Me and................

Substantive when substantual is meant.

I do expect radio and TV presenters to get things right.
On Bargain Hunt the ‘expert’ Danny says “ You was”. I cringe.

My sister is 4 years younger and we had a similar education until she was about eight years old. Our parents took her away from a very good junior school and moved her to a closer one. That school turned out to be a sixties progressive school where grammar was not considered to be necessary. I recall having a debate with her teacher when I was 14 because I was so worried about her written work. Many years down the line I still cringe when I see her poor grammar and I am reminded of my discussion with Mr Spredborough and wonder if he realised the damage he was doing. So my point is that it is too easy to be annoyed at poor grammar but it goes deeper into those formative years. We sometimes talk about that school and wonder whether it was the root of how we had quite different careers and marriages. Nonetheless we are still close to each other and I try not to cringe, I really do.

It seems to be particularly prevalent in detective stories.
Myself and the Inspector.....

you and a dog named Boo.....

Everytime I read the title I start singing Me and my teddy bear

I know others already mentioned this but "myself" as in "myself and Fred" honestly makes me want to punch people and it is ubiquitous now. You can't say to anyone: if you take Fred out of the sentence, it becomes "myself went shopping, myself went on holidays etc. Because folk are not taught verbs and grammar any more. Don't get me started on this subject !!

BrandyGran

In N. Ireland people say “I was waiting on the bus” instead of “I was waiting FOR the bus”. Visions of people sitting on the roof of the bus!!

I think that many of things like that are simply regional variations. I discovered one of these the hard way, that 'to leg it' means quite different things on different sides of the Pennines when I told my class they would have to 'leg it' because of a bus strike next day. I meant 'walk'. they thought I meant 'truant'!

One abiding memory is of listening to Radio 4 driving to work, teacher, and they were interviewing the first head of Ofsted, Chris Woodhouse. He was criticising the standard of English and he said at one point 'Me and John was told..........', I almost ploughed into the car in front of me, he wasn't giving an example of poor English either.

In N. Ireland people say “I was waiting on the bus” instead of “I was waiting FOR the bus”. Visions of people sitting on the roof of the bus!!

Me and my ex-husband, heard several times today.
Also...I have done things proper....

A natural way of speaking, apparently.

I’m sure I read something some time ago that me and my husband is now acceptable

I consciously try not to say ‘my friend and I’ these days, although it was how I was taught to speak. I think it sounds old-fashioned now, and I do try to say my friend and me instead. Spoken language has always evolved and changed, and this feels like a stylistic change rather than a sloppy or mistaken use of language.

My current dislike is ‘going extinct’, which is used everywhere including on the BBC. When did we stop saying becoming extinct? It sounds odd to me, but I’m sure I’ll get used to it and one day, I’ll hear myself say it!

It is interesting to hear spoken English changing as it is increasing used as the common language for people from different nationalities. I’m hearing the emergence of a simplified form of spoken English, which everyone understands, but which doesn’t follow the grammar rules that I learned. English is my birth language and I love its richness, but I also like the fact that it’s increasingly used as a ‘lingua franca’.

Greengage

If English language is taught in schools, why can so few people use it correctly? It doesn't say much for education.

English isn't just about speaking. It is also about being able to read and write.

Speaking and listening skills were part of the GCSE assessment for years but the Tories took it off the assessment criteria and therefore it slipped in prominence.

I will also repeat that most speaking skills are acquired (or not, as the case may be) in the home.

I was taught to say "X and I" at school and I used it in essays etc. But when it came to spoken, I've never been able to say that. "Me and X" is what I grew up with and that's my usage.
Similarly with "dinner", I know it's now majority usage to say "dinner" for the evening meal, but when I say this I feel fake and silly, & if I'm not overthinking, our main meal in the evening is always "tea".
Guess I have a stubborn speech centre in my brain.

If English language is taught in schools, why can so few people use it correctly? It doesn't say much for education.

Sorry, it auto corrected. “I wouldn’t OF thought so” is what I meant to put.

And then there is “I wouldn’t have thought so”. Grrr.

I taught English for years. I recall having to teach young people grammar I didn't learn until I was at University...

Totally agree, Georgesgran. And why so often now a mix of singular and plural, as in 'Personal worries is affecting his health' (something I read the other day). The most memorable slip recently was someone being interviewed on Radio 4 saying 'It's all hyperbole' which she pronounced to rhyme with 'Superbowl!' She used the term twice, which apparently didn't faze the interviewer or editor at all.

Greengage

English language doesn't seem to be taught in schools these days. When my children were at school in the 90s the teachers were more fussed about them 'expressing themselves' rather than grammar or spellings. I remarked that it was a sad day when children from other countries were better at English than our own!

English language is taught from primary onwards. Interestingly, some of the grammatical terminology used today is unfamiliar or even unheard of by earlier generations.

Greengage

English language doesn't seem to be taught in schools these days. When my children were at school in the 90s the teachers were more fussed about them 'expressing themselves' rather than grammar or spellings. I remarked that it was a sad day when children from other countries were better at English than our own!

This is nonsense. Of course the English Language is still taught in schools. The use of spoken language begins in the home though, doesn't it?

English language doesn't seem to be taught in schools these days. When my children were at school in the 90s the teachers were more fussed about them 'expressing themselves' rather than grammar or spellings. I remarked that it was a sad day when children from other countries were better at English than our own!

The reverse is equally annoying, when people say, for instance'! 'Please give it to my husband and I'

This drives me mad. Even Prince Willuam got it wrong and he was taught at Eton!