Last week my low-level class practised talking about school and education. Comparing styles of learning in different countries, the discovery that British children don't study grammar at school left them gobsmacked. One even went off and quizzed his workmates on the difference between the past simple and present perfect (for instance, I played football and I have played football). Predictably, only one person in ten managed to give an answer other than "I dunno" or "They're just the same, aren't they?"
This afternoon, out shopping, I overheard a conversation between two middle-aged women: "I called him but he'd've went out," mangled one. "I'm sure I seen him yesterday," garbled the other.
I cringed.
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