" Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
5 Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours yronne,
And smale foweles maken melodye"
It's "common usage changing the rules of grammar" that made it possible for us to talk without sounding like that
And that (Canterbury Tale excerpt) language was "dumbed down" from this language (both english):
"HWÆT, we gar-dena in geardagum, þeodcyninga þrym gefrunon, hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon!"
which, now that it's been dumbed down by common useage, translates to
"LO, praise of the prowess of people-kings
of spear-armed Danes, in days long sped,
we have heard, and what honor the athelings won!"
(Beowulf, if anyone's curious) (majoring in english rules!)
Don't knock common useage too much