People talk about "good grammar" and "bad grammar," but most so-called bad grammar turns out to be good grammar--in a different dialect.

Go to an explanation and some definitions.

Here are some of the differences between "standard" English and other dialects spoken where I live and work--Richmond, Virginia, USA.
 
 

Selected Dialect Differences

"Standard" English	Some Other Dialects  (Some dialects have only a few of  these features.)
"S" or "Z" sound at end of certain words	No "S" or "Z" sound at end of certain words
Possessive 's Look at my neighbor's car. Bob is my sister's boyfriend.	No Possessive 's Look at my neighbor car. Bob is my sister boyfriend.
Contraction 's Bob's my friend. He's my best friend..	No Contraction 's Bob my friend. He my best friend.
Both Bob's my sister's boyfriend.	Neither Bob my sister boyfriend.
Subject-Verb  "Agreement"	Subject-Verb Agreement Reversed ("Disagreement")
I go.  (I go to work every day.) You go. We go. They go. He goes. She goes. It goes Bob goes. Bob and Sue go.	I goes.  (I goes to work every day.) You goes. We goes. They goes. He go. She go. It go. Bob go. Bob and Sue goes.
I have.  (I have a new job.) You have. We have. They have. He has. She has. It has. The child has. The children have.	I has.  (I has a new job.) You has. We has They has. He has. She has. It has. The child have. The children has.
I have gone home. You have gone home. We have gone home. They have gone home. He has gone home. She has gone home. It has gone home. The child has gone home. The children have gone home.	I has gone home. You has gone home. We has gone home. They has gone home. He have gone home. She have gone home. It have gone home. The child have gone home. The children has gone home.	I done go home. You done go home. We done go home. They done go home. He done go home. She done go home. I done go home. The child done go home. The children done go home	I gone home. You gone home. We gone home. They gone home. He gone home. She gone home. It gone home. The child gone home. The children gone home.
"Standard" BE verb	Some other BE verb uses
I am sick.  You are sick. We are sick. They are sick. He is sick. She is sick. It is sick.	I sick.  You sick. We sick. They sick. He sick.  She sick. It sick.	I be sick.  You be sick We be sick. They be sick. He be sick. She be sick. It be sick.

Explanation

First let's define some terms:

GRAMMAR means the structure of a language--the order of words, their various forms, and so on.  In English, for example, we know that "The sun is shining" is a statement and "Is the sun shining?" is a question (even without a question mark) because of the word order.  On the other hand, "Sun shining is the" is such bad grammar that it doesn't even make sense.

ACCENTS are different pronunciations of words.  In most British accents, for example, water sounds like "waw-tuh" and in most American accents it sounds like "wah-derr."  Similarly, some Americans say, "Ah cain't" and some say, "Ai caen't."   Their accents differ, even though they're both speaking American English.

DIALECTS of a language have somewhat different grammars and vocabularies.  In England, for instance, it's good grammar to say "I live IN Broad Street" instead of "ON."  And there the government ARE working hard.  In America we hope the government IS working hard.  Cars in Britain have bonnets, but Americans call them hoods.  These are real, but relatively unimportant differences between two dialects--standard American English and standard British English.  (Some linguists would say that these are merely regional differences, rather than dialects.  I'm saying "dialects" here to reduce the number of distinctions and clarify the basic problems.)

There are many dialects of English, each with its own grammar, and some dialects are different in important ways--so important that speakers of one dialect have trouble understanding speakers of another.

But which dialect's grammar is correct?  All of them aret--within themselves.

These days, however, English is used in many countries, including many in which it is no one's native language.  It's therefore essential that we all agree on the same rules for speaking and writing in English and that we all can understand one another.  We call this agreed-upon language International English, or Standard English--or just plain English, for short.

This Standard English is the dialect used by most persons who have power in English-speaking countries--Great Britian, The United States, Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, parts of South Africa, and some other places.  These persons generally say that any dialect other than theirs is "bad grammar."  However, many people in these same countries have grown up speaking other dialects of English.  Their native dialects are perfectly good for local purposes--such as in their families and communities--but if they differ from the so-called "standard" English, their users almost inevitably find themselves without power and discriminated against by those who have it.

To avoid dialect discrimination, they have had to learn to use the "standard" dialect.  (They don't have to give up their native dialect, however--just add the "standard" one!)

This is an oversimplification, of course.  But I hope it will help to empower everyone, whatever their native dialects.

Back to the top.