It’s not just what you say, it’s how you say it. That’s the difference between grammar and style.
Here are a few principles that go beyond what you may have learned in English classes.
What Does the Dictionary Say?
Language is constantly changing.
There was a time when thongs were something men and women wore on their feet. Now they’re called flip-flops. The word email is no longer capitalized and no longer has a hyphen. The internet doesn’t have to be capitalized anymore.
Our speech changes gradually, until a new word, expression, or spelling reaches a point of acceptability. The dictionaries pick up this information at different times, maybe even ten years later.
Since your goal is the effective communication, you can Google a phrase compare how it’s spelled and used on different websites. The more widespread usage might be the better choice, even if Webster doesn’t know about it yet.
Another excellent resource is www.OneLook.com, which can list the information from a dozen dictionaries, including slang.
Farther or Further?
When we want a concept of distance in a literal, physical sense, use farther (think of “far” as distance). Otherwise, use further. So nothing could be further from the truth. But the harder we work, the farther we drift apart.
Word Order
The horse belongs in front of the cart. Put the goal before the effort, the timeframe before the action, and the result after the action. The sequence of action elements should have the same left-to-right sequence in the sentence.
