inflected or derivative forms, ''them'', ''their'', ''theirs'' and ''themselves'' (or ''themself''), is a gender-neutral third-person pronoun. It typically occurs with an unspecified antecedent, in sentence ...
or newly invented words like "hir" and "ze" ** Terms for humans in general – Replacing nouns like "mankind" with "humankind" ** Gender marking in job titles – Replacing nouns like "chairman" and "manpower" with alternatives like "chairperson" and "staffing levels" ** Use of
Ms. Ms. (American English) or Ms (British English; normally , but also , or when unstressed)''Oxford English Dictionary'' online, Ms, ''n.2''. Etymology: "An orthographic and phonetic blend of Mrs ''n.1'' and miss ''n.2'' Compare mizz ''n.'' The pr ...
for equality with
Mr. ''Mister'', usually written in its contracted form ''Mr.'' or ''Mr'', is a commonly used English honorific for men without a higher honorific, or professional title, or any of various designations of office. The title 'Mr' derived from earlier ...
, as opposed to
Miss Miss (pronounced ) is an English language honorific typically used for a girl, for an unmarried woman (when not using another title such as "Doctor" or "Dame"), or for a married woman retaining her maiden name. Originating in the 17th century, it ...
and Mrs., which do not have masculine equivalents. For an alphabetical list of disputes concerning a single word or phrase, see List of English words with disputed usage.


Factors in disputes

The following circumstances may feature in disputes:


Myths and superstitions

There are a number of alleged rules of unclear origin that have no rational basis or are based on things such as misremembered rules taught in school. They are sometimes described by authorities as superstitions or myths. These include rules such as not beginning sentences with "and" or "because" or not ending them with prepositions. See
common English usage misconceptions This list comprises widespread modern beliefs about English language usage that are documented by a reliable source to be misconceptions. With no authoritative language academy, guidance on English language usage can come from many sources. Thi ...
.


No central authority

Unlike some languages, such as
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
(which has the
Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...
), English has no single authoritative governing academy, so assessments of correctness are made by "self-appointed authorities who, reflecting varying judgments of acceptability and appropriateness, often disagree."


Education

While some variations in the use of language correlate with age, sex , ethnic group, or region, others may be taught in schools and be preferred in the context of interaction with strangers. These forms may also gain prestige as the standard language of professionals, politicians, etc., and be called
Standard English In an English-speaking country, Standard English (SE) is the variety of English that has undergone substantial regularisation and is associated with formal schooling, language assessment, and official print publications, such as public service a ...
(SE), whereas forms associated with less educated speakers may be called nonstandard (or less commonly substandard) English.


Stigma

The prescriptivist tradition may affect attitudes toward certain usages and thus the preferences of some speakers.


Hypercorrection

Because of the stigma attached to violating prescriptivist norms, speakers and writers sometimes incorrectly extend usage rules beyond their scope in attempting to avoid mistakes.


Classical languages

Prescriptivist arguments about various English constructions' correctness have sometimes been based on Latin grammar.


Analogy with other constructions

It is sometimes argued that a certain usage is more logical than another, or that it is more consistent with other usages, by analogy with different grammatical constructions. For instance, it may be argued that the accusative form must be used for the components of a coordinate construction where it would be used for a single pronoun. Speakers and writers frequently do not consider it necessary to justify their positions on a particular usage, taking its correctness or incorrectness for granted. In some cases, people believe an expression to be incorrect partly because they also falsely believe it to be newer than it really is.


Prescription and description

It is often said that the difference between ''prescriptivist'' and ''descriptivist'' approaches is that the former prescribes how English ''should'' be spoken and written and the latter describes how English ''is'' spoken and written, but this is an oversimplification. Prescriptivist works may contain claims about the incorrectness of various common English constructions, but they also deal with topics other than grammar, such as style. Prescriptivists and descriptivists differ in that, when presented with evidence that purported rules disagree with most native speakers' actual usage, the prescriptivist may declare that those speakers are wrong, whereas the descriptivist will assume that the usage of the overwhelming majority of native speakers defines the language, and that the prescriptivist has an idiosyncratic view of correct usage. Particularly in older prescriptivist works, recommendations may be based on personal taste, confusion between informality and ungrammaticality, or arguments related to other languages, such as Latin.


Different forms of English


English internationally

English is spoken worldwide, and the
Standard Written English English orthography is the writing system used to represent spoken English, allowing readers to connect the graphemes to sound and to meaning. It includes English's norms of spelling, hyphenation, capitalisation, word breaks, emphasis, and p ...
grammar generally taught in schools around the world will vary only slightly. Nonetheless, disputes can sometimes arise: for example, it is a matter of some debate in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
whether British,
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
, or
Indian English Indian English (IE) is a group of English dialects spoken in the republic of India and among the Indian diaspora. English is used by the Indian government for communication, along with Hindi, as enshrined in the Constitution of India. E ...
is the best form to use.


Regional dialects and ethnolects

In contrast to their generally high level of tolerance for the dialects of other English-speaking countries, speakers often express disdain for features of certain regional or ethnic dialects, such as
Southern American English Southern American English or Southern U.S. English is a regional dialect or collection of dialects of American English spoken throughout the Southern United States, though concentrated increasingly in more rural areas, and spoken primarily by Wh ...
's use of ''
y'all ''Y'all'' (pronounced ) is a contraction of ''you'' and ''all'', sometimes combined as ''you-all''. ''Y'all'' is the main second-person plural pronoun in Southern American English, with which it is most frequently associated, though it also ap ...
'',
Geordie Geordie () is a nickname for a person from the Tyneside area of North East England, and the dialect used by its inhabitants, also known in linguistics as Tyneside English or Newcastle English. There are different definitions of what constitut ...
s' use of "yous" as the second person plural personal pronoun, and nonstandard forms of "to be" such as "The old dock bes under water most of the year" ( Newfoundland English) or "That dock be under water every other week" (
African-American Vernacular English African-American Vernacular English (AAVE, ), also referred to as Black (Vernacular) English, Black English Vernacular, or occasionally Ebonics (a colloquial, controversial term), is the variety of English natively spoken, particularly in urban ...
). Such disdain may not be restricted to points of grammar; speakers often criticize regional accents and vocabulary as well. Arguments related to regional dialects must center on questions of what constitutes
Standard English In an English-speaking country, Standard English (SE) is the variety of English that has undergone substantial regularisation and is associated with formal schooling, language assessment, and official print publications, such as public service a ...
. For example, since fairly divergent dialects from many countries are widely accepted as Standard English, it is not always clear why certain regional dialects, which may be very similar to their standard counterparts, are not.


Register

Different constructions are acceptable in different registers of English. For example, a given construction will often be seen as too formal or too informal for a situation.


See also

*
Barbarism (linguistics) A barbarism is a nonstandard word, expression or pronunciation in a language, particularly one regarded as an error in morphology, while a ''solecism'' is an error in syntax. The label was originally applied to mixing Ancient Greek or Latin with ...
* List of dialects of English


References


Further reading

* {{cite book, author=Robert Lane Greene, year=2011, isbn=978-0553807875, title=You Are What You Speak: Grammar Grouches, Language Laws, and the Politics of Identity