1
00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:04,200
Speaker 1: Let me say this right now, this ain't gonna be

2
00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:09,439
your average English lesson. And even considering that I've been

3
00:00:09,519 --> 00:00:14,279
teaching English for over thirty years, I ain't got no

4
00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:20,079
problem sharing this information with you. What I'm trying to

5
00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:25,160
say is, would you mind if I break some grammar

6
00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:26,239
rules today?

7
00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:33,679
Speaker 2: Welcome to another Happy English podcast, coming to you from

8
00:00:33,679 --> 00:00:37,479
New York City, and here's your English teacher, Michael.

9
00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:43,000
Speaker 1: All right, thank you John, and thanks everyone. It's Michael

10
00:00:43,039 --> 00:00:48,039
here from Happy English and I help people speak English better.

11
00:00:48,399 --> 00:00:53,359
And this is Happy English Podcast, Episode eight eighty one,

12
00:00:54,039 --> 00:01:01,039
Speaking Natural how Native speakers break grammar rule. Thanks for

13
00:01:01,079 --> 00:01:04,640
tuning in and welcome back to the Happy English Podcast.

14
00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:08,560
So let me ask you this. Have you ever felt

15
00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:12,959
like your English isn't perfect because you make grammar mistakes?

16
00:01:13,799 --> 00:01:18,040
Or maybe you've heard native speakers talk and thought, wait,

17
00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:24,079
that doesn't sound like what I learned in school. Well,

18
00:01:24,599 --> 00:01:29,680
you're not alone. The truth is native speakers break grammar

19
00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:34,959
rules all the time, not really in writing, but definitely

20
00:01:35,079 --> 00:01:41,799
in casual conversation. And guess what, that's totally normal. It

21
00:01:41,879 --> 00:01:46,519
doesn't mean their English is bad. It just means the

22
00:01:46,599 --> 00:01:51,439
way we speak is different from how we write. So

23
00:01:51,519 --> 00:01:55,439
today I want to show you how native speakers break

24
00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:59,840
grammar rules and why that's actually a part of sounding

25
00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:05,719
more natural when you speak. Let's jump in. Let's start

26
00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:11,520
with a sentence that always surprises listeners. There's tons of

27
00:02:11,599 --> 00:02:16,680
people at the beach today. Wait. Wait, wait, isn't tons

28
00:02:16,719 --> 00:02:23,120
of people plural? Shouldn't we say there are tons of people? Well,

29
00:02:23,759 --> 00:02:31,919
that's correct English grammar, But in natural, everyday conversation, most

30
00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:38,280
people just say there's like, there is theirs for both

31
00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:45,879
singular and plural. It's faster, easier, and honestly, most people

32
00:02:46,039 --> 00:02:49,719
don't even think about it. Like when you look at

33
00:02:49,719 --> 00:02:55,439
a travel website you might say, wow, there's so many

34
00:02:55,599 --> 00:03:01,960
options to choose from. There's so many options. Or in

35
00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:05,840
a meeting at work, your coworker may tell the group,

36
00:03:06,479 --> 00:03:09,439
I don't know if we should go forward. There's a

37
00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:15,159
lot of problems with that plan. Is it grammatically perfect? No?

38
00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:20,319
But do native speakers say it? Absolutely so. If you

39
00:03:20,439 --> 00:03:26,159
hear someone say theirs with a plural noun, don't panic.

40
00:03:26,759 --> 00:03:33,520
That's just real life English. Conditional sentences are another place

41
00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:38,000
where we break the rules. Let's say the room you're

42
00:03:38,039 --> 00:03:43,039
working in is too warm. Your textbook probably taught you

43
00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:48,800
to say, would you mind if I turned on the AC? Right,

44
00:03:49,599 --> 00:03:54,319
that's using the past tense after would you mind? Again,

45
00:03:55,039 --> 00:03:58,840
would you mind if I turned on the AC? But

46
00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:02,719
in real life, what do we often say? Would you

47
00:04:02,879 --> 00:04:08,280
mind if I turn on the AC? Yep, present tense.

48
00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:12,319
I know it's not what the grammar book says, but

49
00:04:12,439 --> 00:04:15,759
I hear this every day, and honestly, it sounds a

50
00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:20,240
little more casual and immediate, and you can say things

51
00:04:20,319 --> 00:04:23,959
like would you mind if I take this seat? Or

52
00:04:24,519 --> 00:04:29,199
would you mind if I opened the window? Technically, took

53
00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:35,600
and opened are the correct forms, but in everyday conversation

54
00:04:36,399 --> 00:04:41,000
people often skip the past tense. Of course, if you're

55
00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:44,879
writing formally, like for an exam or an email to

56
00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:50,720
your boss, it's better to use correct grammar, like would

57
00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:54,839
you mind if I left the office at four thirty tomorrow?

58
00:04:55,519 --> 00:04:59,839
But in natural speech, would you mind if I leave

59
00:04:59,879 --> 00:05:03,160
the office at four point thirty tomorrow? You've got a

60
00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:08,639
little more freedom, and I think that's pretty cool. Next up,

61
00:05:08,879 --> 00:05:13,360
here's a fun one, double negatives. I remember when I

62
00:05:13,480 --> 00:05:17,720
was a kid, my high school teacher hated double negatives,

63
00:05:18,079 --> 00:05:22,959
and for good reason, this is not standard grammar. Your

64
00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:27,560
English teacher now would tell you what's wrong. But in

65
00:05:27,639 --> 00:05:32,680
some dialects of American English, and especially in more informal

66
00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:38,000
or regional speech, double negatives do show up, like do

67
00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:42,920
you know who broke the window? Nope, I don't know

68
00:05:43,240 --> 00:05:49,240
nothing about that. We sometimes use double negatives for emphasis,

69
00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:53,439
like if your friend invites you to go to Las Vegas,

70
00:05:53,959 --> 00:05:58,839
you can decline the invite by saying something like I'd

71
00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:03,000
like to go, but I ain't got no money for that.

72
00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:07,360
And the other day I was surprised to hear that Lily,

73
00:06:07,839 --> 00:06:11,839
who has been all over the world ain't never been

74
00:06:11,879 --> 00:06:16,720
to New York. Now, I'm not saying you should use

75
00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:22,279
double negatives in your English conversations, but you will hear them,

76
00:06:22,879 --> 00:06:29,160
especially in casual speech, TV shows, movies, and music like

77
00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:36,519
that old song Ain't no Sunshine when She's go. So

78
00:06:36,639 --> 00:06:41,319
when you hear double negatives, just know they're common in

79
00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:46,800
informal English. They're not for formal writing or exams, but

80
00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:54,360
they're out there. Ain't that interesting? Speaking of ain't, yeah,

81
00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:59,639
let's go there, ain't is a classic example of grammar

82
00:06:59,759 --> 00:07:05,439
rule breaking in every day English. It's super informal, and

83
00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:11,360
ain't is used instead of am not, is not, are not,

84
00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:17,839
has not, or have not, like I ain't ready yet,

85
00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:22,240
which is a casual way of saying I'm not ready yet,

86
00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:28,240
or he ain't got time for that, he doesn't have

87
00:07:28,399 --> 00:07:33,720
time for that, or, as Dean Martin once sang, ain't

88
00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:39,360
that a kick in there again? Ain't is not formal English.

89
00:07:39,759 --> 00:07:43,759
You wouldn't use it in a job interview or school essay,

90
00:07:44,279 --> 00:07:49,199
but in everyday conversation, and especially in certain areas of

91
00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:54,800
the US, it's super common. So there was tons of

92
00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:59,079
examples in this lesson. Would you mind if I stop here?

93
00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:03,240
I don't got no more to tell you? Ain't that

94
00:08:03,319 --> 00:08:07,839
a shame? Now? Let me say this loud and clear.

95
00:08:08,839 --> 00:08:12,920
Some people may tell you that the examples I gave

96
00:08:12,959 --> 00:08:17,319
you today are no good And this kind of breaking

97
00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:23,000
the grammar rules is how uneducated people speak. Well, you

98
00:08:23,399 --> 00:08:26,680
don't have to speak this way to be fluent, but

99
00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:34,360
understanding this style will help you speak and listen more naturally.

100
00:08:34,799 --> 00:08:39,919
You'll understand movies and TV shows better, You'll feel more

101
00:08:40,039 --> 00:08:45,600
confident in real conversations, and when you're ready. If you're ready,

102
00:08:46,279 --> 00:08:49,720
you can start to use some of these patterns yourself.

103
00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:54,840
And just to be clear, None of this means you

104
00:08:54,879 --> 00:08:59,600
should forget grammar rules. Think of it like this. Grammar

105
00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:04,159
is the foundation, and natural speaking style is the house

106
00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:09,480
you build on top. So build that house and decorate

107
00:09:09,519 --> 00:09:14,440
it with real life English. So here's your challenge. Try

108
00:09:14,559 --> 00:09:17,360
using one or two of these phrases in your own

109
00:09:17,519 --> 00:09:21,480
English this week. Ask someone at a cafe or a

110
00:09:21,519 --> 00:09:24,679
fast food joint, would you mind if I sit here?

111
00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:29,799
It's okay, nobody's gonna call the grammar police on you.

112
00:09:30,519 --> 00:09:33,759
And hey, if you want to practice the English from

113
00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:37,759
this and all of my podcasts with me and a

114
00:09:37,799 --> 00:09:41,639
group of other awesome English learners, come check out my

115
00:09:41,879 --> 00:09:46,080
podcast Learners study group. We meet once a week to

116
00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:50,399
go over the language from these podcast lessons together. It's

117
00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:54,679
a great way to build confidence and improve your speaking.

118
00:09:55,399 --> 00:09:57,679
Just check the link where you are listening to this

119
00:09:57,799 --> 00:10:02,519
podcast right now, or visit Myhappy English dot com and

120
00:10:02,679 --> 00:10:07,559
choose podcast eight eighty one for more info. Thanks for listening,

121
00:10:07,679 --> 00:10:11,600
and remember, learning another language is not easy, but it's

122
00:10:11,639 --> 00:10:16,600
not impossible, and I'm here to help you on your journey.

123
00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:20,919
Speaker 2: This podcast is brought to you by Happy English. Please

124
00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:25,960
visit Myhappy English dot com show your support for Happy English.

125
00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:40,919
By leading us a review, Get English, Get Happy, Happy English,