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It was common when I was in school (80's to mid 90's), that if a student asked for permission to do something and used the word "can" the teacher would say yes because the kid was physically capable of doing it. Then once the kid did whatever it was, they would get punished for not asking permission. This approach was rarely uniformly applied across the classroom. If they argued back that they did ask permission, they would get punished more for talking back. I guess it helped some with learning grammar, but punishing kids for speaking out of turn because they received an affirmative to the question "Can you help me?" or leaving the room to use the restroom because they asked "Can I go to the restroom?" I think mostly taught them that you will get in trouble if you ask a teacher anything. I'm happy that practice or even the snarky "I don't know, can you?" responses seem to have fallen out of popularity. Though I do wish there was more effort to correct written grammar.
I honestly don't care that much for "correct" grammar. It was an invention of the 19th century and really took off by the mid-1800s. I'm glad it's taking a backseat to the quality of the thought being expressed rather than the punctuation that is used.
Can and may both can be used to express the possibility of doing something. Can has an additional meaning of having the ability to do something. If you read any writing in English from Chaucer to George Washington you will see many variations on spelling and punctuation. Many times writers would use different spelling for the same word within a few sentences of each other. Nobody cared.
Ain't is a word, Charles Dickens used it quite liberally in his novels. And you can start a sentence with "and", and Shakespeare ended sentences with prepositions all the time.
Language is a fluid thing that can change rapidly from generation to generation. If it didn't, we certainly wouldn't have the modern English language.
I honestly don't care that much for "correct" grammar. It was an invention of the 19th century and really took off by the mid-1800s. I'm glad it's taking a backseat to the quality of the thought being expressed rather than the punctuation that is used.
Can and may both can be used to express the possibility of doing something. Can has an additional meaning of having the ability to do something. If you read any writing in English from Chaucer to George Washington you will see many variations on spelling and punctuation. Many times writers would use different spelling for the same word within a few sentences of each other. Nobody cared.
Ain't is a word, Charles Dickens used it quite liberally in his novels. And you can start a sentence with "and", and Shakespeare ended sentences with prepositions all the time.
Language is a fluid thing that can change rapidly from generation to generation. If it didn't, we certainly wouldn't have the modern English language.
I understand that language is fluid.
And much of it is transitory.
But grammar is structural in nature, and as such ought not be dismissed so cavalierly as merely idiomatic or trivial slangifications that arise constantly.
See what myself just did there?
Last edited by PamelaIamela; 09-11-2020 at 09:45 PM..
I am not a teacher but it seems to me that the first person is being mangled ever more frequently in ordinary speech, particularly the use of 'myself' in utterly ear-jarring language.
I hear cringe worthy statements like 'Give the book to the librarian or myself'.. or 'Myself and my boyfriend went to Paris last month'... 'They told my mom and I to leave'.. and it goes on ad nauseam!
What happened to 'ME'?
Is correct speech no longer relevant in teaching today?
Are things so bad that grammar has fallen by the wayside?
My ears hurt.
Actually, some of those examples are mild compared to some of the things I’ve heard. No differentiation between singular and plural, split infinitives, misplaced modifier, constant use of double negatives, etc. People too lazy to even pronounce syllables; real low class. Even certain celebrities using very poor grammar. My understanding is that if teachers correct a students English, it’s even considered racist, as in an attack against a certain culture.
In the real world no one I know speaks, texts or emails with perfect grammar. Doesn't bother me at all. What bothers me is when bad grammar is used in news stories. I see that all the time, especially local news websites.
In the real world no one I know speaks, texts or emails with perfect grammar. Doesn't bother me at all. What bothers me is when bad grammar is used in news stories. I see that all the time, especially local news websites.
Likely due to sloppy grammar creep... and prolly unstoppable at this point.
Now how did THAT little gem of a contraction sound to y'all?
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