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When is wrong grammar right?

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A mass of magnetic poetry words, presumably stuck to a fridge
When is wrong grammar right?

SUBJECTS:  English

YEARS:  9–10


Do adults or teachers ever correct how you say something?

Do they tell you your grammar is wrong? Even when everybody you know says it that way? Find out who is wrong and who is right with language expert Professor Roly Sussex.


Things to think about

  1. 1.How well do you think you speak English? Listen to your friends and family speaking. Do they use any expressions that you think are grammatically incorrect? Are there any words that you always have difficulty spelling or saying? What are they?
  2. 2.What does Roly Sussex say about the use of 'talk funny'? What his Sussex advice about using the word 'pretty'? What is the rule for using 'y' and 'ie' at the end of a word? What is the history of the use of the word 'dutch' in expressions like 'double dutch' or 'dutch courage'?
  3. 3.What was the most interesting new language fact you learnt from this program? Why? Make up a short quiz based on the interesting facts you learnt from Professor Roly Sussex. Test your family or friends and see how they go at getting the answers right.
  4. 4.Your task is to prepare a question or text about language that you could phone in or SMS to Professor Roly Sussex on the program 'A word in your ear'. Research two or three questions you could put to him. Take note of the conversations of your family or friends or people around you for ideas.



Date of broadcast: 30 Aug 2011


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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