It's difficult teaching English as a second language to first graders, as you can imagine, for many reasons. Adding to this frustration is my tutor, who uses consistently poor grammar and um...vocabulary.
One of the most difficult habits to break with the kids is saying mines.
"This is yours, and this is mines."
Another is the weirdness of everyone in Immokalee misusing the word barely.
Barely.
"I barely got my new van when it was hit by a truck."
Isn't it supposed to be, "I just got my new van...?"
Or, even better, "I had just bought my van..."
Everything's about that word "got" nowadays. Even on our church's private school's radio commercial, it says, "We've GOT cross country, basketball..."
I don't know if that's incorrect, but it sounds stupid. I can understand saying it in casual circumstances, but in a commercial for a private school? It can't be right.
3 comments:
that would be a good question for our editor autumn.
I think it should be: "We have.." because We've is the compound word for we have and to say we've got is like saying "We have got". While have actually shows possession. In other words, they are stating it twice. Shame, shame.
ACK! Just got back from Costa Rica, and somehow I was magnetically drawn to your post about *gasp* bad grammar. :)
Jeff is correct. "We've got" is so horribly, disgustingly wrong, as is the use of "barely" that you mention. And the "mines" thing...omg. I think I burst a blood vessel.
This is why I should not be allowed to teach children. There would be much berating and crying.
You're a saint! A saint!
- Autumn
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