SIR – Teachers of the English language in Bradford’s schools (I don’t mean the teaching of pupils how to speak English – I mean the teachers who teach their pupils how to correctly write the English language), please, please, please will you instruct them on the use of “sitting”? Maybe if you take the stance on correcting this incorrect word i.e. SAT, other teaching establishments will follow suit and we will get our correct usage of English back again. Wrong: I was sat, they were sat, we were sat. Correct: I sat, he sat, they sat. Correct: I was sitting, they were sitting, we were sitting.

I’ve now seen it written so many times but mainly I hear it almost daily. Television news reporters are also guilty of saying this. Please Bradford’s English teachers, lead the way. Show our nation that we do have teachers of our English language who know our basic tongue, and maybe others will follow. P.S. I can only hold my breath for one minute 35 seconds (in homage to the English saying “I won’t hold my breath” – which is pertinent to the above).

Rita Robertshaw, Dalecroft Rise, Allerton, Bradford