L.11-12.1: Grammar and Usage Conventions, Change and Contested Usage
In plain English: L.11-12.1 is the Common Core ELA standard that asks students to show command of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. Students learn that usage is a matter of convention that changes over time and is sometimes contested, and they resolve complex or contested usage by consulting references such as usage dictionaries and style manuals. It is taught in grades 11 and 12.
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
a.Apply the understanding that usage is a matter of convention, can change over time, and is sometimes contested.
b.Resolve issues of complex or contested usage, consulting references (e.g., Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage, Garner's Modern American Usage) as needed.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy · Domain: Language Standards · Cluster: Conventions of Standard English · Official standard
Students review the grammar and usage conventions that edited English expects, then examine where those conventions come from. They read selected entries from William Strunk, Jr.'s The Elements of Style (1920), a usage guide that ruled on data, less and fewer, shall and will, and the split infinitive, and short excerpts from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (first published in 1813) in which "they" and "their" refer back to "everybody" and "a person."
By comparing a 1920 guide and an 1813 novel with current references, students see the three ideas of standard a: usage is a convention agreed on by a community of users, it changes over time, and some of it is contested. For standard b, students follow a routine for resolving a contested usage: check a current dictionary's usage note, a usage guide (the standard names Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage and Garner's Modern American Usage), and the style manual their audience requires, then decide for their audience and purpose.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
Edit writing and adjust speech to follow the conventions of standard English grammar and usage, such as agreement, pronoun case and modifier placement
Explain, with examples, that usage is a matter of convention rather than logic or law
Use a historical usage guide and an older literary text to show that a usage has changed over time
Identify usage questions that are contested today and explain why careful writers disagree
Resolve a complex or contested usage by consulting a current dictionary, a usage guide and a style manual, and justify the choice for a given audience
Prior Knowledge Required
Students should already be comfortable with:
Parallel structure and the types of phrases and clauses L.9-10.1
Following a style manual such as MLA for the discipline and writing type L.9-10.3
Verb forms, voice and mood L.8.1
Subject-verb agreement and pronoun case in simple sentences
"Which is correct: 'Everybody brought their lunch' or 'Everybody brought his lunch'? Who decides what is correct in English?"
Take a quick vote, then ask students who hold each view to give a reason. List the kinds of authority students name (teachers, dictionaries, grammar books, what sounds right). Point out that English has no official academy that sets its rules. Leave the question "who decides?" open, and tell students they will return to it after reading a guide from 1920 and a novel from 1813.
Direct Instruction20 minutes
Part 1: Conventions (standard a, and the main standard). A convention is a practice a community agrees on. Standard edited English has conventions that nearly every reference agrees on, such as subject-verb agreement and pronoun case, and conventions that vary by country, register or era. Work through the five examples below, asking for each one: what do current references say, and who might still object?
A convention of edited American English
Which verb? The jury (has / have) reached its verdict.
Result: The jury has reached its verdict. American editors treat a collective noun as singular when the group acts as one unit; British English often allows "the jury have" when the members are in view. Each is correct within its own convention.
A usage that changed over time
The storm decimated the town's orchards. Some readers object that decimate means "kill one in ten," its original Latin sense.
Result: Current dictionaries list "destroy a large part of" as a standard sense, so the sentence is acceptable. Knowing the older sense explains why a few readers still object.
A contested usage
Hopefully, the bus will be on time. Here hopefully means "it is hoped," not "in a hopeful manner."
Result: Many current usage guides accept this sentence adverb, but some readers still object to it. In a formal letter to an unknown reader, "I hope the bus will be on time" avoids the dispute.
Resolving a usage question with references
The committee is comprised of five teachers. Is "comprised of" acceptable in a formal report?
Result: A usage guide shows that "is comprised of" is widely used but still criticized by many editors. For a formal report, "consists of five teachers" or "comprises five teachers" is safe with every reader.
Speaking and writing
Answering a knock: "It's me." A student asks whether it must be "It is I."
Result: "It's me" is standard in speech, and "It is I" sounds stiff to most listeners. Formal writing usually avoids the choice by rewording, for example "I was the one at the door."
Part 2: A usage guide from 1920. Read the Strunk entries aloud. Ask students to mark each ruling as "still the convention," "changed" or "not sure," and to underline the words Strunk uses to show how strongly he feels (not permissible, better avoided, in disfavor). Do not settle the "not sure" items yet; students will check them against current references in Activity 1 and the quiz.
(Some of the forms here listed, as like I did, are downright bad English; others, as the split infinitive, have their defenders, but are in such general disfavor that it is at least inadvisable to use them; still others, as case, factor, feature, interesting, one of the most, are good in their place, but are constantly obtruding themselves into places where they have no right to be. If the writer will make it his purpose from the beginning to express accurately his own individual thought, and will refuse to be satisfied with a ready-made formula that saves him the trouble of doing so, this last set of expressions will cause him little trouble. But if he finds that in a moment of inadvertence he has used one of them, his proper course will probably be not to patch up the sentence by substituting one word or set of words for another, but to recast it completely, as illustrated in a number of examples below and in others under Rules 12 and 13.)
All right. Idiomatic in familiar speech as a detached phrase in the sense, "Agreed," or "Go ahead." In other uses better avoided. Always written as two words.
Data. A plural, like phenomena and strata.
These data were tabulated.
Dependable. A needless substitute for reliable, trustworthy.
Different than. Not permissible. Substitute different from, other than, or unlike.
Less. Should not be misused for fewer.
He had less men than in the previous campaign
He had fewer men than in the previous campaign
Less refers to quantity, fewer to number. "His troubles are less than mine" means "His troubles are not so great as mine." "His troubles are fewer than mine" means "His troubles are not so numerous as mine." It is, however, correct to say, "The signers of the petition were less than a hundred," where the round number a hundred is something like a collective noun, and less is thought of as meaning a less quantity or amount.
Like. Not to be misused for as. Like governs nouns and pronouns; before phrases and clauses the equivalent word is as.
We spent the evening like in the old days.
We spent the evening as in the old days.
He thought like I did.
He thought as I did (like me).
Shall, Will. The future tense requires shall for the first person, will for the second and third. The formula to express the speaker's belief regarding his future action or state is I shall; I will expresses his determination or his consent.
Split Infinitive. There is precedent from the fourteenth century downward for interposing an adverb between to and the infinitive which it governs, but the construction is in disfavor and is avoided by nearly all careful writers.
To diligently inquire
To inquire diligently
William Strunk, Jr., The Elements of Style, chapter V, "Words and Expressions Commonly Misused" (selected entries) (1918; this edition 1920). Public domain (published 1920). Source text.
Use Diagram 1 to introduce the routine for resolving a usage question. Stress that a usage guide reports both the history of a dispute and current opinion, while a style manual states the rule one publisher, field or class follows.
Guided Practice15-20 minutes
Read the three Austen excerpts (from chapters 9, 10 and 48 of the novel). The first is spoken by Mrs. Bennet, the second by Elizabeth Bennet, and the third is the narrator. In pairs, students find every pronoun that refers back to a word such as "everybody" or "a person," and every phrase current formal writing would edit. Then they discuss: does Austen's usage show carelessness, a different convention, or both? Use Diagram 2 to place the excerpts on a timeline of this usage.
“No, she would go home. I fancy she was wanted about the mince-pies. For my part, Mr. Bingley, I always keep servants that can do their own work; my daughters are brought up differently. But everybody is to judge for themselves, and the Lucases are a very good sort of girls, I assure you. It is a pity they are not handsome! Not that I think Charlotte so very plain; but then she is our particular friend.”
“Oh,” said she, “I heard you before; but I could not immediately determine what to say in reply. You wanted me, I know, to say ‘Yes,’ that you might have the pleasure of despising my taste; but I always delight in overthrowing those kind of schemes, and cheating a person of their premeditated contempt. I have, therefore, made up my mind to tell you that I do not want to dance a reel at all; and now despise me if you dare.”
All Meryton seemed striving to blacken the man who, but three months before, had been almost an angel of light. He was declared to be in debt to every tradesman in the place, and his intrigues, all honoured with the title of seduction, had been extended into every tradesman’s family. Everybody declared that he was the wickedest young man in the world; and everybody began to find out that they had always distrusted the appearance of his goodness.
Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, chapters 9, 10 and 48 (excerpts, 1894 George Allen edition) (1813; this edition 1894). Public domain (published 1894). Source text.
Pairs record their findings in the table below and compare with another pair. Remind students that a quotation is never "corrected": when they quote Austen or Strunk, they keep the original words.
Then and now organizer
Usage in the text
Who uses it (speaker or narrator)
Status in current formal writing (students fill in)
a pronoun after "everybody" (chapter 9)
Mrs. Bennet
a pronoun after "a person" (chapter 10)
Elizabeth
a pronoun after "everybody" (chapter 48)
Narrator
"a very good sort of girls" (chapter 9)
Mrs. Bennet
Independent Practice15 minutes
Students edit a short paragraph of their own recent writing, or a paragraph the teacher supplies, for settled conventions: agreement, pronoun case, modifier placement and verb forms. Then each student chooses one contested usage from the paragraph or from the class list, consults two references, and writes three sentences: what the references say, which choice fits the paragraph's audience, and why.
Closure5-10 minutes
Exit ticket: (1) Name one usage that was a firm rule in 1920 but is treated differently today, and one that is still disputed. (2) Name the type of reference you would check first for a contested usage in a history paper, and why.
Differentiation Strategies
For Struggling Students
Give a one-page chart of settled conventions (agreement, pronoun case, modifiers) with one example each, to use during editing
Pre-highlight the Strunk entries students need and give a glossary for obtruding, inadvertence and precedent
Provide a reference-check template with three boxes: dictionary note, usage guide, style manual
For Advanced Students
Ask students to compare the treatment of one contested usage in two current usage guides and explain why they differ
Have students search a large text collection or corpus tool for the frequency of a contested form over time and describe what the results can and cannot show
Ask students to write a style-sheet entry for the school newspaper on a usage the class disagrees about
Assessment Guidance
What to Look For
Separate two skills when you grade. For settled conventions, look for accurate editing: agreement with the true subject, the right pronoun case, modifiers next to what they modify. For contested usage, do not grade the choice itself; grade the reasoning. A strong answer names the competing forms, reports what at least two kinds of references say, and fits the decision to the audience. Watch for students who treat an old rule as permanent, or who decide that because usage changes, nothing is ever wrong.
02
Classroom Activities
3 Activities
1
Strunk on Trial
20 minGroups of 3-4
Each group puts one of Strunk's 1920 rulings "on trial" by checking it against current references. The activity shows students that usage changes over time and that references are evidence, not decrees.
Cases
Case 1: "Different than. Not permissible."
Case 2: "Like. Not to be misused for as."
Case 3: "Dependable. A needless substitute for reliable, trustworthy."
Procedure
Each group reads its entry in the Strunk excerpt and writes the 1920 ruling in its own words
The group checks a current dictionary's usage note and one usage guide, and records what each says, with the title of the reference
The group gives a verdict: "upheld" (still the convention), "overturned" (no longer the convention) or "hung jury" (still contested), with one sentence of evidence
Teacher notes: current references generally treat dependable as fully standard; they accept different than in American English, especially before a clause, while noting that different from is never questioned; and they describe like as a conjunction as common and informal, still avoided in formal writing by many editors
Discussion Questions
Why might a 1920 guide call a word "needless" that nobody questions today?
Did any two references disagree? What does that tell you?
Strunk wrote for his students at a university. How might his audience have shaped his rulings?
2
Usage Panel
20 minGroups of 4
Groups act as the usage panel for the school newspaper. Each group gets one contested usage, consults references and recommends a rule for the paper's style sheet (standard b).
Usage Cards
literally as an intensifier: "I literally died laughing."
graduate without from: "She graduated high school in June."
they for one known person who uses it: "Sam said they would bring the posters."
try and in place of try to: "Try and finish the article tonight."
Procedure
Groups consult at least two kinds of reference (a current dictionary with usage notes, a usage guide, a style manual such as AP, which many newspapers follow) and take notes on what each says
Groups write a two-sentence rule for the style sheet and one sentence that explains who might object and why
Each group presents for two minutes; the class votes to adopt, amend or reject the rule, and the final rules go on a class style sheet
Discussion Questions
Should a school newspaper follow the strictest rule in the references or the usage its readers see every day? Why?
Did the references agree more about some cards than others?
How would your rule change for a text message, a speech or a college essay?
Modification for Distance Learning
Assign each group a shared document with the card, links to online dictionaries with usage notes, and a box for the proposed rule. Groups present in the main session.
3
Register Relay
15 minPairs
Pairs say the same message three ways: to a friend, in a class presentation and in a job interview. The activity applies the conventions of standard English to speaking, which the main standard includes.
Messages
You and a friend organized a food drive that collected more cans than expected.
You missed a meeting because your bus broke down.
You are recommending a book to someone.
Procedure
Partner A delivers the message in all three settings while Partner B listens for pronoun case, agreement, contractions and word choice
Partner B names one convention that changed between settings and one that should hold in every setting
Partners switch roles for the next message
Challenge Variation
Record the interview version and transcribe it. Mark anything a careful listener would notice, and decide which features are normal in speech but would be edited in writing.
03
Diagrams & Visual Aids
2 diagrams
Diagram 1: A Routine for Resolving a Usage Question
The five steps move from the widest reference (a dictionary, which describes current use) to the narrowest (the style manual a class, field or publisher requires). The last step is a decision about audience and purpose: when a usage is still disputed in a formal setting, rewording avoids the dispute.
Diagram 2: One Usage over Time
The use of "they" and "their" after words such as everybody appears in Austen's novel of 1813. Some influential school grammars of the 1800s, following a rule first proposed in the 1700s, preferred "he" in this position, and current references again accept "they." The timeline is not to scale.
04
Homework Assignment
~30 min
L.11-12.1 Homework: Conventions, Change and Contested Usage
Directions: Complete all six problems. For Problems 3-5, you may use print or online references; name each reference you use. When you quote a reference or a text, copy its words exactly.
Part 1: Standard Conventions in Writing and Speaking (Problems 1-2)
Edit each sentence so that it follows standard English conventions, and name the convention you applied: (a) The list of required books are posted online. (b) Everyone in the two choirs have a solo this year. (c) Having finished the test early, the room seemed quiet to Jordan. (d) The coach gave the awards to Sam and I. (e) There's three reasons for the delay. (f) Whom do you think will win the election?
Write a five-sentence spoken introduction for a presentation to the school board about a change you want. Then mark two places where you would speak differently to a friend, and explain which conventions of standard English stay the same in both settings.
Part 2: Usage That Changes (Problems 3-4)
Strunk writes that all right is "Always written as two words." Look up alright in a current dictionary with usage notes and in a usage guide. Write a paragraph that states Strunk's rule, reports what each current reference says (name both), and explains whether the rule has changed, is contested, or still holds.
Choose one of these words: awful, nice, or text used as a verb. Use a dictionary that gives dated senses or a usage dictionary to trace how its meaning or status changed. Write four sentences: the older use, the newer use, roughly when the change happened, and the name of the reference you used.
Part 3: Resolving Contested Usage (Problems 5-6)
Choose one contested usage: nauseous meaning "sick to the stomach," enormity meaning "great size," or impact used as a verb. Consult at least two different kinds of reference and write a recommendation of 100-150 words for your school newspaper's style sheet. Name each reference, summarize what it says, and justify your rule for the newspaper's readers.
Write the same short message twice: once as a formal email to a college admissions office and once as a text to a friend. The message: you will be late submitting a form because the school office was closed. Then list three usage choices that differ between the two versions and explain each one.
Rubric
Criterion
Full Credit (2 pts)
Partial Credit (1 pt)
No Credit (0 pts)
Standard Conventions
All six sentences edited correctly and the convention named
Four or five edited correctly
Fewer than four
Change over Time
Old and current status stated accurately, with references named
Status stated but a reference is missing
No comparison
Resolving Contested Usage
Two kinds of reference summarized; rule justified for the audience
One reference, or rule not justified
Rule stated with no references
Audience and Register
Choices differ appropriately and each is explained
Choices differ but explanations are thin
No difference between versions
05
Quiz: 20 Questions
Interactive, with answers
Instructions
Some questions use the Strunk and Austen excerpts in the lesson plan. Your score updates as you answer, and Reset quiz clears everything so you or your students can try again.
Multiple choice: pick an option to check it. Short answer: write your answer, then reveal the model answer.
0 of 20 answered · 0 correct
Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Choose the verb that follows standard agreement: The collection of letters written by Austen's relatives ____ kept in a library in England.
Answer: B
The subject is the singular noun collection; "of letters" is a prepositional phrase and does not change the number. A, C and D agree with letters, the nearest noun, which is a common agreement error.
Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which pronoun completes the sentence correctly? The committee invited Priya and ____ to speak at graduation.
Answer: D
The pronoun is an object of invited, so the objective case me is correct (test it alone: "invited me"). A uses the subject case, an overcorrection often heard after "and." B is a reflexive pronoun with no matching subject. C is a possessive.
Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which sentence places its modifier correctly?
Answer: D
In D the opening phrase modifies I, the person who walked in. In A and C the phrase attaches to the books, which cannot walk, and in B it attaches to a smell; these are dangling or misplaced modifiers.
Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In a formal letter, which word completes the sentence? The applicant ____ the panel selected will be notified by email.
Answer: B
The pronoun is the object of selected (the panel selected whom), so formal edited writing uses whom. A is common in speech and many usage guides accept it in informal writing, but it misses the formal register the question names. C is a possessive and D refers to things, not people.
Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Choose the correct verb: After the long hike, she ____ down on the couch for an hour.
Answer: A
The verb lie (to recline) has the past tense lay. B is the past tense of lay (to put something down), which needs an object. C is a misspelling of laid. D is the past participle of lie and needs a helper such as "had lain."
Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which observation best supports the idea that usage is "a matter of convention"?
Answer: D
D shows two communities of careful writers following different practices, each correct for its own readers, which is what a convention is. A is false: no dictionary has fixed English, and Johnson's has been followed by many revised ones. B treats usage as logic, which would give every community the same rules. C overcorrects: conventions still matter, because readers judge writing by them.
Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice
According to Strunk's 1920 entry "Shall, Will," which sentence follows his rule for a simple statement about the future?
Answer: A
Strunk writes that "The future tense requires shall for the first person, will for the second and third." B would express "determination or consent" in his system, not a simple prediction. C and D use shall with the second and third persons, where his rule requires will.
Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which statement best describes shall and will in current American usage?
Answer: D
Current references describe will as the normal future form in American English, with shall kept for offers and suggestions and for requirements in legal writing. A treats a 1920 rule as permanent. B overstates the change, since shall survives. C has no basis in any reference.
Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In the three Austen excerpts, where do "they" or "their" refer back to "everybody" or "a person"?
Answer: C
Mrs. Bennet says "everybody is to judge for themselves," Elizabeth speaks of "cheating a person of their premeditated contempt," and the narrator writes that "everybody began to find out that they had always distrusted" Wickham. A and B miss the narration, which shows that the usage was not only a mark of a character. D misreads the pronouns.
Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In the introduction to chapter V, how does Strunk describe the split infinitive?
Answer: B
Strunk sorts the forms in his list into three groups, and he puts the split infinitive in the second. A describes the first group ("like I did"), and C the third (case, factor, feature). D contradicts his later entry, which says "There is precedent from the fourteenth century downward."
Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which usage question is contested today, meaning that careful writers and current usage guides disagree about it?
Answer: A
Strunk ruled against less with plural nouns, and many editors still follow him, but current usage guides note that less with counted items is old and widespread in certain phrases, so the question is disputed. B, C and D are not contested: every current reference treats them as errors in formal writing.
Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice
A student writing a psychology lab report is unsure whether to write "the data show" or "the data shows." What is the best way to resolve the question?
Answer: C
The style manual of the discipline settles the question for that audience, and a usage guide explains the wider dispute. A assumes that an older reference outranks a current one. B ignores the convention of the field. D avoids the question instead of resolving it.
Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Why is Strunk's 1920 guide not enough, by itself, to settle a usage question today?
Answer: B
A usage guide is a record of conventions at a moment in time; comparing it with a current reference shows what has changed. A misunderstands conventions: his rulings described careful practice of his time. C is false: the 1920 edition is in the public domain. D is false: Strunk taught at Cornell University in the United States.
Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which reference would best show both the history of the word "irregardless" and how current writers and editors view it?
Answer: C
A usage dictionary traces a disputed word's history and reports current opinion, which is what the question asks for. B gives only the rule one class or publisher follows, without the history. A lists synonyms and D only flags spellings; neither explains a usage dispute.
Question 15 of 20 · Short Answer
Strunk says it is "correct to say, 'The signers of the petition were less than a hundred.'" Explain his reasoning in your own words. Then decide whether a formal report should say "fewer than 50 miles" or "less than 50 miles," and justify your choice.
Model answer: Strunk says the round number "a hundred" works "something like a collective noun," so less refers to an amount rather than to separate people. Distances work the same way: 50 miles is a single measured amount, not 50 separate objects, and current usage guides accept "less than 50 miles." A formal report should say "less than 50 miles." Rubric line: 2 points for explaining the amount-versus-number reasoning and applying it correctly; 1 point for the right choice with no reasoning.
Question 16 of 20 · Short Answer
Edit this paragraph for standard conventions. Identify each error you correct. Neither of the essays were finished on time. Each of the students have to revise their draft, and the teacher, along with two aides, are reading the revisions. Between you and I, the deadline is too soon.
Model answer: "Neither of the essays was finished on time. Each of the students has to revise ... and the teacher, along with two aides, is reading the revisions. Between you and me, the deadline is too soon." Neither and each are singular subjects; "along with two aides" does not make the subject plural; me is the object of the preposition between. "Their draft" after "each" is accepted by many current guides; a writer who wants to avoid any dispute can write "All students have to revise their drafts." Rubric line: 2 points for all four corrections with reasons; 1 point for two or three.
Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer
Elizabeth Bennet says, "I always delight in overthrowing those kind of schemes." How should you handle this phrase (a) when you quote the novel in an essay and (b) when you write about schemes in your own formal sentence? Explain what the difference shows about conventions.
Model answer: (a) Quote it exactly as printed, because a quotation is never corrected; at most, a writer may note that the phrasing reflects the usage of its time. (b) In my own formal sentence I would write "those kinds of schemes" or "that kind of scheme," because current formal usage makes kind agree in number with the demonstrative. The difference shows that conventions belong to a time and a register: the phrase appears in a respected novel, yet current editors would change it in new formal writing. Rubric line: 2 points for both answers and the point about conventions; 1 point for (a) and (b) without the explanation.
Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer
A college application form says: Each applicant must upload ____ portfolio by May 1. Decide which wording the college should use and explain how you would resolve the question with references.
Model answer: I would check a current usage guide, a dictionary usage note and the style manual the college uses. Current references widely accept "their" after "each applicant," and several major style manuals now accept singular they; "his or her" is accepted but wordy, and "his" alone is no longer the convention. Because some readers of a formal form may still object, the clearest choice is to rewrite in the plural: "Applicants must upload their portfolios by May 1." If the sentence must stay singular, "their" is acceptable. Rubric line: 2 points for naming at least two reference types and fitting the choice to the audience; 1 point for a choice with only one reference or no justification.
Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer
A student writes, "The goal is to quickly revise the draft," and a classmate says a split infinitive is always wrong. Using Strunk's entry and what current guides say, decide what the student should do in a formal essay.
Model answer: In 1920 Strunk admitted the construction had "precedent from the fourteenth century downward" but said it "is avoided by nearly all careful writers." Current usage guides no longer treat the split infinitive as an error and accept it when moving the adverb would be awkward or change the meaning. Here "to revise the draft quickly" is just as clear, so the student can keep the split or move the adverb; neither is wrong, and the classmate's "always wrong" rule is out of date. Rubric line: 2 points for using Strunk's words, current opinion and a decision; 1 point for a decision without the history.
Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer
In a job interview, a student says, "Me and him have volunteered at the food bank since last summer." Rewrite the sentence for the interview and explain why the student might still say the original to a friend.
Model answer: "He and I have volunteered at the food bank since last summer." The pronouns are the subject of the verb, so the subject case (he, I) is required in standard English, and courtesy puts the other person first. With friends, "me and him" is common in casual speech and nobody is judging the speaker by formal conventions; an interview is a formal setting where listeners expect standard English. Rubric line: 2 points for the correct rewrite and an explanation of register; 1 point for the rewrite only.
0 of 20 answered · 0 correct
06
Frequently Asked Questions
10 Questions
What does L.11-12.1 mean?
L.11-12.1 means that students in grades 11 and 12 use standard English grammar and usage correctly when they write and speak, and understand how usage works.
Part a asks students to understand that usage is a matter of convention, changes over time and is sometimes contested. Part b asks them to resolve complex or contested usage by consulting references such as usage dictionaries and guides.
How is L.11-12.1 different from L.9-10.1?
L.9-10.1 focuses on building sentences, while L.11-12.1 focuses on judging usage.
The grade 9-10 standard asks students to use parallel structure and various types of phrases and clauses. The grade 11-12 standard asks why conventions exist, how they change, and how to settle disputed cases with references.
Is singular "they" correct?
After words such as everybody, someone and each, singular "they" is widely accepted by current usage guides, and it has a long history in published English.
Jane Austen used it in 1813. Several major style manuals now also accept "they" for a known person who uses it. Some readers still object in formal writing, so check the style manual your audience requires.
Is it wrong to start a sentence with "and" or "but"?
No: current usage guides agree that starting a sentence with "and" or "but" is standard English.
The "rule" against it is a classroom habit meant to stop students from writing fragments. Careful writers use it for emphasis, though not in every paragraph.
Can you end a sentence with a preposition?
Yes: ending a sentence with a preposition is standard English, and current usage guides treat the old "rule" as a myth.
"What are you looking at?" is more natural than "At what are you looking?" In very formal writing, some writers still move the preposition when the result sounds natural.
Which references should students use for usage questions?
Use three kinds: a current dictionary with usage notes, a usage guide, and the style manual your class or field requires.
The standard names two usage guides, Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage and Garner's Modern American Usage. Style manuals include MLA for English papers, APA for psychology, Chicago for history and publishing, and AP for journalism.
Is The Elements of Style still worth reading?
Yes, as a record of the conventions of its time and for its advice on clear writing, but not as the final word on usage.
Some of Strunk's 1920 rulings still hold, and others, such as his ruling against dependable, no longer describe American usage.
How is L.11-12.1 tested?
L.11-12.1 is usually tested with editing questions that ask students to choose the conventional form of a sentence.
The digital SAT Reading and Writing section includes a Standard English Conventions domain, and many state tests include similar editing items. Classroom assessment can also include short written explanations of how a student resolved a usage question.
If usage changes, does that mean nothing is ever wrong?
No: conventions change slowly, and at any moment most of them are settled.
Subject-verb agreement and pronoun case are not in dispute, and readers judge writing by them. Only a small set of usages is contested at a time, and even then the writer's job is to make an informed choice for the audience.
How can parents help with grammar and usage at home?
Talk about usage as a set of choices for different audiences rather than as a list of mistakes.
When a question comes up, such as "further" or "farther," look it up together in an online dictionary's usage note. Ask your student how they would say the same thing to a friend and in a job interview.
07
Related Standards
5 standards
These standards connect to L.11-12.1: prerequisites to review first, parallel standards at the same level, and next steps that build on it.
Before this lesson
L.9-10.1Prerequisite
Use parallel structure and various phrases and clauses to convey meaning
Lesson coming soon
Alongside
L.11-12.2Parallel
Use standard capitalization, punctuation and spelling, including hyphens
Lesson coming soon
L.11-12.3Parallel
Vary syntax for effect, consulting references, and apply knowledge of language
Lesson coming soon
SL.11-12.6Parallel
Adapt speech to contexts and tasks, using formal English when appropriate
Lesson coming soon
After this lesson
W.11-12.5Extends to
Develop and strengthen writing by planning, revising, editing and rewriting
