--- title: "2 Grammar Quotes By William Safire" description: "2 Grammar quotes by William Safire. Plus more from William Safire and more Grammar sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/william-safire-5116_english-grammar_only-in-grammar-can-you-be-more-than-per_1812909.png" --- > [Only in grammar can you be more than perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/only-in-grammar-can-you-be-more-than-perfect/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/william-safire-5116_english-grammar_only-in-grammar-can-you-be-more-than-per_1812909.png) > [“Not long ago, I advertised for perverse rules of grammar, along the lines of "Remember to never split an infinitive" and "The passive voice should never be used." The notion of making a mistake while laying down rules ("Thimk," "We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/not-long-ago-i-advertised-for-perverse-rules-of-grammar-along-the/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4af/william-safire-5116_grammar_not-long-ago-i-advertised-for-perverse-r_2066286.jpg) ## Other authors on Grammar - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b018/author-noam-chomsky-71799.jpg) Noam Chomsky 13 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grammar/noam-chomsky/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b022/author-stephen-king-87054.jpg) Stephen King 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grammar/stephen-king/) - [Ralph Waldo Emerson 6 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grammar/ralph-waldo-emerson/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b016/author-margaret-atwood-63354.jpg) Margaret Atwood 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grammar/margaret-atwood/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b018/author-muriel-barbery-69587.jpg) Muriel Barbery 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grammar/muriel-barbery/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b013/author-joan-didion-50171.jpg) Joan Didion 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grammar/joan-didion/) ## More by William Safire > [The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-republicans-do-not-look-on-the-democrats-as-the-evil-empire/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/last-but-not-least-avoid-cliches-like-the-plague/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Decide on some imperfect Somebody and you will win, because the truest truism in politics is: You can't beat Somebody with Nobody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/decide-on-some-imperfect-somebody-and-you-will-win-because-the-truest/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Knowing how things work is the basis for appreciation, and is thus a source of civilized delight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/knowing-how-things-work-is-the-basis-for-appreciation-and-is-thus-a/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [What a joy it is to see really professional media manipulation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/what-a-joy-it-is-to-see-really-professional-media-manipulation/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [What do you call a co-worker these days? Neither teammate nor confederate will do, and partner is too legalistic. The answer brought from academia…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/what-do-you-call-a-co-worker-these-days-neither-teammate-nor/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [This is what it's all about. From what I could see, you could get a bunch of people together, whip up the press and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/this-is-what-it-s-all-about-from-what-i-could-see-you-could-get-a/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [When I need to know the meaning of a word, I look it up in a dictionary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/when-i-need-to-know-the-meaning-of-a-word-i-look-it-up-in-a-dictionary/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [A man who lies, thinking it is the truth, is an honest man, and a man who tells the truth, believing it to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/a-man-who-lies-thinking-it-is-the-truth-is-an-honest-man-and-a-man/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [The Latin motto over Poindexter's new Pentagon office reads Scientia Est Potentia - "knowledge is power." Exactly: the government's infinite knowledge about you is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-latin-motto-over-poindexter-s-new-pentagon-office-reads-scientia/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [English is a stretch language; one size fits all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/english-is-a-stretch-language-one-size-fits-all/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Today, war of necessity is used by critics of military action to describe unavoidable response to an attack like that on Pearl Harbor that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/today-war-of-necessity-is-used-by-critics-of-military-action-to/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [To communicate, put your words in order; give them a purpose; use them to persuade, to instruct, to discover, to seduce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/to-communicate-put-your-words-in-order-give-them-a-purpose-use-them/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [“Chandler’s “She was blonde enough to make a bishop kick a hole through a stained-glass window”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/chandler-s-she-was-blonde-enough-to-make-a-bishop-kick-a-hole-through/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [You don't overturn a previous court's decisions lightly and I think most Americans are somewhere in the middle on abortion and there's not going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/you-don-t-overturn-a-previous-court-s-decisions-lightly-and-i-think/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grammar/william-safire/#itemlist", "name": "2 Grammar Quotes By William Safire", "numberOfItems": 2, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Only in grammar can you be more than perfect.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Safire" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/only-in-grammar-can-you-be-more-than-perfect/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/william-safire-5116_english-grammar_only-in-grammar-can-you-be-more-than-per_1812909.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/william-safire-5116_english-grammar_only-in-grammar-can-you-be-more-than-per_1812909.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/william-safire-5116_english-grammar_only-in-grammar-can-you-be-more-than-per_1812909.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Only in grammar can you be more than perfect.” — William Safire", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Not long ago, I advertised for perverse rules of grammar, along the lines of \"Remember to never split an infinitive\" and \"The passive voice should never be used.\" The notion of making a mistake while laying down rules (\"Thimk,\" \"We Never Make Misteaks\") is highly unoriginal, and it turns out that English teachers have been circulating lists of fumblerules for years. As owner of the world's largest collection, and with thanks to scores of readers, let me pass along a bunch of these never-say-neverisms: * Avoid run-on sentences they are hard to read. * Don't use no double negatives. * Use the semicolon properly, always use it where it is appropriate; and never where it isn't. * Reserve the apostrophe for it's proper use and omit it when its not needed. * Do not put statements in the negative form. * Verbs has to agree with their subjects. * No sentence fragments. * Proofread carefully to see if you any words out. * Avoid commas, that are not necessary. * If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing. * A writer must not shift your point of view. * Eschew dialect, irregardless. * And don't start a sentence with a conjunction. * Don't overuse exclamation marks!!! * Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to their antecedents. * Writers should always hyphenate between syllables and avoid un-necessary hyph-ens. * Write all adverbial forms correct. * Don't use contractions in formal writing. * Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided. * It is incumbent on us to avoid archaisms. * If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is. * Steer clear of incorrect forms of verbs that have snuck in the language. * Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixed metaphors. * Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky. * Never, ever use repetitive redundancies. * Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing. * If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times, resist hyperbole. * Also, avoid awkward or affected alliteration. * Don't string too many prepositional phrases together unless you are walking through the valley of the shadow of death. * Always pick on the correct idiom. * \"Avoid overuse of 'quotation \"marks.\"'\" * The adverb always follows the verb. * Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; seek viable alternatives.\" ( New York Times , November 4, 1979; later also published in book form)”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Safire" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/not-long-ago-i-advertised-for-perverse-rules-of-grammar-along-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4af/william-safire-5116_grammar_not-long-ago-i-advertised-for-perverse-r_2066286.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4af/william-safire-5116_grammar_not-long-ago-i-advertised-for-perverse-r_2066286.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4af/william-safire-5116_grammar_not-long-ago-i-advertised-for-perverse-r_2066286.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Not long ago, I advertised for perverse rules of grammar, along the lines of \"Remember to never split an…” — William Safire", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grammar/william-safire/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grammar/william-safire/", "name": "Grammar Quotes by William Safire", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grammar/william-safire/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/william-safire-5116_english-grammar_only-in-grammar-can-you-be-more-than-per_1812909.png" }, "description": "2 Grammar quotes by William Safire. 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