11 Examples of how Real Spoken English is different from Textbook English
English has all kinds of rules that can be difficult to remember. Textbook book English (or English you see in textbooks, newspapers, and other formal publications) usually use all of these rules. However, most of the time, Real Spoken English doesn’t use the rules correctly. Even native speakers don’t always speak properly. Let’s look at some examples of textbook vs. Real Spoken English and the reasons why people make these errors.
Adverbs
Adverbs are words that describe a verb or action. These words usually have the letters “ly” at the end of them. A common example is the word “quickly.” You would use this when describing someone or something moving quickly: “He walked (verb) quickly (adverb).”
But in many cases, people do not use adverbs or add the “ly” to words when speaking. Here are some examples below.
Textbook English:
“She ate her lunch quickly.”
Real Spoken English:
“The rabbit ran away quick.”
Textbook English:
“That necklace is really pretty.”
Real Spoken English:
“But it is real expensive.”
One of the most notorious adverb mistakes in Real Spoken English is the word “well.” This word is actually an adverb, so you are supposed to use it when describing a verb or action. “He draws very well.” But many people mix this up and use the word “good” instead. For example, “He draws very good.” This is wrong because “good” is an adjective, which can only describe a noun: “She is a good singer.” However, the majority of people still make this error this when they speak English.
Textbook English:
“She isn’t feeling well.”
Real Spoken English:
“She isn’t feeling good.”
Double Negatives
A double negative is a statement that has two negative words. For example, “I didn’t say nothing” has two negative words in it: “didn’t” and “nothing.” These words technically cancel each other out, which makes the sentence confusing. However, double negatives are a common kind of slang in Real Spoken English.
Textbook English:
“I don’t have any complaints.”
Real Spoken English:
“I don’t have no complaints.”
Textbook English:
“He is not an idiot.”
Real Spoken English:
“He ain’t no idiot.”
If you are not familiar with the word “ain’t”, it is a slang word that is a contraction for phrases likes: “am not”; “are not”; “is not”; “has not”; or “have not.”
Plurals and Verb Agreement
In English, you need to use different words depending on if you are talking about something singular or plural. For example, you use the word “much” if the situation is about an object that is singular. “I don’t have much money.” On the other hand, the word “many” goes along with plural objects or things. “There are too many people here.” When speaking, though, many native speakers mix up when to use plural and singular words.
Textbook English:
“How many puppies can we see?”
Real Spoken English:
“How much puppies can we see?”
Textbook Example:
“He does not have many friends.”
Real Spoken English:
“He does not have much friends.”
A lot of speakers also mix up their verb agreement when it comes to plural and singular nouns. If you are talking about a single object or person, you will need to make sure your verb is singular. For example, “The dog is very fearful.” When talking about plural objects or people, you need to use plural words, such as, “The cats are really friendly.” In everyday conversation, sometimes people forget to match up their verb agreement, however.
Textbook English:
“The toddlers have a lot of toys.”
Real Spoken English:
“The toddlers has a lot of toys.”
Textbook English:
“The workers concentrate on their job.”
Real Spoken English:
“The workers concentrates on their job.”
Comparisons
Comparisons are when you compare two things that are alike or not alike. For example, “I like chocolate ice cream more than vanilla ice cream.” When doing this, you are supposed to make sure you are comparing the two things equally. For instance, we just compared two ice cream flavors in that last example. But when we speak English, we usually make our language less complicated. In doing so, we sometimes mess up our comparisons. Let’s look at some example below.
Textbook English:
“I liked the ending of this movie better than the ending of the other movie.”
Real Spoken English:
“I liked the ending of this movie better than the other movie.”
Textbook English:
“Jimmy’s handwriting is much neater than Edwardo’s handwriting.”
Real Spoken English:
“Jimmy’s handwriting is much neater than Edwardo.”
It is okay to make grammar mistakes when talking. Native speakers do it all the time! However, it is important to know when you are making a mistake, and also why know it is wrong. This will help you become a better English learner in the future. But again, some slip ups are perfectly fine! If you want to practice your English (whether grammatically correct or not), check out Real Spoken English Practice, where you can speak with a native English speaker!
