Editing English usage controversies (section)

==Examples==
Some of the sources that consider some of the following examples incorrect consider the same examples to be acceptable in dialects other than [[Standard English]] or in an informal register; others consider certain constructions to be incorrect in any variety of English. On the other hand, many or all of the following examples are considered correct by some sources.
* [[Generic you|Generic ''you'']] – e.g., "Brushing '''your''' teeth is a good habit" as opposed to "Brushing '''one's''' teeth is a good habit"<ref name="7hj6S" /><ref name="HU7zz" />
* [[Singular they|Singular ''they'']] – e.g., "'''Somebody''' left '''their''' sweater"<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bodine |first1=Ann |year=1975 |title=Androcentrism in prescriptive grammar |journal=Language in Society |volume=4 |issue=2 |doi=10.1017/S0047404500004607|s2cid=146362006 }}</ref> or "'''My friend''' left '''their''' sweater here"<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Bjorkman |first1= Bronwyn |year=2017 |title= Singular they and the syntactic representation of gender in English |journal=Glossa |volume=2|doi=10.5334/gjgl.374|doi-access=free }}</ref>
<!--this has never been just for gender-neutral language-->
* [[Flat adverb]]s – e.g., "Drive '''safe'''" as opposed to "Drive '''safely'''"<ref name="oos">{{Cite book |last1=O'Conner |first1=P.T. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Ju-Vu0v6GQC&pg=PA30 |title=Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language |last2=Kellerman |first2=S. |date=2009 |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |isbn=9781588368560 |page=30}}</ref> "It '''sure''' is" as opposed to "It '''surely''' is." 
* [[Split infinitive]]s – e.g., "[[Where no man has gone before|'''To''' boldly '''go''' where no man has gone before]]" as opposed to "'''To go boldly''' where no man has gone before"<ref name="Fowler547" />
* Beginning a sentence with a [[Conjunction (grammar)|conjunction]]  – e.g., "'''But''' Dad said not to jump on the bed!"<ref name="H3vSG" /><ref name="OjJSl" />
* [[English possessive#Double genitive|Double genitive]]  – e.g. "a friend of theirs" as opposed to "a friend of them" or "their friend"<ref name="K7EwH" />
* Using "me" vs. "I" in the [[subject complement]] ("It's '''me'''" as opposed to "It's '''I'''" or "It is '''I'''") or [[I (pronoun)#Me as a subject pronoun|other cases]] – e.g., "Me and Bob" vs. "Bob and I"<ref name="hqbQm" />
* Using "I" vs. "me" in the [[oblique case]], e.g., "He gave the ball to Bob and I" instead of "He gave the ball to Bob and me". This is often called a [[hypercorrection]], since it is perceived as related to avoidance of the stigmatized incorrect use of the oblique form.<ref name="qUhIZ" />  {{xref|(See also: [[Between you and I]].)}}
* The validity of ''aren't'' as a negative first-person singular contraction for ''to be'' in interrogative uses – e.g., "'''Aren't''' I the one you were talking about?"<ref name="gTPiu" /> {{xref|(See also: [[Ain't]].)}}
* The grammatical means for marking [[Counterfactual conditional#The grammar of counterfactuality|counterfactuality]] – e.g., "[[If I Were a Rich Man (song)|If I '''were/was''' a rich man]]" and "If the pandemic '''didn't happen'''/'''hadn't happened'''". 
* Whether to use [[Who (pronoun)#Usage of "whom"|''who'' or ''whom'']] in various contexts<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/who-vs-whom-grammar-usage |title = How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom' |website = Merriam Webster |access-date = 7 Dec 2024}}</ref>
* The use of [[Fewer vs. less|''less'' or ''fewer'']] with [[count noun]]s<ref name="mwdeu-less-fewer" />
* [[Double negative]]s as negative concord – e.g., "[[Another Brick in the Wall|We '''don't''' need '''no''' education]]"<ref name="cp4ge" />
* Certain [[double modal]]s – e.g., "You '''might could''' do it" – not considered standard, but used for example in [[Southern American English]]<ref name="Wilson" />
* [[Double copula]]<ref name="nZABI" /> – e.g., "What has to happen '''is, is''' that the money has to come from somewhere"<ref name="lJiGc" />
* [[Preposition stranding]] – e.g., "You have nothing to be afraid of" (vs. "You have nothing of which to be afraid") – criticized by grammarians in the 1600s by analogy with Latin grammar and by some teachers since, though many have always accepted it as part of standard English<ref name="AyYVt" />
* Distinction or lack of it between the past and past participle forms of the verb – e.g. "I should have ''went''" and "I ''done'' that yesterday".
* [[Quotation marks in English#Primary quotations versus secondary quotations|Order of quoted punctuation marks]], i.e., American style ("Many dreams were characterized as 'raw,' 'powerful,' and 'evocative{{'"}}) vs. British style ('Many dreams were characterized as "raw", "powerful" and "evocative{{"'}}). Some American authorities (such as the [[American Psychological Association|APA]] and [[The Chicago Manual of Style|CMS]]) require the former, while others (such as the [[Linguistic Society of America|LSA]]) allow, prefer, or require the latter.
* Whether the verbs ''open/close'' to denote ''[[switch|turn on/turn off]]'' can be used as [[English collocations]] (i.e. "Open the lights, please" for "Turn on the lights, please"). The expression is a [[metaphrase]] and is common among [[English as a second or foreign language|nonnative English speakers]] of Hebrew, Croatian, Filipino, French, Thai, Chinese, Greek, Italian descent, and also among [[French Canadians]] (or some speakers of [[Quebec English]]), where "open" and "close" for "on" and "off" are used instead. This construction is grammatically correct but only out of context. The [[calquing]] and [[Language transfer|linguistic transfer]] make this construction foreign to other English speakers.<ref name="r1" />

Several proscriptions concern matters of writing style and clarity but not grammatical correctness:
* [[Dangling modifier]]s (including dangling participles) are often cited as potentially causing confusion.<ref name="GWP7S" />
* Various style guides warn writers to avoid<ref name="mLg12" /> the [[passive voice]].
* [[Gender neutrality in English]]:
** [[Gender-specific and gender-neutral pronouns]] – Replacing masculine pronouns where they are meant to refer to a person of either gender with both masculine and feminine pronouns, alternative phrasing, the [[singular they]]<ref name="GJHOC" /> or [[Neopronoun|newly invented words]] like "hir" and "ze"{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}
** Terms for humans in general – Replacing nouns like "mankind" with "humankind"
** [[Gender marking in job titles]] – Replacing nouns like "chairman" and "manpower" with alternatives like "chairperson" and "staffing levels"
** Use of [[Ms.]] for equality with [[Mr.]], as opposed to [[Miss]] and [[Mrs.]], which specify whether a woman is married; there are no similar titles for men that specify whether a man is married, though [[Master (form of address)|Mstr.]] (pronounced "master") is occasionally used for a male child.

For an alphabetical list of disputes concerning a single word or phrase, see [[List of English words with disputed usage]].