The tyranny of "bogus" grammar rules

President Obama 2009 oath of office

By Master Sgt. Cecilio Ricardo, U.S. Air Force [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Harvard's Steven Pinker argues that "bogus" rules about grammar are the enemy of good writing, and sometimes of good government as well, as when Chief Justice John Roberts "administered the oath of office to Barack Obama in January, 2009, and un-split a verb in the oath of office. He’s a famous stickler. He almost precipitated a constitutional crisis because it wasn’t clear whether the administration of the oath of office was legitimate in its transfer of power."

October 26, 2014

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