Standard English Flashcards
All 12 cards in this deck
What is Standard English?
The form of English whose grammar and vocabulary are accepted as correct in formal writing. It isn't an accent, and it doesn't mean posh vocabulary. Slips into non-standard grammar (we was, I done) undermine the accuracy and control that AO6 rewards.
What is wrong with we was and you was?
Was goes with singular subjects (I, he, she, it). With we, you and they, Standard English uses were: we were, you were, they were.
Why is should of non-standard, and what should you write?
After should, could, would, might or must, the verb is have: I should have checked. Should of is the spoken contraction should've written down as it sounds.
Why is Me and him went to town non-standard?
The subject of a sentence needs subject pronouns (I, he, she, we, they), not object pronouns (me, him, her). Write He and I went to town. Test it by removing the other person: you'd say I went, not me went.
Which is Standard English: between you and me or between you and I?
Between you and me. After a preposition (between, with, for), use object pronouns: me, him, her. You'd say with me, not with I.
What is wrong with I seen it and I done it?
Seen and done are past participles, so they need have. Write I saw it / I have seen it and I did it / I have done it.
What is a double negative, and why should you avoid it?
Two negatives in one clause: I didn't do nothing. In Standard English this should be I didn't do anything or I did nothing. Strictly, the two negatives cancel out.
What's wrong with them books and the man what I met?
Them is a pronoun, not a determiner; write those books. What isn't used as a relative pronoun; write the man who (or that) I met.
Which is Standard English: She played really good or She played really well?
She played really well. It's describing how she played (a verb), so it needs the adverb well, not the adjective good.
When should you use fewer rather than less?
Fewer for things you can count (fewer cars, fewer people); less for amounts you can't (less traffic, less time).
Rewrite in Standard English: We was sat there for ages.
We were sitting there for ages (or We sat there for ages). We was should be we were, and was sat / was stood are non-standard forms of sitting / standing.
Can you ever use non-standard English in your imaginative writing?
Yes, inside dialogue, to give a character a believable voice, as long as it's clearly deliberate. The narrative voice and your Paper 2 writing should stay in Standard English. Avoid slang and text-speak (gonna, u) unless it's in a character's speech.