Taming the English...

'Everyone took their hats from the table.' Notice any anomaly? Well, at start, I didn't. The correct sentence should have been 'Everyone took his or her hat from the table.' I felt robbed when some my beloved seemingly correct sentences were taken away from me, by a grammar book which I've started reading lately. I've developed an obsession for correct Standard English. For once, it sounds cool and also it's difficult to develop. And one of my life fundas dictates that many things are worth doing simply because they are hard. Being a non-native speaker of English makes this task a lot more difficult and interesting. It's interesting, as you get new revelations at every step. 'The tree was tall.' Here 'tall' isn't an object but a complement. An American or British would unknowingly make grammatically correct sentences. The same logic applies to us when it comes to Hindi. However, writing and speaking have a lot of difference. In writing, the construction and function of sentences is considered important. While in speaking, conveying your message is more important, no matter how you convey it. 'You and me should go on a date.' sounds correct and states the amorous intentions of the speaker. But when it comes to writing, it should have been 'You and I should go on a date.' It's really funny when one realizes that we have been studying English right from 1st standard to 12th. No other subject has this much consistency. But still we (at least I) don't have command over Standard English grammar. However, I'll try and redeem myself from this curse before I start my career.