Scott,

I doubt Trask is limiting "normal English grammar" to formal written
English. I would say that #4,5, 7, 8, and 9 are already "normal" in the
sense that they would not strike most speakers as odd when heard in a
conversation. In #3, "between you and I" bugs the hell out of me, but I
wouldn't want to bet against its becoming accepted even in writing in a few
generations.

Sentences #1, 2, and 6 are unfamiliar to me. I assume they are from a
regional dialect I have not encountered.

Dick

On Mon, Sep 19, 2011 at 8:22 PM, Scott Catledge <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> **
> Trask in his *Why do Languages Change* includes (p. 10) nine sentences
> that he considered would be or shortly become
> accepted as "normal English grammar."  One of the sentences (number seven)
> is strictly conversational and unlikely
> to be encountered in normal writing: I consider the other eight to have
> egregious errors.  What do you think?
>
> (1)  I recommend you to take the job.
> (2)  He demanded that the agitators were arrested.
> (3)  This is just between you and I.
> (4)  Due to the rain, we had to cancel the picnic.
> (5)  This paper was written by Susie and myself.
> (6)  Please come between eight a.m. to six p.m.
> (7)  If he'd've played, we would have won.
> (8)  He makes tedious jokes about mother-in-laws.
> (9)  Having said that, there is no feasible alternative.
>
> Scott Catledge
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