5 Grammar Rules You Don’t Need to Know

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Information overload is real, and learning useless grammar rules doesn’t help. This post will share five grammar rules you don’t need to worry about. You’ll also learn why some grammar rules are still important and why.

Let’s get started.

1. Predicates

A predicate is everything in a sentence related to what the subject is doing. In the sentence

He ran.

ran is the verb (the simple predicate).

In the sentence

He ran out the door and down the street.

ran out the door and down the street is the predicate.

If you have a mistake in a sentence, you must spot and fix it. But no one says fix the predicate. Instead, if you make a mistake with subject and verb agreement, that needs to be fixed.

2. Types of Verbs

This is what you need to know about a verb:

• Your sentence needs at least one
• The verb must be in the correct tense
• The verb must agree with words it modifies (subjects and pronouns)

Unless you are learning English, you do not need to know the types of verbs. How can? Based on web searches, it is impossible to give a clear answer. Why? Because there are so many different definitions and classifications of verbs.

Google different types of verbs. One site lists 11 Common Types of Verbs. Another has a verb chart with nine types, and a third site lists seven types of verbs.

What is the person who decides the grammar rules at a website to do?

3. Spelling Rules

So between autocorrect and the haphazard nature of spelling rules, spelling rules are outdated. Has my spelling gotten worse? No doubt. Do I lose sleep over it? No.

If you haven’t opened another tab to find out how to spell a word, give it a try. Google will almost always figure out what you’re trying to spell if you’re close.

4. Prepositions

A preposition is anything that a frog can do to a log. It can go over, under, around, through (a rotting log, that is), and on the log.

That’s all you need to know. The rule “never end a sentence with a preposition” is dead. Instead, focus your writing on clarity.

5. Infinitives

You create an infinitive when you place to in front of a verb. To find, to stop, and to breathe are infinitives. You were never supposed to split an infinite back in the day. Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise should “to go boldly.” Instead, their mission is “to boldly go.”

Is it incorrect? According to old grammarians, it is. However, “to boldly go” is a better choice from a poetic perspective. English’s natural speech pattern is iambic (one unstressed and one stressed syllable).

Since splitting infinitives is a useless grammar rule, why worry about it?

So boldly go and split those infinitives.

The Grammar Rules You Need to Know

If something doesn’t sound right, the problem might not be grammar. Perhaps you need help with editing and revision, and the Paramedic Method is one the Language Lover recommends highly.

Since most grammatical mistakes are related to punctuation, you should focus on it.

Apostrophes. Whether you confuse there and they’re or use an apostrophe when you shouldn’t (we must get the sale’s numbers up), readers spot mistakes with apostrophes.

Good news—careful editing catches these.

Commas. Don’t expect comma rules to change soon. Combining two sentences without a conjunction (otherwise known as a comma splice) is wrong. Not putting a comma after an introductory subordinate clause is a no-no.

Not so good news—the issue with comma rules is not the number but the terminology necessary to understand the rules.

Semicolons. People are afraid to use semicolons, which is sad because they aren’t complicated.

Good news—Semicolons aren’t required for informal writing.

Conclusion

There you have it—five grammar rules you don’t need to know anymore and a brief overview of why grammar rules about commas are essential. Follow the links for more information about each category of punctuation.

Have any suggestions for other grammar rules you feel are unnecessary? Please leave them in the comments below.

As always, please share this post.