'I done'... Aaaaaaaggggghhhhhh

[MrsSiba]

I have tried to teach my daughter to talk properly and have taught her correct grammar from the start. In particular saying I DID something rather than I DONE something. It is a personal bugbear when I hear people getting this wrong. However where we live in the north west it seems everyone says 'I done' or 'we done' . Yesterday as we were leaving nursery her lovely teacher said, 'Did you tell your Mummy what we done today?' I winced inwardly.

I know it won't bother some people and I probably sound like a right a snob but if the teachers speak like this the kids will too!

I would like advice on how and if to tackle it. I am happy with the nursery in other ways and my DD is happy and learning well. Should I mention it? What do I say? Should I just leave it alone but continue to correct at home?

Dd is 3yrs 9 months so this is pre-school.

Correct it at home. It's really a very minor thing in the scheme of life and your daughter will be there for another 2 years, max.
If it was school I would possibly say something, but for early years I personally think you'll look a bit melodramatic to bring it up

Yes dd you can tell me all about what you did today in the car...

When my dd was at nursery her keyworker used to say one, two, free

I winced inwardly every time.

I'm in London and it's all 'go toilet' at my child's nursery. What can you do?

I'm a stickler for 'may I' instead of 'can I'. Taught my 2 the difference early on, but never said anything to the nursery. One day when I picked the kids up, the nursery teacher told me my oldest had corrected her. She had said "can I nip to the loo" to another nursery teacher and my son corrected her. They laughed about... But probably wouldn't have if I had been the one correcting them.

Just keep correcting your child. I always have and now my teen is as much as of a pedant as I am. They are also savvy enough to keep their annoyance to themselves when their teachers and friends make errors.

Unfortunately, I don't think you'll win any friends at the nursery by mentioning it.

Where we live lots of people use this. It makes my skin crawl (yes, I know). If they cant speak using correct grammar surely the children will then write it incorrectly too?

It's annoying. But if your daughter is happy, safe and learning and this is your only concern please don't say anything.

Plenty of children hear imperfect English all the time because they grow up with non-native speakers. Most of them learn standard English themselves via exposure elsewhere. The odd 'done' won't harm your DD's language development long term.

@ChrisjenAvasarala that’s my bugbear too! DH says “Can you pass the salt?” and I say “Yes, I CAN...”. He sits there feeling infuriated then says “WILL you pass the salt?!”

We’ve been doing this rigmarole for a decade now and he still says CAN

You definitely can’t say anything.

Also, shouldn’t it technically be “I have done something” rather than “I did something”?

Oh God it's so hard, I teach and a couple of the staff will say this. I deal with it by having some fairly pointed lessons on grammar. Did/done also seen saw.
Then I sort of repeat it back to them so:

Mrs Smith: I done my cleaning last night.
Me: Mrs. Smith did her cleaning last night, what did you do?

This drove me absolutely nuts when my DD was in early years childcare. Interestingly, when she was in the care of professionals whose background was not from the UK, they spoke impeccably.

When we lived in London, our Polish nanny (who had been in the country just a few years) had perfect grammar. As did the West Indian childminders.

When we moved out of London and briefly into the Home Counties, It was the UK homegrown childcare professionals who didn't seem to have command of the English language. Nor did they seem to care. Really sad and irritating.

We also have this, and "yous" for the plural of "you" (Scotland). Can't do anything about it, they will learn when to use formal grammar and when to blend in with their peers as they get older.

How stupid everyone knows it should be what we have did today. I'm sure your dd's nursery teacher will appreciate a note correcting her grammar. Don't forget to invest in a red pen to correct any written mistakes and maybe a stamp for if they get it right (unlikely).

Wow.

We get this at my girls’ nursery too. So the women who work there are not always grammatically perfect. They are angels in disguise as far as I’m concerned. The girls adore them. The feeling is mutual. They use their own time and money to plan activities etc. Angels the lot of them.

Would annoy me and it's unprofessional but I wouldn't be brave enough to say anything!

It’s awful and I wouldn't be happy with that at all.’.

 Bit dramatic.

What's dramatic? It IS awful. That's not dramatic. Dramatic would be holding the teacher hostage or something, not simply commenting that it's awful. I would expect a nursery teacher to be ok with basic grammar and I would be concerned about having my child's learning led by someone who said 'tell mummy what you done today'

However where we live in the north west it seems everyone says 'I done' or 'we done'

So you say it is common in NW where you live to say this.

So you are basically slagging the local dialect of the people you live among?

Sounds like you need to move to North London to achieve the diction you want.

A good boarding school will flog that common accent out of her OP.

It wouldn't bother me - that's not the only grammar she's going to hear and it's only "wrong" if you compare it to standard English.

What else should you compare it to? Ah yes, the "it's only wrong if you compare it with what's correct" argument. 🙄

I think you have to remember the lack of funding for our nurseries from central government. Many staff work long hours for minimum wage. This government doesn't value early education enough and isn't prepared to provide funding which would allow for well qualified staff.

bearsinthestudy Oh for goodness sake. No, I’m not slagging the local dialect, just pointing out something I’ve noticed. Please untwist your knickers and remove the stick out of your arse

What else should you compare it to? Ah yes, the "it's only wrong if you compare it with what's correct" argument

Oh come on, you surely don't think languages never change and develop? Do you think what you are absolutely certain is "correct" English would have seemed to to Shakespeare? Or are you of the opinion that we have reached perfection and should insist on no more changes, ever?

Correcting directly doesn't work but rephrasing so they can hear what most people say will help.
If most people say it the way the EYP says it, bad luck!

‘Please untwist your knickers and remove the stick out of your arse’

It’s the people being too precious about grammar that need the stick removed.

It will be fine. She will go to school and it will all change. Don’t sweat the small stuff.