In an earlier post I put "I be ready to go," old Black vernacular which has become synonymous with inner city Black speech. I thought someone might comment because it is a source of worry to teachers in areas where it is prevalent. Some have quit trying to fight it and accept it in classroom speech. Is it correct? No. Can it be stopped? No. Some of the students who manage to go on to higher education eventually conquer it because they have become associated with people who heard somewhat correct language at home. Sharon A, I am not trying to throw down the gantlet (just needle a bit). In another thread a couple of months ago a teacher in California said thankfully that grammar no longer was taught. I must confess that I tend to agree with you since I was schooled at a time when two years of Latin was compulsory and much time was spent on grammar and the parts of speech. In the 60 or so years since that time, I have seen changes that have led me to become more tolerant; now I only become upset over Microsoft grammarians (an oxymoron?) who impose their basic English in Word, the move toward(s) political correctness in every form of communication, and words like proactive.