Causes of disputes
Disputes in English grammar commonly arise because of one or more of the following:

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No central authority
Unlike some languages, such as French, there is no governing academy for the English language. For this reason, different people often take different works of reference as authoritative. Others argue that, lacking a recognized authority, correctness is defined by common usage. That is, if a certain construction or usage is in common use, some think that it is therefore necessarily correct.

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Tradition
Older or better established constructions--or those perceived as such--are often considered to be superior.

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Education
In contrast to tradition, many newer constructions and recent innovations originate from or are associated with poorly educated, or inexperienced users, or users of nonstandard varieties. Such usages are often rejected by some speakers as mistakes or corruptions while embraced by others.

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Authority
Use by widely respected authors can lend credibility and favor toward a particular construction; for instance, Ernest Hemingway is renowned for beginning sentences with And.[3] However, this is not a uniform rule; for instance, the intentional use of a non-standard style, such as an eye dialect, would not influence the canonical style.

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Etymology
In cases involving the syntax of a specific word, the etymology of the word might be seen as supporting one construction over another. For example, many have objected to the phrase under the circumstances, pointing out the Latin root of the word circumstance suggests a ring or circle enclosing where one stands.

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Logic and consistency
Often speakers will argue that a certain usage is inherently more logical than another, or that it is more consistent with other, undisputed, usages.

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Clarity
Since the purpose of language is communication, as per the Gricean maxims, a speaker who finds a given construction to be clearer than another will likely consider it to be more correct.

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Clarity and consistency
Some argue that a construction that can produce ambiguities, even in only some circumstances, is best avoided altogether.

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Differences in style & register
Certain styles and registers of speech may be stigmatized by some users while embraced by others. For example, uncommon, but "technically correct" usages may be perceived as hypercorrections or may be perceived as pretentious by some, but the avoidance of the same usage may be considered a mark of ignorance by others.

Speakers and writers frequently do not consider it necessary to justify their positions on a particular usage, taking a priori that a given usage is correct or incorrect. Such arguments are often complicated by the user's reliance on false ideas on linguistic matters, such as the impression that a particular expression is newer than it really is.[4]