Good grammar rules make our jobs easier: they help us communicate clearly and professionally. But there are many mistaken grammar notions that do nothing but get in the way and make us feel insecure about our writing. Philip Corbett, the deputy news editor at The New York Times, points out some of these grammar hobgoblins this week in After Deadline. Here are two:

• None: singular AND plural. Under the mistaken impression that none was a contraction for “not one,” many grammar advocates insist we use none with singular verbs. Actually, none has been both singular and plural since its birth as the word nan in Old English. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of English Usage notes that King Alfred the Great used it as a plural back in A.D. 888.
• Beginning with but or and. Conjunctions like but or and give us a short way to say “however” or “in addition” when opening a sentence. However and in addition often sound awkward and overly formal. And none of the major style guides have a problem with conjunctions starting a sentence.