Which option best completes the sentence: 'Evan, he play ball with his sister' is an example of _______ English?

• A. Standard
• B. Formal
• C. Colloquial
• D. Nonstandard

Answer: (D)

Nonstandard English is what this sentence demonstrates. The form shows a subject-verb disagreement, with “he play” instead of the standard “he plays” (or rework to “Evan plays ball with his sister”), and the double subject construction “Evan, he” is not a pattern used in standard English. In standard English, you would expect Evan plays ball with his sister or He plays ball with his sister. These grammar deviations are typical of nonstandard varieties, which differ from standard conventions found in formal writing and speech. Colloquial speech can be casual, but it still tends to follow standard subject-verb rules in most contexts, so this example fits nonstandard rather than simply colloquial.