| Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993. |
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| RULES AND GENERALIZATIONS |
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| In discussions of grammar and usage, you often hear of rules, but you would do well to consider generalizations as well and to heed the differences between them. In its generic sense, a rule is a law, a decree, an unchanging regulation; it should permit no exceptions, or at least none without penalty: The rule is that no smoking is allowed in the house. Presumably punishment or other penalty will follow breach of a rule. And in the case of a natural law or rule, breaches usually bring severe if not permanent penalties: defiance of the law of gravity, such as might occur when a child decides to fly by jumping off the barn and flapping its arms, suggests the importance of obedience to real rules. A generalization, on the other hand, describes what usually happens or what your usual expectations ought to be. | 1 |
| In grammar, English has certain rules that you break at your peril: for example, if you put the direct object before the indirect object without a preposition, as in I gave the book the boy, you will make a hash of your communication. It is a rule of English grammar that if it is not preceded by a preposition, the indirect object must precede the direct object. But a generalization simply describes expectations. For example, subjects and verbs usually agree in number, but when they do not, the penalty may be fairly severe, minor, or nonexistent: This criteria is very important will usually bring you trouble; Each of us who have time are to turn in our lists today, however, may bring no penalty in many contexts, because there are a good many qualifications of that generalization about agreement; and This agenda is blurred will bring no one any trouble at all. The generalization is very powerful, in that it works most of the time, but sometimes notional agreement overcomes it. | 2 |
| In much of English grammar, and almost always in English usage, you encounter not rules but generalizations that describe what conditions should govern your speech and writing. If the rule you break is truly a rule, you’re likely not to communicate at all; if the generalization you break is fairly powerful, you may bring down much criticism on your head, but rarely will you fail to communicate at all—although you may communicate some unflattering ideas about yourself. | 3 |
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| | | The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Copyright © 1993 Columbia University Press. |
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