Avoid nonstandard (i. e. , ungrammatical) forms such as “ain’t”, “can’t hardly”, “can’t seem to”, “irregardless”, and “anyways”. See the list below (“Nonstandard and Questionable Usage”) and How to Use Commonly Misused Words. Consult a dictionary for proper usage and a style manual, such as Strunk and White’s Elements of Style. Know what phrases, words, and pronunciations your locality uses that is not Standard English. These might be common ones like “aint”. Or It can be meanings such as “ugly” (New England, U. S. A) meaning either possibly “unattractive” or “angry” depending on context. Understand if a word is slang or not. Slang words are not accepted as formal Standard English even if often understood informally in conversation. They are often highly localized. Examples include: LOL, dead presidents, DIY, or whopper.
What the “correct” pronunciation is may depend slightly on your region. Words like “Aluminum” are pronounced quite differently in British English and American English. While neither is incorrect, you may want to speak in the same manner as the people you converse with.
Newscasters in particular are very careful to present language that is grammatically clear and well articulated. Therefore, it is usually recommended to people trying to learn Standard English to watch such news programs. Certain other television shows will present very good Standard English, however television ranges wildly in terms of proper English usage. In general, broad-appeal scripted shows from networks tend to have very good English. Reality shows may have speech that is actually closer to what normal speech really is, but may not help you speak closer to Standard English.
If you want to write with a particular style or in a particular genre, read things that are related to that. You will tend to adopt styles and ideas from what you read.
