14 November 2009

There's a Lot of English Habits Who Bug Me

What's wrong with these sentences?

There's a lot of people going to college now.

There is a cat, a dog, and a chair in that room.

There's too many new kinds to count.

And these?

I mean the girl that has a nose ring.

The man that rang the bell asked for Allie.

Some people that have cats are crazy.

Last time I was in the U.S., I was surprised by how bad English was, especially as I listened to talks in church, and I even found myself saying them after a while. Using "is" where "are" should be, and "that" where "who" should be are things I notice every time I speak English with Americans now. These two examples are habits I hope my own English students never get into. Shiver.

6 comments:

  1. I felt the same way about verb conjugations when I got home from Brazil. It still bothers me.

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  2. I think you fetishize the ideal speaker. I'm all for descriptive grammar!

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  3. It's interesting that when I read them I notice the mistake but I'm sure that when I speak, I probably slip and say the wrong thing.

    I hate it when people say, "these ones" you only need to say "these."

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  4. I agree with [sbg]. And I'm also excited to see you soon!

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  5. I hate the "is" where "are" should be but I catch myself doing it. Blugh.

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  6. Funny you should say stuff about English, because when you were here last, it seemed to me that your English was deteriorating.

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