A businessman had invited his friend the schoolmaster for a trip on his boat. It was a hot day, and while the businessman attended to the steering and navigation, the schoolmaster relaxed on the deck.

After a while, the schoolmaster asked, "What will the weather be like?"

The businessman looked to the sky, sniffed the air, and checked the direction of the wind. "We's going to have a storm," he said.

The schoolmaster was shocked. "You can't say 'We's'! Don't you know grammar? You should say, 'We're ... We're going to have a storm.' My friend, if you don't know grammar you've wasted half your life."

The businessman merely shrugged his shoulders and carried on navigating the boat with skill and an eye on the horizon.

Some time later, as the businessman had predicted, a huge storm blew up. The wind was high, the waves were huge, and the little boat was swamped with water.

Over the roar of the storm, the businessman was heard to shout to the schoolmaster, "Have you learned to swim?"

"No," shouted the schoolmaster. "Why on earth should I have learned to swim?"

"In that case," said the businessman grinning from ear to ear, "you've wasted half your life, because we's going to sink."