The English language is always evolving. Just when I feel I’m confident in a rule or spelling, something pops up to make me question my sanity—I mean my writing.
Two scenarios—when discovered—that cause me confusion with rules
- An old rule I didn’t know about because I had been originally taught the new rule (one developed in the past few decades).
- A new rule brought in by popular demand I didn’t know about because I used the old rule.
In the case of shined vs shone, I was using a rule that was relatively new. I didn’t know another existed. But it does and in some circles, it is still used.