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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Grammar with Native Speakers

Hello,

I'm just curious with what has been commented from another post. Do you think there are also some native speakers, let's say with average education, who are not really good in grammar themselves?

I ask because I myself is too conscious about my grammar even in casual conversation that I sometimes fail to listen to what a person is saying because I'm busy constructing correctly the sentence in my mind.

Just sharing my thoughts. Emotion: smile
  

Top answer

Certainly as writers, many native speakers are awful. My own brother can barely assemble a sentence. In speaking, it is not such a problem, since speaking comes naturally to all, and the grammar of spoken English is much looser than the written sort.

— Mister Micawber

  • Certainly as writers, many native speakers are awful.
  • My own brother can barely assemble a sentence.
  • In speaking, it is not such a problem, since speaking comes naturally to all, and the grammar of spoken English is much looser than the written sort.
  • As a learner, you will naturally have trouble until you pass the translation level; after that, you will find it easier and less worrisome to have a natural conversation.
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5 Answers
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Certainly as writers, many native speakers are awful. My own brother can barely assemble a sentence. In speaking, it is not such a problem, since speaking comes naturally to all, and the grammar of spoken English is much looser than the written sort. As a learner, you will naturally have trouble until you pass the translation level; after that, you will find it easier and less worrisome to hav
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I see not all are good in grammar especially in writing. What's difficult for non-native speakers like me is sometimes there are no direct translation of some English words to our own language, which makes it harder to express an idea.

Probably, the reason why I get too conscious with my English is most people back in my home country, where English is just a second language, are always
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I completely agree with MM. Until one gets past the translation stage, trying to communicate with perfect grammar in a conversation setting will definitely post some problems for non-natives. I can appreciate your being self-conscious. But what I've discovered over the years is that when we are so consumed with using perfect grammar, our ability to comprehend the contents of the conversation is c
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Thank you, dimsumexpress for sharing your thoughts. I agree with you. Our comprehension is compromised when we are so consumed with using perfect grammar. I sometimes stutter because words in my mind get mixed up. I think it is also a matter of confidence and being comfortable with speaking the language. I believe when you're confident, it makes you come across as natural and sincere to the
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Based on what I could gather from your posts, your written skill level suggests that you have spent a great deal of time studying the language. I don't know your nationalility but I can say for certain that English is a highly intimidating language to many Asian peoples as such that many immigrants that I 've known for years still can't speak the language on a grammatical basis, let alone write i
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