1. “Never split infinitives.”

Split ‘em. This rule was made up in the 1600s by the first grammarians, who thought that English should match Latin. In Latin, infinitives are one word, so they can’t be split. In English, they are two words: to go. So there is no reason why we can’t slip an adverb in between them.

As an editor, I looked for infinitives that the author had noticeably tiptoed around to the point that it sounded silly. And changed them to a more relaxed sound.

2. “Never start a sentence with because.”

Of course you can start a sentence with because. Just finish it! Because links two sentences, so make sure you are using it to combine two sentences. There will be a comma between them.

The problem with Because results from teachers asking test questions that start with Why. Why did the War of 1812 start on a Monday? It’s natural to quickly link [split infinitive] the answer to the question with Because: Because Tuesday was a holiday. Alas, that’s a fragment.

All the teachers had to do was put something between the Why question and the answer to curb the temptation to write a fragment. Why did the War of 1812 start on a Monday? Explain your answer. You would naturally write The war started on a Monday because Tuesday was a holiday and carry on.

3. “Never start a sentence with And or But.“

I don’t know where this idea came from. I worked with one author who insisted it was an ungodly act to do either.

No. This is goofy. Of course you can start a sentence with And or But. Just make sure it’s a complete sentence.

4. “Never use fragments.”

Good authors and copywriters use fragments all the time. They’re very effective.

But they don’t belong in a formal report or essay.

5. “Use shall with we.”

Not since the 1940s. Or if you are British. Otherwise, shall is extinct.

6. “Never end a sentence with a preposition.”

As one famous author said, Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I shall not put.

English prepositions are not always prepositions. The word off is a preposition in He ran off the road. Where did he run? Off the road. It’s starting an adverb phrase of location.

Yet in the sentence I ran off four copies on the copier, the word off is not a preposition. Where did I run? Off four copies. No, that doesn’t make sense. In fact, off is part of the verb: to run off.

English has many of these two-word (or three-word) verbs: to clean up, to finish off, to do up, to turn over, to put up with, etc. The second word attaches to the verb, not to the phrase that follows. So these are not true prepositions, and they can go wherever they sound best.