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...

[Skyeboat]

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?

I'm sitting here repeatedly saying "the apple".

Now I'm having an existential crisis 😂

It is my utmost pleasure 😊

Is the problem that we just don't teach grammar and syntax in school?

When I was at school this was absolutely the issue.

Now it's often taught - sometimes incorrectly though usually well - but often not regularly enforced and corrected in work - more ad hoc sometimes picked up and often not.

Honestly I think teaching spelling is much worse and that's also much improved from my school days - it's often expected to emerge or be retained from spelling tests rather than regularly corrected in work.

I'm dyslexic and find clear instructions and reinforcement are bloody helpful to avoid errors. However beyond basic grammar some people do get pedantic which seems mad as English has a lot of flexibly and as long as meaning is conveyed most people don't care.

OP what is your native language? If it is English, then of course it will appear easier.

E.g. understanding the order of adjectives in English can be a bit tricky. For a native speaker it is intuitive. Non-native speakers need to learn it as a rule. Generally, the order follows this sequence:

Opinion
Size
Age
Shape
Color
Origin
Material
Purpose
For example, "a lovely little old round red Italian wooden dining table.

Saying any of the words in the wrong place will make the sentence sound off.

Again, not easy.

Is it really true that native English speakers make an unusually high amount of grammatical "errors", when you control for other factors like education level and context of the speech/writing?

English has its own complexities. Not unique to English, but it's not "simple" in every respect. English has many tense-aspect combinations (ways of talking about the time something happened). It also has a large vocabulary, although how many words the average person knows is another matter, including a lot of near-synonyms where the choice of which word to use is subtle and may depend on speaker and context. Spoken English has strong enough regional accents and dialects that even other native English speakers might struggle to understand them (OK, Arabic is probably even worse there). Written English has notoriously irregular spelling.

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

Or maybe English just isn't soo very basic as you say .

HTH.

I though English grammar was well recognised as one of the more complex?

I think my written and spoken English is generally OK and I can be a bit of a pedant over basic mistakes, but I was never taught "rules" as such at school in the 80s. I have no idea what conjugation means.

I believe adjectival order is similar, and important, in French too.

But yes, I don't remember English grammar being formally taught in my school days, certainly not in the way we were taught the grammar of foreign languages.

To be fair I think I only learned the meaning of conjugation when I started learning a foreign language. I assumed I did learn it in primary school at some point though.

I often wonder if the constant stream of American English, social media, etc. has had an influence on how people, especially those who are younger speak and write "English" English now?

English grammar is actually not that easy and not many people have had good teachers.

I'd understand if it was a complicated rule

Surely that needs the subjunctive, 'if it were a complicated rule' ? I'm only a mathematician so I could be remembering incorrectly!
I recall a conversation with a German friend who said something similar about her language, maybe we are all more careless with our own language.

I thought following a comma with ‘and’ was a no no?

What evidence do you have that people speaking other languages make less grammatical mistakes?

@Pinkitydrinkity hahah I was just about to write - there’s an unnecessary comma in your OP…

I think you might have meant to say "fewer" mistakes?

The debate over using the Oxford comma is ongoing, with some style guides recommending its use for clarity and others suggesting omitting it for brevity.

An example highlighting the importance of the Oxford comma: "I invited my parents, Lady Gaga, and Beyoncé." Without the Oxford comma, it could be interpreted that your parents are Lady Gaga and Beyoncé.

Tbf English grammar is pretty easy. French and Czech speakers (for example) have to learn grammar much more actively for longer. I’ve heard it said as English doesn’t have much grammar but does have a lot of syntax - and sometimes the lack of ‘rules’ makes the syntax hard to grasp.

@LylaLee that’s not an Oxford comma though it’s just unnecessary as the and is doing the job of linking two parts of the sentence.

Maybe, in not claiming to be any sort of grammar expert!

I think the most important rule is in regards to your/you’re. Knowing your shit, as opposed to knowing your shit. I guess both of these could apply to those who correct others. Especially in the world of auto-correct, which I’m sure makes even the most linguistically skilled look foolish from time to time.
In the grand scheme of things, I would prefer the youth of today to be taught how to manage a home, finances, how to be a decent citizen. I can forgive/ignore a few grammatical blemishes. My priorities would be a lot different to yours if education reform was ours to decide…

I think you may have meant to write “to write”.

🤣

Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss- was good back in the day for explain to me why it mattered and giving examples of what is correct.

It's not a new problem.

The audience might be more receptive but any gramma mistakes in OP's post would still be commented on.