Standard English

The idea

Standard English is the form of English used in writing, tests and formal speaking, even if people say something different at home. Tests often offer a non-standard form that sounds familiar, so you have to spot the rule underneath.

Watch for these traps: 'we were' and 'they were', never 'we was'; only one negative word, so 'I didn't see anybody', not 'I didn't see nobody'; 'could have', never 'could of'; and the past participles 'seen' and 'done' need a helper verb — 'I have seen it', 'she has done it'.

Determiners must match too: 'these shoes' for things nearby in the plural, and comparatives and superlatives follow the pattern 'bigger, biggest' rather than 'more bigger' or 'most biggest'. When two forms both sound plausible, choose the one that follows the rule, not the one you happen to hear most often at home.

Worked example

Which sentence uses Standard English? A: We was late and I didn't see nobody. B: We were late and I didn't see anybody.

1. Check was/were: with 'we', the Standard English form is 'were', so sentence A fails already.
2. Check the negative: 'didn't' is already negative, so Standard English uses 'anybody', not the double negative 'nobody'.
3. Both checks point to the same sentence.

Answer: B: We were late and I didn't see anybody.

Watch out

• Writing 'could of' instead of 'could have' — 'of' is never correct here.
• Using a double negative such as 'I haven't got none', or 'we was' with a plural subject.