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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.
I felt the same way about verb conjugations when I got home from Brazil. It still bothers me.
ReplyDeleteI think you fetishize the ideal speaker. I'm all for descriptive grammar!
ReplyDeleteIt'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.
ReplyDeleteI hate it when people say, "these ones" you only need to say "these."
I agree with [sbg]. And I'm also excited to see you soon!
ReplyDeleteI hate the "is" where "are" should be but I catch myself doing it. Blugh.
ReplyDeleteFunny you should say stuff about English, because when you were here last, it seemed to me that your English was deteriorating.
ReplyDelete