How to Learn Perfect English As a Native English Speaker

Co-authored by Language Academia

Last Updated: October 8, 2024 Fact Checked

Even if you speak English, there is a wide variety of regional dialects and patterns of speech. These are diverse, useful, and dynamic ways of communication. But unfortunately, if one cannot communicate in Standard English a person may be discriminated against as uneducated, and sometimes not be able to communicate effectively. Fortunately, there are many ways to immerse yourself in this way of communicating. English borrows words from all sorts of different languages, and new terms are constantly emerging.

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General Guidelines

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1
Use standard English. Standard English is a form of English accepted as the most universally accepted, based mostly on written English. British and American style English are very similar, but vary substantially in accent, some spellings, and pronunciation. Be aware that there are many regional accents and dialects throughout the world.
- Avoid nonstandard (i.e., ungrammatical) forms such as “ain’t”, “can’t hardly”, “can’t seem to”, “irregardless”, and “anyways”. See the list below (“Nonstandard and Questionable Usage”) and How to Use Commonly Misused Words. Consult a dictionary for proper usage and a style manual, such as Strunk and White’s Elements of Style.
- Know what phrases, words, and pronunciations your locality uses that is not Standard English.
  - These might be common ones like "aint".
  - Or It can be meanings such as "ugly" (New England, U.S.A) meaning either possibly "unattractive" or "angry" depending on context.
- Understand if a word is slang or not. Slang words are not accepted as formal Standard English even if often understood informally in conversation. They are often highly localized.
  - Examples include: LOL, dead presidents, DIY, or whopper.
2
Keep proper pronunciation in mind. For most words that can be pronounced more than one way (such as "either"), all the different pronunciations are correct. For a few, such as "mischievous", one pronunciation is preferred.
- What the "correct" pronunciation is may depend slightly on your region. Words like "Aluminum" are pronounced quite differently in British English and American English. While neither is incorrect, you may want to speak in the same manner as the people you converse with.
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For words like "Color", all the different spellings are fine, but for "jail", one spelling is preferred.^{[1]
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Watch major network TV news, and other programming that uses Standard English.
- Newscasters in particular are very careful to present language that is grammatically clear and well articulated. Therefore, it is usually recommended to people trying to learn Standard English to watch such news programs.
- Certain other television shows will present very good Standard English, however television ranges wildly in terms of proper English usage.
- In general, broad-appeal scripted shows from networks tend to have very good English. Reality shows may have speech that is actually closer to what normal speech really is, but may not help you speak closer to Standard English.
5
Expose yourself to writing to pick up structures, tones, and ideas. Not everything in print is perfect, but the vast majority of printed works, such as books and magazines, have been thoroughly edited. Look at what makes good writing good. As you read more, mistakes and problems will start to "look" or "sound" wrong to you. Correctness will start to feel natural.
- If you want to write with a particular style or in a particular genre, read things that are related to that. You will tend to adopt styles and ideas from what you read.
Listen to talk radio, podcasts, and audio books.
, with intonation. You can read to your children or even your pets. Reading passages aloud is one way to interpret their structures, and it will make you more conscious of their details. It will improve your speech, especially if you are hesitant when you speak or say "uh" and "um". If you practice reading aloud, you will be less likely to stammer or pause when you speak. You will find yourself saying words carefully instead of slurring them together.^{[2]
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Build your vocabulary. Reading will expose you to a far wider range of words than conversation or spoken media, such as radio or television. Collect words that you do not know. Also browse the dictionary, play word games (such as Hangman, Fictionary, and Freerice), and subscribe to a word of the day.^{[3]
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Start a pun war. Dust off your Scrabble game. Invent your own word. Try your hand at a garden path sentence, write your own aprosdoketon, or enter the Bulwer-Lytton contest for bad prose or one of its imitators.
Write for a journal, blog, or wiki. Wikis, especially, need writers and frequently come with a whole community of editors who will help you. Whatever and wherever you write, practice daily, if possible. In email and text messages, use complete sentences. That counts as writing, too.^{[4]
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Just as you wear different clothing for different weather, you should write or speak differently depending upon your audience. Is this communication factual or fanciful? Are you telling a story, arguing a point, or explaining a procedure?
your writing and have it proofread by someone else. As you proofread, you can see what kinds of mistakes you make often. Read your composition aloud. You may find a grammatical error when something that you read does not sound right.^{[5]
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Do not be afraid to make mistakes. That fear may keep you from writing well. Language takes extraordinary amounts of practice to master, and mistakes are part of the learning process.
Try learning another language. It will make you more conscious of the structures and grammar in your own. Many of the Latin-based and Germanic languages have words and structures similar to those in English, and exploring these similarities and differences will strengthen both languages.

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Nonstandard and Questionable Usage

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Make an agenda.How long do you need to study to achieve your goals? This answer is different for every student. The important thing is to be realistic. Make a commitment Learning English requires a lot of motivation. Nobody is going to take your attendance when you aren't in class. If you are sure you are ready to begin studying, make a commitment.

A lot, alot – “Alot” is not a word; use “a lot” in informal writing. Substitute "many", “much”, "several", "numerous", "a large number", and "a large amount” in formal writing.
Ain't – "Ain’t" is always wrong, whether it is used to mean "to be" or "to have". The use of “ain’t I?” is nonstandard. “Amn’t I?” is also nonstandard English; “aren’t I?” is standard English.^{[6]
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Research source} Despite the use of “ain’t I?” and “amn’t I?” in some dialects, “the correct standard singular form is the plural form aren’t: I’m right, aren’t I?”^{[7]
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Alright, all right – "Alright" is nonstandard; use “all right”. Like "okay", "all right" is an informal word; substitute "fine" or "acceptable" in formal writing.
anyways – The proper word is "anyway".
Gonna, wanna – These are contractions of "going to" and "want to". They are unacceptable in all writing except in dialogue. If the speaker truly did say, "I’m gonna go to the supermarket", write it down that way.
Hopefully – “Hopefully” is a formal, impersonal word. There is no perfect alternative with the same meaning. As it is one word, “hopefully” is more concise than any of the alternatives. “Hopefully” was initially criticized because it was expected to modify the verb. In the sentence “The candidate will hopefully be nominated by the party”, “hopefully” does not mean “in a hopeful manner” but instead makes an impersonal, hopeful prediction. It is a sentence adverb, which can modify an entire sentence, and sentence adverbs are common in formal writing. “Hopefully” is used even in legal writing.^{[8]
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Research source} In fact, “hopefully” might have once been a rogue word that was considered even “pretentious”.^{[9]
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Impact – The use of “impact” to mean “have an impact on” has sometimes been criticized, especially by those who say that it was a noun transformed into a verb. “Impact” was actually a verb first.^{[10]
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Research source} The word is most commonly used in formal writing.^{[11]
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Research source} Employing “impact” also forces the writer to be more precise.
- The paper will have a negative impact. (This may well be an empty sentence.)
- The paper will negatively impact the historian’s reputation. (This sentence structure, with a transitive verb, forces the writer to say who will be impacted.)
Irregardless – This form is nonstandard. The prefix “ir-” and the suffix “-less” make it redundant. Standard English uses “regardless” or “irrespective”.
'Merica – Use "America"
Of – It is incorrect and redundant to use “of” with prepositions such as “off”, “outside”, and “inside” and with the pronoun “all”. Note that “of” is proper when “off” is, in fact, an adverb (e.g. “the breaking off of rock”).
- "Get off of me."
- "Get off me."
- "What is inside of the bag?"
- "What is inside the bag?"
- "All of the students knew the answer."
- "All the students knew the answer."
Out loud – “Out loud” is nonstandard; use the more concise “aloud”.
Until, till, ‘til – "'Til" is a nonstandard form. "Until" is preferred to "till" in formal writing.
Use to – The proper form of this phrase should be "used to". Be sure to pronounce the "d" in "used".
- "As a child, I use to go to nursery school."
- "As a child, I used to go to nursery school."

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What is the difference of use and used?

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'Used' is the past tense of 'use.' You would say 'used' if it happened in the past. 'I used a knife to cut the cake' or 'I used to play football'. You say 'use' when it is in the present, or what is happening right now, such as 'I use a brush on my hair.' (For a discussion of "use to" vs. "used to," see "WritingExplained.org/used-to-or-use-to-difference".)

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When do I use "the" versus "a" in a sentence?

Donagan

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In general, "the" points to something more specific than "a" does. For example, "the house" points to one specific house, while "a house" could be referring to any of several houses.

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Should I work to improve my English communication skills?

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Absolutely. Even if you are a fantastic communicator, there is always room for improvement.

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Tips

Do not be afraid to use a "split verb phrase." Robert Lowth himself said that this was grammatically correct.^{[12]
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Research source} Some writers who do not split infinitives refuse to split verb phrases as well, but there is no such rule. If there were such a rule, we should all be saying, "I saw her not" instead of "I did not see her." We also should say, "You are going?" instead of "Are you going?" but "You are going?" is a nonstandard question. Split verb phrases have the advantages (in terms of emphasis) of split infinitives when an adverb comes between the two parts of the verb phrase.

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Try to avoid ending a clause with a preposition. You might have heard about ending a sentence with a preposition, but a preposition can also be separated from its object in some types of clauses. The word “preposition” literally means “a putting before.” Prepositions should generally be placed before the objects that they take. Prepositions are also weak words to have at the end of a sentence or clause, the most emphatic position.^{[13]
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Research source} Robert Lowth, along with John Dryden, is best known for introducing this rule to keep prepositions and their objects together. In A Short Introduction to English Grammar, Lowth stated that it is preferable in formal English to place prepositions in front of relative pronouns.^{[14]
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He also said that prepositions must follow some verbs (such as “to fall on”) to give them their meaning.^{[15]
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Research source} These verbs may require the preposition to be at the end of the clause and were used by Robert Lowth in his book^{[16]
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Research source} and by John Dryden.^{[17]
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Research source} One characteristic structure of formal English, the passive voice, can be formed only with the preposition at the end of a clause. Like Latin, English can utilize intransitive verbs in the passive voice. It was impossible to end a sentence with a preposition in Latin, but the language often employed a single verb (such as "trānslūcere") for what English would express with a verb and preposition acting as a single unit ("to shine through").

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Use "who" and "whom" properly. “Who” is the subject pronoun; “whom” is the object pronoun. For example, “Whom did Sally see?” uses “whom,” the object pronoun. When you are unsure about which to use, rework the sentence and substitute either "he" or "him." Rewrite “Whom did Sally see?” as “Sally saw whom?” and then "Sally saw him." Because "him" sounds correct, "whom" is employed in the sentence. If you feel uncomfortable with "whom" in speech, William Safire suggests recasting the sentence to remove the pronoun. When George Bush used "Who do you trust?" as a slogan, Safire suggested "Which candidate do you trust?"^{[18]
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Warnings

Be careful about correcting others when you are in conversation. Some people take it the wrong way.

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Articles on the Internet (especially those on blogs) are more likely to contain errors than printed works such as books or magazines. Internet pages are often not checked as carefully as other written works.

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No one is perfect. Even English mavens such as William Safire, Richard Lederer, and Lynne Truss draw comments and criticism on their writing styles.

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It is true that "practice makes perfect", but no one is perfect.

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