Laid, laying.

Chavvin' awa, thanks Granny23

When Fit like?
Me = Nae sae baad.

mrsmopp I think the examples you have given are now standard usage. For example, the verb to boat has been around since the early seventeenth century. I'm not so sure about "to medal" and "to gold", both of which were heard during the Olympic Games, and "to monster" which has cropped up in a couple of recent reports concerning press freedom. I also recall hearing a member of a band/group talk about "merching" and the "merch" – presumably referring to merchandise.

Round here the local lingo is Doric, which doesn't use "youse". My DDIL, who comes from the Stirling area, does. All the GC will probably grow up using it as they all live in and around the Central Belt. As you say, they, like their parents, should grow up bilingual, which shows that it is perfectly possible to teach small children several languages at once, so why do they not start foreign languages in Nursery? (Rant for another thread, perhaps, as this one is about the problems we have found with English!)

When I am not sure about 'I have went' but do know that 'Youse' as a plural for you and 'I seen' instead of 'I saw' are considered correct usage in Scots. As children we were bi-lingual - spoke Scots with our friends and English in school and of course, all written work had to be in 'proper' English.

People are making nouns into verbs all the time these days.
My neck was paining me!
They were boating down the river.
I was vacationing in the Mediterranean.
There are lots more like this I'm sure....

Greatnan, I don't think that "may" and "might" are interchangeable; "if the traffic was not so fast she may not have died' suggests that there is a chance she could still be alive, but 'she might not have died' suggests that she is dead but that it could, perhaps, have been avoided.

Granny23, I agree with you about "floor" and "ground" and I think that that confusion, like the one over "lay" and "laid" are more common in areas of England than in Scotland. We have plenty of other problems for the pedant. For example those with tenses - "I have went", for one, which is frequently heard.

janeainsworth, thank you. You explain things very clearly.

mrsmoppbook vandalism was prevalent in Cheadle Hulme as well as Bebington
greatnan synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms - I loved them all. I so agree about books and power of the written word to educate and soothe.

Despotic regimes have traditionally burnt books - they have more problems with the internet although China has tried to censor it.
Do any of you remember the lovely smell of your new annual on Christmas morning? Books have helped me through so many bad times in my life - once I am reading I completely forget all my problems.

Lily gran I posted mine before I noticed yours.
It wasn't just us then!!
Unless you went to school in Bebington too?

Oh the Shorter Latin Primer. Well I remember it.
We got our pens and changed the title to the Shortbread Eating Primer.
No copy was left unsullied. Vandals weren't we.
Was it just our school?

Yes absent it was Kennedy's primer. Thank you, I have been trying to remember the name of the author all morning!
lily my copy was similarly disfigured by one of its many previous owners

We had A Lower English Course too - I used to love the exercises where you had to find a word ending in 'ite', or find a synonym and antonym. I still enjoy doing anagrams and love it when I can get a longer word than Dictionary Corner on Countdown!
When I was teaching I found a book called 'Words, words, words' which provided lots of games with words - it provided many a lesson plan for me! I found most children really enjoy playing with words, and learning new words.

Greatnan, I did that too! Loved the hyper bowl. My best one was Fassy Mile. It took my teacher some time to understand just exactly what was the missing page in my book.

First Aid in English - I can still see the cover: blue with a red cross on the front. Then there was another more detailed dark blue book - can't remember what it was called. I used to recommend Usborne books to my mature students, and some of the best grammar books are those written for speakers of other languages.

Shortbread Eating Prime

Local restaurants (more than one of them) use this term on menus. eg a Poached Egg sat on a bed of spinach. I think the local dialect steps in here.

As long as meaning is clear and unambiguous I don't get too worked up about it. I don't know the technical bits about the rules of grammar but I think that I do usually notice when things sound wrong.
What annoys me more is bad sentence syntax which really can affect meaning. I even hear this on Radio 4

This gem I photographed outside the National Trust Old Moseley Hall. This is as "sign written."

In the interests of
conversation and security
Please avoid
touching objects
wearing sharp heeled shoes
using pushchairs or prams
carrying large bags
or umbrellas
and smoking
It makes me think of the contents of the house going on the rampage when everyone has gone home.

I took First Aid in English home on my second day at grammar school, and worked through the whole book. I was able to tell the teacher the figure of speech in the phrase 'Ten thousand thanks', but of course I pronounced it hyper - bowl. She was impressed, though!

Janeainsworth Is that the same as Kennedy or a different Latin primer?

jane I know when I'm beaten - it was the Shorter Latin Primer that was the killer blow I will keep out of the corner and go back to my pan cleaning.

Thank you, Petallus, but I have enough problems with my French, which seems to be getting worse as I get older! However, I will certainly look at the translation as it will be interesting.
I spent two weeks in a lovely village in North East Spain, just talking English to CEO's of Spanish businesses. You don't get paid and you have to make your own way to Madrid, but you stay in a top class hotel and get wonderful food and drink. It is harder work than it sounds, though, as you have five one-to-one sessions each day, then in the evenings each mixed team of volunteers and students presents a little sketch, in English.
If anyone is interested, send me a pm. They have special weeks for teachers, but usually they prefer people with no teaching experience because they say teachers cannot resist teaching and you are only supposed to converse!
This was just another way for me to see different places at little cost - house exchange is another way, and also professional or amateur house/pet sitting. Retired people, single or couples, are in great demand because we are seen as being honest and reliable!

I've just had a look Greatnan and if you click on a category in the left hand box it comes out in English.

If you really want to speak Spanish try Babbel, a fantastic, online, inexpensive, language learning site.

I'm really enjoying doing Spanish with them.

In the wine section at Tesco yesterday. Elderly couple buying wine and we got into a discussion about good buys. Wife says 'I only drink mer-lot' ... Had to bite my tongue and not correct her pronunciation.

Angus Maciver's First Aid in English. That brings back memories.

sel it doesn't matter except to those like me who find the English language fascinating.
[confession] my favourite book at school was First Aid in English, closely followed by the Shorter Latin Primer.
I wouldn't dream of correcting anyone's grammar or spelling on any other threads, but pedants' corner is surely somewhere where those of us who are interested in such things should be allowed to indulge ourselves