Speaker 1: Let me say this right now, this ain't gonna be
your average English lesson. And even considering that I've been
teaching English for over thirty years, I ain't got no
problem sharing this information with you. What I'm trying to
say is, would you mind if I break some grammar
rules today?
Speaker 2: Welcome to another Happy English podcast, coming to you from
New York City, and here's your English teacher, Michael.
Speaker 1: All right, thank you John, and thanks everyone. It's Michael
here from Happy English and I help people speak English better.
And this is Happy English Podcast, Episode eight eighty one,
Speaking Natural how Native speakers break grammar rule. Thanks for
tuning in and welcome back to the Happy English Podcast.
So let me ask you this. Have you ever felt
like your English isn't perfect because you make grammar mistakes?
Or maybe you've heard native speakers talk and thought, wait,
that doesn't sound like what I learned in school. Well,
you're not alone. The truth is native speakers break grammar
rules all the time, not really in writing, but definitely
in casual conversation. And guess what, that's totally normal. It
doesn't mean their English is bad. It just means the
way we speak is different from how we write. So
today I want to show you how native speakers break
grammar rules and why that's actually a part of sounding
more natural when you speak. Let's jump in. Let's start
with a sentence that always surprises listeners. There's tons of
people at the beach today. Wait. Wait, wait, isn't tons
of people plural? Shouldn't we say there are tons of people? Well,
that's correct English grammar, But in natural, everyday conversation, most
people just say there's like, there is theirs for both
singular and plural. It's faster, easier, and honestly, most people
don't even think about it. Like when you look at
a travel website you might say, wow, there's so many
options to choose from. There's so many options. Or in
a meeting at work, your coworker may tell the group,
I don't know if we should go forward. There's a
lot of problems with that plan. Is it grammatically perfect? No?
But do native speakers say it? Absolutely so. If you
hear someone say theirs with a plural noun, don't panic.
That's just real life English. Conditional sentences are another place
where we break the rules. Let's say the room you're
working in is too warm. Your textbook probably taught you
to say, would you mind if I turned on the AC? Right,
that's using the past tense after would you mind? Again,
would you mind if I turned on the AC? But
in real life, what do we often say? Would you
mind if I turn on the AC? Yep, present tense.
I know it's not what the grammar book says, but
I hear this every day, and honestly, it sounds a
little more casual and immediate, and you can say things
like would you mind if I take this seat? Or
would you mind if I opened the window? Technically, took
and opened are the correct forms, but in everyday conversation
people often skip the past tense. Of course, if you're
writing formally, like for an exam or an email to
your boss, it's better to use correct grammar, like would
you mind if I left the office at four thirty tomorrow?
But in natural speech, would you mind if I leave
the office at four point thirty tomorrow? You've got a
little more freedom, and I think that's pretty cool. Next up,
here's a fun one, double negatives. I remember when I
was a kid, my high school teacher hated double negatives,
and for good reason, this is not standard grammar. Your
English teacher now would tell you what's wrong. But in
some dialects of American English, and especially in more informal
or regional speech, double negatives do show up, like do
you know who broke the window? Nope, I don't know
nothing about that. We sometimes use double negatives for emphasis,
like if your friend invites you to go to Las Vegas,
you can decline the invite by saying something like I'd
like to go, but I ain't got no money for that.
And the other day I was surprised to hear that Lily,
who has been all over the world ain't never been
to New York. Now, I'm not saying you should use
double negatives in your English conversations, but you will hear them,
especially in casual speech, TV shows, movies, and music like
that old song Ain't no Sunshine when She's go. So
when you hear double negatives, just know they're common in
informal English. They're not for formal writing or exams, but
they're out there. Ain't that interesting? Speaking of ain't, yeah,
let's go there, ain't is a classic example of grammar
rule breaking in every day English. It's super informal, and
ain't is used instead of am not, is not, are not,
has not, or have not, like I ain't ready yet,
which is a casual way of saying I'm not ready yet,
or he ain't got time for that, he doesn't have
time for that, or, as Dean Martin once sang, ain't
that a kick in there again? Ain't is not formal English.
You wouldn't use it in a job interview or school essay,
but in everyday conversation, and especially in certain areas of
the US, it's super common. So there was tons of
examples in this lesson. Would you mind if I stop here?
I don't got no more to tell you? Ain't that
a shame? Now? Let me say this loud and clear.
Some people may tell you that the examples I gave
you today are no good And this kind of breaking
the grammar rules is how uneducated people speak. Well, you
don't have to speak this way to be fluent, but
understanding this style will help you speak and listen more naturally.
You'll understand movies and TV shows better, You'll feel more
confident in real conversations, and when you're ready. If you're ready,
you can start to use some of these patterns yourself.
And just to be clear, None of this means you
should forget grammar rules. Think of it like this. Grammar
is the foundation, and natural speaking style is the house
you build on top. So build that house and decorate
it with real life English. So here's your challenge. Try
using one or two of these phrases in your own
English this week. Ask someone at a cafe or a
fast food joint, would you mind if I sit here?
It's okay, nobody's gonna call the grammar police on you.
And hey, if you want to practice the English from
this and all of my podcasts with me and a
group of other awesome English learners, come check out my
podcast Learners study group. We meet once a week to
go over the language from these podcast lessons together. It's
a great way to build confidence and improve your speaking.
Just check the link where you are listening to this
podcast right now, or visit Myhappy English dot com and
choose podcast eight eighty one for more info. Thanks for listening,
and remember, learning another language is not easy, but it's
not impossible, and I'm here to help you on your journey.
Speaker 2: This podcast is brought to you by Happy English. Please
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