How do you make "correct" grammar decisions?

Somewhere inside most of us, there is probably a small, nagging doubt from time to time about how to use "correct" grammar when we use our native language.

If only speaking and writing correctly were as simple as memorizing a set of rules and sticking to them religiously.

Wow!  That's a lot of rules to learn!

One of the main reasons why slavishly following a set of rules won't work is that languages are constantly evolving.  Word definitions, pronunciations, and grammar all may change as a language is used constantly by its speakers.

Let's check your opinions on some common grammar doubts discussed in Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language by Patricia T. O' Conner and Stewart Kellerman. Do you find any of the sentences below objectionable?  If so, why?  (You may want to consider if the sentence is being used in speaking or writing also.)


I don't know all the rules of English.

Winston tastes good, like a cigarette should.

The thief snuck into the house.

Michael Phelps dove into the water.

He was the one that helped me with English.

Bill Gates is richer than me.

The queen has woken from her slumber.

Every senior thinks they know it all.

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Did your inner grammar police nab any sentences as being "incorrect"?






What you may be perplexed to learn is that the authors of Origins do not give a yes/no definitive solution for any of the above grammar doubts.  They state that some sentences are permissible in speaking but not in writing, some are permitted by some style manuals and dictionaries but not others, and some may be generational decisions, The only form I found as being forbidden was poor old misunderstood "ain't". (There is a book out by David Skinner with the title The Story of Ain't:  America, Its Language, and the Most Controversial Dictionary Every Published. )

The decision about which English forms constitute "correct"  English is made by "We, the People". And often the decision is a personal one.  My guide to using "correct"grammar is what I hear on National Public Radio.  But occasionally a Texas "y'all" sneaks into my language as exactly the right thing to say to express myself well.