Dear Faldage,
You wrote:
We are not taught English if we are native speakers. We learn it, some say re-invent it, long before we get into a situation where we are learning it from any formal teachers.
I agree with the broad stroke you make above. I was talking about teaching the difference between may and can.
And then those fine distinctions between lie and lay, which only the astronomically gifted seem to understand anymore. I just about blow a gasket everytime I hear someone (everyone, just about) say, "Tell that dog to lay down." Or "I'm going to lay down." That's the language that is heard and absorbed here, and it takes an awful lot of patience to try to untangle that embedded ball of learnin' in students' brains. Mostly: Mission accomplished for the test, but soon aborted afterwards.
Just tell that Pet Peeve to lay on down so you kin find out if you kin ask it a question.
There are eight errors in the above sentence. Extra credit given for identifying all of them.
Best regards,
DubDub
