Default to the singulartheywhen needed
One of the most significant shifts is the acceptance oftheyas a singular pronoun. It replaces awkward constructions likehe or sheand is both grammatically correct and inclusive. Think: "Each person went to their desk."
The funny thing, says McLendon, is that this "new" usage change isn't new. "They,as a singular for an unknown or unspecified person, has been acceptable in English for centuries," she says. "Shakespeare used it. Jane Austen used it. Dickens used it. It's in the King James Bible.
More recently, the use of the singulartheyhas become a way to respectnonbinary individualswho do not identify withheorshe. If you know someone's pronouns, use them. If you don't,theyis just fine.
Know thelay/lieThe distinction is dissolving
One of the changes we are in the middle of, according to McLendon, is the end of the wholelay/liedistinction. She explains: "You need to have a direct object withlie: 'I'm going tolie"The book on the table." And the past tense oflayislaid, so 'I laid the book on the table.' If I am going to go lie down,liedoesn't have a direct object; it is intransitive. The past tense oflieislie, and the past participle isother. And I tell you: No one uses that anymore."
She adds, "People say, 'I'm going to go"lie"down." But even if they useliedown, they uselaidAs the past sense of that: "I lay on the couch all day." And I think that whole distinction is collapsing because it was confusing to begin with.
So go ahead and uselaidas the past tense oflie. As a professor, however, McLendon still teaches the old rule, simply because "someone in your college career or your first boss will be a stickler who really insists on the distinction."
Simplify tograduatedschool—nofromneeded
How people talk about finishing undergraduate degrees has changed. These days, notes Fogarty, people are saying "they graduated college" instead of "they graduated"fromcollege."
What's interesting, she says, "is that 'graduated from college' is a newer version than what was before that." Our grandparents viewed graduation as something thatcollegedid with someone - a college graduate student. And so they would say, "Johnnywas graduated from"college." However, our parents, older adults today, would typically say, "Johnny graduated from college," without thewas. "Now more and more and more people are saying, 'Johnny graduated college,' and leaving out thefromas well."
Fogarty says this shows that "language is getting simpler. We vote with our usage, and there's a strong drive to simplify the language."
Feel free to useoverfor numbers as well
I was taught to usemore thanto refer to numbers and quantities ("More than 100 people attended the party") andoveronly for spatial relationships or physical position ("The painting hangs over the mantel"). Apparently, that distinction is no longer required. Fogarty points out that a few years ago, theAssociated Press Stylebook—the go-to authority for all things grammar and punctuation—decreed thatoveris acceptable in all uses to meanmore than.
Split an infinitive if you want
If you're one of those people whoseHigh School EnglishPapers were covered in red ink, complete with "Split infinitive!" written in the margins. You'll like this news: The rule that you shouldn't split an infinitive has changed. When you split an infinitive, you put an adverb betweentoand the verb, as in "to boldly go." In short, to rampantly split infinitives is common and has become acceptable.
The goal is both to clearly communicate and to communicate clearly. As Fogarty notes: "You shouldn't make your sentence awkward just to follow some rule that's barely even a rule."
Use respectful, people-first language
RecentAP Stylebookchanges take into account progressive cultural changes in awareness and sensitivity. Don't use terms likeWhites,Blacks,the blindorthe disabledas nouns. This kind of language can come across as reductive or dehumanizing, defining people solely by one aspect of their identity. Instead, use the descriptors as adjectives in phrases like "Black people," "people who are blind" or "individuals with disabilities" to emphasize their humanity and acknowledge that that identity is multifaceted. Also, such information should be included only if it is relevant.
Don't useIndianwhen you meanNative American
The termIndianrefers to people from South Asia or India. When you mean Indigenous people of the U.S., useNative Americanas an adjective (not a noun). Better yet, use the specific name of the tribe (Navajo crafts, Lakota traditions, the Ojibwe community). McLendon puts it simply: "Ask people how they would like to be identified."
Drop the hyphen in dual heritage identity
You should no longer use a hyphen in compound nationalities or ethnicities such as African American or Asian American. "A friend of mine, the late Henry Fuhrmann, worked really hard to get the hyphens out of hyphenated Americans," says McLendon. "He thought, 'I'm Asian and I'm American."Asianshould modifyAmerican"It shouldn't be attached to it." And so he started advocating to take the hyphen out of any hyphenated American.
TheAP StylebookMade the rule change, eliminating those hyphens, in 2019. "It wasn't a change for the sake of change. It was a change for a reason," McLendon adds.
Skip the hyphen on some compound modifiers
TheAP Stylebookrecommends keeping ahyphenif it adds clarity and leaving it out if it adds clutter. McLendon's rule: "If you have a compound modifier that is made up of two different parts of speech, you probably want to hyphenate." Think, "high-fashion model":Highis an adjective andfashionis a noun. "Since there are different parts of speech, you hyphenate." The flip side of that is "ice cream cone," she says:Iceis a noun,creamis a noun. "They are the same part of speech, so you don't need to hyphenate."
Fogarty agrees with this trend. "We're seeing fewer hyphens, fewer commas; language is getting simpler," she says. "Modern English is far simpler than Middle English and Old English. There's just a drive to make language simpler and easier to use, and so that just continues."
Go ahead and start sentences with a coordinating conjunction
You've probably heard that you should never start a sentence withand,butoror. But maybe you do it anyway? And you've gotten away with it? Yet you still feel nervous when you break this rule? Relax. It's fine. "Social media encourages us to be informal because we're trying to convey that we're having a conversation," Fogarty says. "So we're seeing informal writing a lot more than we used to."
However, your audience matters. "You might not want to do it in an annual report," where more formal language is expected, she cautions.
End sentences with prepositions, if you want to
Prepositions are words that indicate time, place and direction (at,for,by,of,on,in,after), and many of us were taught to avoid ending a sentence with one at all costs. Guess what? "If your sentence sounds more natural with a preposition at the end," Fogarty says, "it's fine to leave it that way."
She adds, though, "If you're doing formal writing, you should probably still avoid it, because a lot of people"thinkIt's an error.”
Avoidwhom(unless you're very formal)
People have been predicting the demise ofwhomFor, I think, at least 100 years, and it hasn’t completely died out yet," says Fogarty. "The average person doesn’t know how to use it and often thinks it sounds stilted. But I’m not convinced it’s going to disappear completely from professional writing.Whomis still used in formal writing, but it's feeling more archaic, likethy,theeandyours.
McLendon adds: "I tell my students, when in doubt, go with"whoat the beginning of a question. "Who is fine. You know, 'Who are you going to call?' is just fine." (Even if they don't get theGhostbustersreference.)
The moral of the story? "Proper EnglishHas its place, but following every rule to the letter can make you sound stiff." "Grammar reflects actual usage," says McLendon. "A lot of these things depend on who you're talking to, who you're writing for. You have to consider your audience." So next time someone corrects your split infinitive or gasps at a sentence-ending preposition, just smile and say, "That rule died several years ago.
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AtReader's Digest, we're committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. We rely on reputable primary sources, including government and professional organizations and academic institutions as well as our writers' personal experiences where appropriate. For this piece on grammar rules that have changed, Jo Ann Liguori drew on her decades of experience as a copy editor to ensure that all the information is accurate and current. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about ourteam, our contributors and ourEditorial Policies.
Sources:
- Mignon Fogarty, aka Grammar Girl, creator and host of theGrammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writingpodcast; phone interview, June 9, 2025
- Lisa McLendon, professor of journalism and mass communications at the University of Kansas and creator of theMadam Grammarblog; phone interview, June 9, 2025
- AP Stylebook
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