As you probably know, I taught English for eleven years in Japan. It still feels strange that I’m not doing it anymore. I spent more than a quarter of my life doing it. But I have that urge to do something, and I want to make sure I don’t forget grammar rules. I’ve been thinking about what to do, and then it came to me a couple weeks ago: easy one-point lesson videos!
There are English lesson videos on YouTube, of course. But I’m planning on doing something that I haven’t seen (although may exist). I’m going to be doing simple lessons that tackle common problems that people have with English. But the thing is, this won’t only be for English learners, it’ll also be for those who are fluent in English. You see, this is where the writing and editing part comes in. There are many problems that English speakers have with their own language, especially in writing.
This is where you come in. A lot of you are readers and writers. What are some English grammar problems you have? Let me know in the comments below. Your idea will likely become a lesson video!
I Read Encyclopedias for Fun 
The ones that I often see others making that drive me crazy are the their, there, they’re and to, too, two rules.
Me, to. Did you see what I did they’re?
I agree. That’s what I was going to write too. They’re, their, you’re are constantly misspelt in sentences.
To this day the lie, lay, lain, laid get me. I akways avoid them.
Oh, those are fun. I’ll definitely do a video on that.
Whose/who’s, who/whom, than/then.
I hate “whom.” But I’ll do a video on it and the others.
Different “from”, not different “than”.
Between (or any preposition that takes the dative case) “you and me”, not “you and I”.
The [any living being] “who”, not “that”.
Lol. I guess that’s enough for now.
Some pretty common ones. Definitely will do those.
Lol. Yes, very unfortunately common.
My issues mostly arise as a result of my growing up in Cape Breton…lol We have a lot of slang here, and a lot of strange ways of saying things. I was always very well-read, so for the most part when I’m writing I’m able to do it properly, but you can see my background come out a lot in my dialogue. I’ll read it back later and realize that I’ve skipped words that I would normally skip when I speak, because that’s just the way we speak, but it’s actually very poor grammar. I often wonder if the people who have read Nowhere to Hide have raised their eyebrows at some of my dialogue and wondered what the heck is wrong with my characters. lol
I make fun of my mom’s old-fashioned slang sometimes. I guess I shouldn’t. But spending several years away from Canada has made me sensitive to the language. Part of reverse culture shock, I’d say.
Don’t come to the East coast then. Your head might explode. lol I’m one of the most articulate people I know, and some of the things that come out of my mouth make my coworkers out West look at me like I’ve lost my mind. lol
I’d like to go to Newfoundland and see how they talk đŸ™‚
Oh lord, that’d be a trip…make sure you go inland, because they speak even funnier in the older towns. ^_^ I once had a Newfie college-mate ask me for a “buckle” while pointing at her hair. It took a good few minutes for me to realize that she was talking about a regular hair elastic. I was like, “HOW THE HELL DO YOU GET BUCKLE FROM AN ELASTIC?!” lol
A buckle? Wow, where’d they get that from? One thing my wife always talks about is a gum. If she asked my mom or sister if they saw her gum, they’d think it’s chewing gum. However, it comes from French, gomme, which means rubber or elastic. She means a hair elastic.
Okay, see, I could see that since it’s a French word, but Newfies don’t have their own language (technically…lol), so buckle definitely doesn’t make any sense. lol
The Newfies I’ve met were understandable, but they lived in Edmonton. I need to hear some of their English.
Most of the Newfies I’ve worked with were perfectly understandable, just with a strong accent, but if you go to some areas that are a little older with a more aging population…oh man, it’s like, “Is this ENGLISH?”
I’d love to visit some of the smaller places in Newfoundland.