Nonrule

How about nonrules? Where do they come from? We said previously that many nonrules are based on an attempt to force English grammar into the mold of Latin.

Right now, let’s attend to a few of what I think of as the Great Nonrules of the English Language. […] Why are they nonrules? So far as I’m concerned, because they’re largely unhelpful, pointlessly constricting, feckless, and useless.

Third – and here’s the clincher – you gotta distinguish between valid rules and nonrules. Now if you’re one of them prescriptivists, I’m gonna free you of five nonrules: Nonrule 1: Never split infinitives.