Your comments

Ian Prettyman from Lowestoft
Having been born in and lived all my life (so far) in Suffolk and having been a teacher of English for over thirty years I would say that I use two forms of English - informal English (including my local accent and dialect) and formal (standard) English when the situation requires it. In certain circumstances correct English (including correct grammar) does matter. Try telling your solicitor who is preparing your Will or a barrister defending somebody in court that correct English doesn't matter and see what happens! If English is changing it is through misuse rather than correct use and, unfortunately, a lot of people who misuse it seem to have adopted the attitude of "so what, I can't be bothered to learn how to do it properly." Television presenters are setting a poor example in some cases. I have recently heard examples of animals and birds being referred to as if they're human beings because the presenter has used the word 'who' instead of 'which' to refer to them. I have also heard objects being made into human beings by being described as 'whose..........' instead of '....of which'. Added to this is the continued misuse of the apostrophe. I concluded a long while ago that it's no more difficult to learn how to communicate correctly in English than it is to use a computer; it just takes a bit of effort and the will to want to do it properly.

Laurence Coates from Johnstone, Renfrewshire
Some ungrammatical constructs are more standard than grammatical ones e.g. "aren't" is used in place of "amn't". If you insist on being pedantic which is better, standard English or grammatical English? At the Paisley branch of Marks and Spencer two express queues are for "five items or less" and one is for "five items or fewer". Does it make a difference whether or not you stand in the 'grammatical' queue?

Robert Benson, East Lothian
I was taught grammar, punctuation and spelling at school (about a thousand years ago!), and I'm irritated mainly by "drawring" instead of "drawing" (listen to David Frost), and the insertion of "r" when it doesn't exist - eg Africar, Americar and Indiar are....". Connected with this is the omission of "r" when it does exist; "Yassa Arafat" was a favourite, and the ultimate recipe for confusion lies with Anne Robinson, who pronounces Palma (Majorca) exactly the same way as Parma (Italy); both are pronounced as Paama - if she was an airline announcer, no one would know where the plane was going!

Ken from Fareham
'Where's my invite?' (Invitation). 'I was sat, stood...'(Sitting, Standing, etc.) 'Pass the ball to Smiffy and he will INVARIABLY score.' Oh, really? (He will sometimes/or often score,but 'Invariably', I don't think so! These are just a few examples of the mis-use of words that irritate me. And what about the way many people speak now? Their voices go up at the end of a sentence as if they were asking a question and not making a statement. Please let us have our language back.

Aidan Work from Wellington,New Zealand.
I get very testy when I hear newsreaders say 'an historical event',for example.Newspapers over here in New Zealand are known for their bad grammar,not only in English,but in spelling in the Maori language as well.I think that polite English has to be stressed.

Patsy from Cornwall
Poor use of the English language is extremely irritating. This is not a question of accent or local idiom but rather understanding how to spell and use the langage correctly. Although language will change over time, I deplore the slang, Americanisms (morgue instead of mortuary) and incorrect usage of the English language (loose instead of lose) which has bcome commonplace in recent years. The BBC is not blameless as presenters, newsreaders and journalisrs who are role models for children are also guilty of misusing the language. Let us ensure that future generations learn to use English correctly. We should be aware that the English language originated in England and was taken from here to other English speaking countries.

Catherine Harp from London
I don't think that many of the snobbish comments on this page about "bad grammar" can really be justified when you see how many spelling mistakes these people have made!

mulzukker from hk
i find it difficult to define ''th '' sounds . the ''voice '' and ''invoice ''

Tashrifa Ahmed Shropshire
i think it doesn't matter the way you talk english as long as people can understand what you are saying to them! i also think it is not exactley right to judge people on the way they speek! people must except that things are now changing and so is language. words are being replaced with shortend words for example "what are you doing" is now being used as "wassup" and its not like everyone is perfect! the younger the generation the more the words change! you dont really get that many people who speek proper english which shows that the language is changing! but then again what is proper english???

muhammad shakir from grays,essex
In my native Nigeria we simply 'fill the forms'.Later I discovered that the Americans 'fill out the forms'.Then the grammar books tells me that people in mother Britain actually 'fill in the forms'.Now if speech is about communicating an idea and the various forms perform this function effectively in their various localities, which of the above is 'correct' and which is 'wrong'?

Roger Cornwall &Lancashire
I agree with Jacqui from Hertfordshire. People need to be taught properly or they will never know.

Benjamin from Manchester
As an ESOL teacher and a student studying English language I find myself faced with conflict. On one hand it seems perfectly logical to say that English is fluid and that there is no such thing as 'bad grammar' or a 'horrible accent'. From a practical point of view it is necessary to have a form of Standard English to teach and speak - it is no 'better' than any other form but it is merely the agreed, universal, regular form which everyone can understand and use easily. It does not mean that non-Standard dialects have any less value, particularly in determining self-identity. However, on the other hand, I have to confess that I do have an innate prejudice and judge people by how they speak. I cannot stand certain accents and hate it when people make grammatical 'errors'. I think that the main reason for this is that there is less variety in dialect among people with extensive education, and therefore those who speak 'properly' are perceived to be more intelligent. I also think that this prejudice is simply part of English culture and that the old joke 'An Englishman only has to speak to make another Englishman despise him' is still very true, whether we like it or not.

Brian, Teesside
Unfortunetly, as with everything, communications are getting faster everyday. Therefore the use of correct grammar only goes to slow modern day living. Everything is about speed!, hence grammar is lost in the speed of conversation.

Koo from Lancs
Language, dialect and yes even grammar are fluid in nature. They are not a constant and never have been, if they were we would all still be speaking like Shakespeare. I don't see why people get angry with the way others speak, is it actually causing any harm? For all those angered by bad grammer and/or regional accents-chill out, enjoy the diversity and celebrate our wonderful, evolving language.

Louis from Malaysia
Jacqui from Hertfordshire, my sentiments exactly! The emergence of 'BAD GRAMMAR'---Sheer laziness! Keep this in mind---Don't expect to reap without sowing! "GOOD ENGLISH" takes a lot of doing!

George Draper from Canada
I hear the frustrations in what I have been reading. You have made for good disscussion on the subject. Your opinions are as different as the English language has become. I try to correct my teenage daughter when her grammar is slanged.Our schools do not teach good grammar anymore and the students get by on what they pickup.Every generation adds and subtracts the English language. Now there is Rap to contend with.

Frances - Germany
We were always told off at home (in England) if we said "Me and so and so ..." We had to say "So and so and I ..." but I don't remember it having anything to do using correct grammar, as much as it being impolite to put yourself first.

Dominique London
Grammer children use today is some what terrible they don not pronounce there words.

Jacqui from Hertfordshire
Good grammar is important as it sounds so much nicer. Regional accents & dialects are interesting to listen to and can be grammatically correct. Incorrect grammar just indicates lack of education and/or laziness.

Johanna from Sheffield
After moving to Sheffield from Sunderland, I hate listening to people from Yorkshire using the words 'was' and 'were' the wrong way round. "I were", "We was". The use of the word 'while' to mean 'until', as in 9 while 5, when speaking about time!?

Frank Clayforth. North Shields
The easiest way to spot the snob is to note how such people say 'Offen' instead of 'often', and 'orf' instead of 'off'. (with apologies to HM).

Margaret Owen, East Molesey
I deplore the current "fashion" of using the past tense of the verbs "sit" and "stand" in place of the continuous form. egs. I am stood here,instead of I am standing here. He was stood at the bar (He was standing at the bar). He is sat alone (He is sitting alone). I was sat at the back (I was sitting at the back). These ugly grammatical mistakes were once made only by the poorly educated; now I hear them all the time on the radio and on television by people who otherwise speak perfectly correctly. I have even (horrors upon horrors!) read them in the Guardian. P.S. I'm all for regional accents and dialects. ll for regional accents and dialects. PS. I'm all for regional accents and dialects.

Simon from Bristol
The point of language is to communicate, so as long as people understand what the communicator meant, then the goal has been met. Does it matter if they are not adhering to some 20th century standard? English is constantly changing, and what is 'correct' now - certainly wasn't correct in Shakespeare's time... does that mean he had bad grammar?

Philip from Dakar, Senegal
As an English teacher to French students and a native English speaker myself, this notion of grammar has plagued my existence for some years now. What we label 'grammar', ie the underlying organisation of a language, has one essential aim - to make sure that we are understood by the person we are communicating with. Without a common language organisation my message in this comment wouldn't have any chance of coming across to a reader. Your examples show the wide variety of organisational systems that are possible depending upon one's background, linguistic and cultural models. As language speakers we would probably not be consistent in our choices of 'Dan and I' Dan and me' etc using either one or the other to best put our message over in a given situation. 'Grammar' is not a series of rules but a tool which we use to make ourselves understood. The teaching of first language (or even second language) grammar - as is the case in the French school system - has little or no impact on their ability to learn a foreign language. One learns in communicative situations where the need to adapt to the system of the listener is the only rule.

Natalie from Northampton
When I was a language student my heart cried out "Hear, hear" when we discussed descriptive grammar in favour of that which is prescriptive as I have always been fascinated by regional variation in speech, be it in the form of vocabulary or pronunciation. However I struggle with examples of language that seem to blatantly stomp all over the fundamental rules of English. For example, my partner (a teacher) hails from Bradford, West Yorkshire and whilst I can just about accept him saying "I've aten it" as part of his Yorkshireness, I cannot abide him saying things like "Where was you?" or "Is there any of them left?" It makes me sqirm to think that he speaks to pupils like this and I have every intention of making sure none of this Bradfordese gets passed on to our young son. Am I some sort of language snob?!

Glenn Hadikin
It all boils down to predudism really, we should get used to other forms of English than just the standard.

Diana from Brussels
I agree with much of the above. As a teacher of EFL however,its my job not only to impart a good general knowledge of different ways of expressing oneself, but most importantly, to teach grammatically correct English to my students in order that they speak well but are not penalised in their exams for incorrect grammar! I have a number of pet hates - but the one that has me yelling out loud every time I hear it on TV and radio concerns countable and uncountable nouns. Here am I teaching the difference between "less"(uncountable - eg sugar, milk,bread,butter,money etc) and "fewer" (countable - eg people, children,men,women, apples, cakes etc) ...but what do we hear ALL the time - "less"! It seems nobody uses the word "fewer" any more. Even such distinguished interviewers as will be found on the TODAY programme and NEWSNIGHT and their interviewees (MPs,academics etc) I find myself yelling "fewer" when they say things like "less people" "less women" etc grrrrrrrh!!! Incidentally, I find my students have a much better knowledge of English grammar than British kids. Like Barry Gower I was taught grammar at school. In 1993, when discussing teaching with an English grad, she told me she was only one step ahead of the students when teaching grammar. I was puzzled and asked how that could be - she was an English grad after all! "Oh, being an English grad has nothing to do with it. Since the 70s grammar has not been taught in UK schools" was the reply. I was shocked to say the least - and whether or not this is true probably reflects the abysmal ignorance of grammatical knowledge that I come across in British children and the most likely reason why Brits find learning foreign languages so difficult - if they have no idea what modern English grammar consists of how can they possibly find their way around the minefield of French and German verb conjugation. Its my experience that most children in the rest of Europe speak at least one foreign language other than their mother tongue (often English) and many speak two or more.

Julia Morgan, Solihull
The latest incorrect use of grammar that I have heard is on the young children's programmes (CBeebies), 'Boogie Beebies' and 'Big Cook, Little Cook'. The presenters say, 'There's (ie there is) little bricks and there's big bricks' and 'Here comes the plates'. This should, ofcourse be 'There are little bricks etc' and 'Here come the plates'. Children learn from these programmes and will copy the mistakes. It is not quaint or querky colloquial English at all; it is BAD GRAMMAR! Please alert Head of Children's Programming!

David Bailey from London
Surely the examples you give are not standard english - "Me and Dan are going"? Whilst I appreciate that this is common colloquial english and there is nothing wrong with it in speech, it is an incorrect use of a personal pronoun - you do not hear "Me is going to the shops", so how is "me and dan are going" correct? I agree that the rules are fluid but there are certain things that should be taught from a standard english perspective - I learned my grammar from learning foreign languages - it was not taught at school and I think that is wrong. Just as with jazz, you need to understand the rules before you can break them properly! As for to boldly go I think this is a perfectly acceptable word order giving a slightly different emphasis - as far as I know the split infinitive was only frowned upon because of early grammars that appeared based on the rules of Latin, not English.

Frank Clayforth. North Shields
Most people could make a better effort to speak English properly. There are many reasons to be proud of a particular region but deliberate abuse of the language is not one of them. The people with the broadest accents seem to speak the loudest and have far too much to say. e.g. Isn't it easier to say, "Don't do that" instead of, "Divvent dee that"?

Chris Singleton from Sale
Why do program producers have to have characters in them that need to talk about 'sumfink' all the time.I believe that accents are wonderful but that slovenly speech is not. This has crept into nearly all British speech now rarely do people sing any more they are always 'singin'with the middle g nearly missed out and the end g totally missed out, and if they don't do that they will be into 'drawrin'. Just listen next time some one either one!

Stevie Nicks from Bolton
English is a living language. Of course it is changing, and it always will regardless of protests from purists. I think we need to educate people on appropriateness of use rather than correctness, in this way we are not stifling innovation in language.

I Pavitt from Isle of Wight
Can't abide people saying "off of" instead of just "off"!

barry gower from isle of dogs
i was taught english grammar at school and was required to parse sentences. nowadays, nobody understands when i say that and nobody seems to have the faintest idea of what a noun, verb, participle, adverbial clause, phrase etc. are. english is lost to the current generation. shame!

Lucy Jones
William Caxton is credited with the first English press in the fourteenth century, and he describes at great length the difficulties he encountered in trying to identify a "standard" English. Academic and religious texts were certainly still produced exclusively in Latin, but there was an enormous amount of printing in English - in fact this was one of the causes of a great amount of standardisation of the language towards the south-eastern model.

Lena from Scotland
I think there is alot of snobbery concerning language and speech. Instead of us all enjoying each others different accents, nuances, voices etc. Some people look down on certain accents.