Sir, - May I assure your correspondent, Anne Dunphy, that she is not the only person left who cares about the increasing use of bad grammar in English. Indeed, one could submit a sizeable list to add to the "I dones". I may say that spelling and punctuation are also deteriorating very rapidly.
Ms Dunphy refers to the need for correctness, which still exists in other languages taught in our schools, such as Irish, French and German. Alas, I have reason to feel that even in these cases, bad grammar is being tolerated.
May I suggest a return to the teaching of Latin? This would provide a strict discipline in grammar, which could be paralleled in the teaching of other languages, including English, but also would be of great use in the study, or later learning, of many modern European languages. - Yours, etc.,
Clareview, Limerick.