Language learning platforms are changing how they teach basic English grammar to reflect modern usage, inclusivity, and regional dialects. A guide from Duolingo on possessive adjectives shows how educators balance traditional rules with contemporary communication, including the singular "their" and regional phrases like "y'all's."
What Happened
Duolingo published a breakdown of English possessive adjectives. The guide outlines rules, stating that possessive words like my, your, and their must match the person who owns the noun. The platform includes the singular "their" as standard gender-neutral language when a person's gender is unknown. The app also acknowledges informal regional variations, accepting terms like y'all's and yinz's. Duolingo notes that possessive adjectives replace articles, so a student cannot use both a possessive adjective and an article together.
The Bigger Picture
The inclusion of gender-neutral pronouns and regional dialects reflects a shift in academic writing. Academic institutions use established style manuals rather than static prescriptive rules. The Pratt Institute defaults to The Chicago Manual of Style, while Purdue University Global uses the APA Inclusive Language Guide to address gender identity in writing.
Educators are also reevaluating how they handle regional dialects. Traditional education focused on normative grammar, which researchers argue can marginalize students who use non-prestigious language varieties. According to the Revista Acadêmica Licencia&acturas, a sociolinguistic approach that treats language as a socially situated system is necessary for inclusive education. Schools like the Bijaći school in Croatia developed curricula to preserve native dialects as part of student identity. Despite this, many educators face pressure to enforce standard norms and correct local dialect and slang, causing conflict between linguistic inclusivity and standardized testing.
For English Language Learners (ELLs), mastering these rules requires overcoming structural differences. In English, possessive adjectives function as determiners that take the place of articles. This differs from other systems. German possessive adjectives behave like indefinite articles and change endings to agree with the gender, case, and number of the noun. This difference leads to common ELL errors, such as saying "the my backpack," because students apply their native grammar rules to English.
What This Means for Families
Grammar instruction is no longer just about memorizing rigid syntax. Students must understand traditional English mechanics while using inclusive language standards expected by writing centers. Children learning English as a second language make structural errors, such as combining articles and possessives, because they apply the rules of their native language. Families should expect teachers to handle informal regional dialects differently depending on the context, often validating them for casual communication while requiring code-switching for formal assignments.
What You Can Do
Frame grammar corrections for English Language Learners around "determiner slots" rather than errors, explaining that words like my and the* cannot share the same space in an English sentence.
- Discuss the difference between formal academic writing and informal speech with your children, validating their regional dialects while teaching them how to code-switch for standardized assessments.
- Check current institutional style guides, such as the APA or Chicago Manual of Style, when helping older students edit academic papers, as standard rules regarding the singular "their" have evolved.