"This is my basketball shoes" really confused me

[optimistic pessimist]

Dear all,
I know a 13-year boy who lived in England between age 6 and 12. He went to a local elementary school where he studied together with English kids, using only English.

So, I was quite surprised to hear him say, "This is my basketball shoes" in his show and tell. I know his English is as good as, or even better than his Japanese.

Do you think a native English speaking kid might make a mistake of saying "this is my shoes", when he's definitely supposed to say "these are..."?

Thank you

OP

 

[5jj]

If he were holding up a bag containing his shoes, this is my shoes might be fine.

 

[marmoset]

*just an assitant ESL teacher

I agree with fivejedjon.

Since we can say, "this is a pair of basketball shoes" it is easy to say "this is my basketball shoes" since he isn't thinking about using perfect grammar.

But yes, generally the accepted way to say it using correct grammar is, "these are my basketball shoes."

 

[The Dude]

Do you think a native English speaking kid might make a mistake of saying "this is my shoes", when he's definitely supposed to say "these are..."?

OP

To answer your question: Yes, not only native English-speaking children but also adults and even their teachers make many basic mistakes with the language. It may be through ignorance or just a slip of the tongue/pen. This makes the learning of English much more difficult, but it's a fact of life.

 

[marcopalladino]

I'd accept this answer orally but not written:-D

 

[optimistic pessimist]

Hi fivejedjon, marmoset, The Dude

Thanks for your replies. Honestly, your replies really surprised me. I thought this rule was strictly observed and something automatic to English native speakers.

Can I ask another question related to the same issue?

"I lost my glasses. Maybe I left it on the train."

Do you think a native speaker might mistakenly use "it" to refer to "glasses", instead of using "them"?

Thank you

OP

 

[bhaisahab]

Hi fivejedjon, marmoset, The Dude

Thanks for your replies. Honestly, your replies really surprised me. I thought this rule was strictly observes and something automatic to English native speakers.

Can I ask another question related to the same issue?

"I lost my glasses. Maybe I left it on the train."

Do you think a native speaker might mistakenly use "it" to refer to "glasses", instead of using "them"?

Thank you

OP

I think that's unlikely.

 

[5jj]

Honestly, your replies really surprised me.

We are not actually saying that 'this is my basketball shoes' is correct - at least, I'm not. It's just that you may hear it sometimes from native speakers.

 

[Coolfootluke]

I am not a teacher.

Here's a data point for what it's worth. When I read the title of this thread, I saw nothing unusual in it. I had to look twice.