Show School and Home by Dr Daryl J. J McCarty Executive Secretor Secretary Utah Education Association By ny Dr Daryl J McCarty You are your childs child's first English teacher Your offspring start mimicking your speech patterns when they start talking If you murder the English language they'll join you in the mayhem So one of oC the best ways to insure inure that your child will use correct grammar is to use it correctly yourself In a way Incorrect grammar is like halitosis We live in a apolite apolite apolite polite society Few friends will tell teU me if It my breath breath or or my grammar grammar Is is bad So maybe it is up to us to evaluate te our own grammar Some of oC the most common grammatical ups foul arise from what our English teachers call caU irregular verbs You'll recognize that I saw Mr Smith is correct not I seen Mr Smith Singular verbs should have singular subjects Not The boys was playing football Its It's The boys were playing football Another frequent error we make is the use of pronouns when they are the objects of oC prepositions Not This is a matter between Susan and I I. I It is This is a matter maller between Susan and me mb And so on Flawless grammar requires discipline It demands that we think before we speak which is isa isa isa a good idea for many reasons When our children use Incorrect incorrect incorrect in In- correct grammar they often face Cace harsh judgment from others If your son applies for a sales job and tells the boss I run over here just as fast as I 1 could the lad may receive a fast brush Persons who pride themselves themselves them them- selves on correct grammar often seem prejudiced against those who dont Is that attitude wrong Maybe but it still seems to be a fact One way to avoid becoming a victim of this' this prejudice is to towage towage towage wage a campaign for correct grammar in your conversations and writings It will help I to rescue your children too and someday they'll bless you for it it |