Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think it's embarrassing how English has one of the easiest grammar systems, and yet so many people don't know the basic rules...

815 replies

Skyeboat · 09/08/2023 15:44

I'm a linguist, and the languages I studied have very complex grammar rules compared to English. So much so that native speakers have to memorise verb tables, moods, cases etc. at primary school level, and even those who didn't study to a high level know the basic rules.
English is one of the simplest languages, and yet the amount of native English speakers I see making really obvious mistakes is just embarrassing.
Is the problem that we just don't teach grammar and syntax in school?
For example, I saw a FB post today selling "Teddy's" (as opposed to teddies). That's actually the most common mistake I see - people, even businesses, not knowing how to use apostrophes and form plurals. I'd understand if it was a complicated rule that required memorisation with a lot of exceptions, but it's soo basic. It takes about 10 minutes to learn then you're all set.
I went to a pretty average state school, and I remember they did teach us these things, but we weren't rigorously tested on them or required to repeat them regularly. So I do believe the problem is with a lack of focus on basic English from a young age.
Am I being unreasonable or is this really embarrassing that we have such a poor grasp of our own mother tongue?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
6
AliceOlive · 09/08/2023 15:46

People living in glass houses…

ditalini · 09/08/2023 15:48

The number of people, not the amount of people.

Amount is for mass nouns, number is for count nouns.

Little grammar tip for you.

Skyeboat · 09/08/2023 15:49

ditalini · 09/08/2023 15:48

The number of people, not the amount of people.

Amount is for mass nouns, number is for count nouns.

Little grammar tip for you.

I'm completely happy to admit I don't have a perfect mastery of grammar. What I'm talking about is the super basic rules, like apostrophes, or conjugations "we was" etc.

OP posts:
Theimpossiblegirl · 09/08/2023 15:50

Grammar is taught in primary school. English is a very complicated language, as your post has proven. Hope that helps.

Notimeforaname · 09/08/2023 15:50

People living in glass houses…
Aye.

Whats embarrassing is how judgemental you are, especially when your opening line is "I'm a linguist".
So ok, you're an expert in it, others are not.

A lot of people including children have very complicated lives and being grammatically correct all the time is way down their list of priorities.

Piglet89 · 09/08/2023 15:51

Settling in. 🤓

DrSbaitso · 09/08/2023 15:51

Skyeboat · 09/08/2023 15:49

I'm completely happy to admit I don't have a perfect mastery of grammar. What I'm talking about is the super basic rules, like apostrophes, or conjugations "we was" etc.

Ah, so the stuff you get wrong doesn't count.

OrangeBlossom28 · 09/08/2023 15:51

The examples you refer to are taught in primary schools from year 1 onwards.

FelicityFlops · 09/08/2023 15:51

My current bugbears are incorrect participles and things like "she's came" which is just plain wrong.

Skyeboat · 09/08/2023 15:52

Theimpossiblegirl · 09/08/2023 15:50

Grammar is taught in primary school. English is a very complicated language, as your post has proven. Hope that helps.

I used to think English was a complicated language until I studied other languages. Then I realised it's, comparatively, very simple.

OP posts:
BreatheInn · 09/08/2023 15:52

I’m glad you bought this up, if their wasn’t you they’re wood be no grammer thread posted today.

vodkaredbullgirl · 09/08/2023 15:52

🙄

Notimeforaname · 09/08/2023 15:52

I'm completely happy to admit I don't have a perfect mastery of grammar. What I'm talking about is the super basic rules, like apostrophes, or conjugations "we was" etc.
"Super basic" to you. It may not be for others. Not everyone thinks like you..

TeenDivided · 09/08/2023 15:52

Grammar is now taught much more than say 20 years ago.

LolaSmiles · 09/08/2023 15:52

Some people make mistakes eg possessive apostrophe +s for plurals.

Some people have a dialect and transfer their non-standard regional grammar and other non-standard forms into written English when convention is to write in Standard English grammar.

If you're a linguist surely none of this is surprising to you. 🤷‍♀️

marblesthecat · 09/08/2023 15:53

You're probably going to get a lot of hate but I agree with you. I see people constantly making mistakes like misusing your/there, not conjugating verbs correctly ie "Was you there?" and one that drives me mad - a YouTuber I watch always says "so much people". Obviously I am not perfect either before people start picking my grammar apart but I do try,

Furtivefig · 09/08/2023 15:53

Notimeforaname · 09/08/2023 15:50

People living in glass houses…
Aye.

Whats embarrassing is how judgemental you are, especially when your opening line is "I'm a linguist".
So ok, you're an expert in it, others are not.

A lot of people including children have very complicated lives and being grammatically correct all the time is way down their list of priorities.

Lovely reply and so true!

Aintgotthatswing · 09/08/2023 15:53

If you can get your point across with nuance and verve that's the main thing, I'd have thought. The rules do mean something, the same as they do for music but then whatever.

Simonjt · 09/08/2023 15:53

English isn’t my first language, I speak three languages fluently. English is very very complex.

Skyeboat · 09/08/2023 15:55

DrSbaitso · 09/08/2023 15:51

Ah, so the stuff you get wrong doesn't count.

Well there you go, maybe I'm proving my own point. If my grammar is so appalling, perhaps there is indeed a problem?

OP posts:
Seeline · 09/08/2023 15:55

I went to primary school in the 1970s. Beyond capital letters and full stops we were taught no grammar at all. I learnt because I was an avid reader so know whether things sound or look 'right'. I have no idea of the theory behind it, or what different parts of speech are called etc. Learning French at my grammar school was a complete mystery as I knew nothing of tenses etc.
I was amazed at the grammar my DD had to learn for her Y6 SATS. I was no help at all. I'm not sure her teacher was much help either - unless teaching a specific English topic, her grammar was awful!

watcherintherye · 09/08/2023 15:55

Oh dear. Never put a grammar thread in AIBU! You’ll get a more receptive audience in Pedants’ corner.

DrSbaitso · 09/08/2023 15:55

marblesthecat · 09/08/2023 15:53

You're probably going to get a lot of hate but I agree with you. I see people constantly making mistakes like misusing your/there, not conjugating verbs correctly ie "Was you there?" and one that drives me mad - a YouTuber I watch always says "so much people". Obviously I am not perfect either before people start picking my grammar apart but I do try,

Well, maybe they try too. Have you noticed any correlation between the people making different mistakes to you and opportunity levels?

There are times when perfect grammar matters and times when it doesn't. The purpose of language is not to be "right", it's to enable communication and smooth interaction.

DrSbaitso · 09/08/2023 15:56

Skyeboat · 09/08/2023 15:55

Well there you go, maybe I'm proving my own point. If my grammar is so appalling, perhaps there is indeed a problem?

Well, do you feel embarrassed for yourself or think that you should?

petitdonkey · 09/08/2023 15:57

I agree with @Seeline - in the eighties we were taught nothing explicitly. I have fair grammar due to reading. I went on to study English literature and am now a teacher but I still have to look things up at times.

Swipe left for the next trending thread