What grammar rules have you broken on purpose?
Thanks to Stevie Turner for the question
Language is always evolving. The Oxford English Dictionary is constantly adding new words which become common in everyday vernacular. Acronyms and slang are widely accepted as more people use them. Certain words and tendencies fall out of favor though time. There is a reason we don’t use ‘forsoothe’ of make funny looking ‘f’s’ for our ‘s’es.
Grammar changes. Read any style guide and you will find exceptions to the rules we learned in grade school, and by we, I mean the Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers. Any group after that is pretty much caught up. Is it a coincidence that the internet and text messaging exploded in the 90s, at the same time the language laws began to shift?
I respect editors. I don’t have the memory or patience to remember all the rules, so I write what feels natural for me and let them sort out the atrocious grammar. Sentences that she (my editor) will often change around or add to get by my beta readers which show how some writing is understood even if it bends the rules.
To answer the question: Do you break the rules of grammar?
Not on purpose.
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Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
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Lines by Leon 
I think text messaging has not been good for English grammar, as young people who have grown up with this now tend to text in a kind of ‘yoof’ shorthand. Many people on social media cannot tell ‘your’ from ‘your’re’, or ‘their’ from ‘there’ or ‘they’re’.
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I’ve heard stories of teachers and professors getting essays with acronyms and emojis.
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Oh dear. They don’t seem to correct the kids much, do they?
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Just wait until the get AI generated essays.
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I have heard that AI actually does a good job of generating essays, but don’t take my word for it because I haven’t tried it.
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As a former teacher, I can tell you that text-speak absolutely shows up in the classroom. That’s when we have a talk about levels of formality and considering your audience and purpose. @samanthabwriter from
Balancing Act
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That’s a good learning moment.
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I still use normal language in my text messaging. My children think it’s hilarious.
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Yeah, I rarely use shortcuts,
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