Exercise 2

In the following sets of sentences identify which sentences characterize:

● nonstandard English

● informal standard English

● superstandard English (forms which are too standard for everyday conversation)

1 a He's not as smart as I.

b He's not so smart as I.

c He ain't as smart as me.

d He not as smart as me.

2 a He's not to do that.

b He not supposed to do that,

c He don't supposed to do that,

d He's not supposed to do that.

3 a I'm right, ain't I?

b I'm right, aren't I?

c I'm right, am I not?

d I'm right, isn't I?

4 a If I was going to do that, I would start right now.

b If I were going to do that, I would start right now.

c Were I to do that, I would start right now.

d I would start right now, if I was going to that

5 a A person should not change her speech,

b One should not change one's speech.

c A person should not change their speech.

d A person should not change his or her speech.