"I was sat" is incorrect!

[forshitsandgiggles]

Does anyone else want to scream/throw things upon hearing the increasingly common misuse of the past participle? It has become the norm for people to say "he was SAT over there..." when it should be "he was sitting over there" or "we were led down" no, you were "lying down", you daft muppets.

Sorry to rant but I'm sick of hearing this and wonder if it bothers anybody else? I always use a particular example to illustrate this point. You would always say "I was swimming" and not "I was swam", as the latter sounds, frankly, ridiculous.

[Fayrazzled]

Well, if you're posting in the pedants' corner, shouldn't it be "we were laid down" in your example, not "led down" if the next part of your example is "lying down"?

[Fraktal]

He was sat can be correct. Last night my DS was sat in his high chair because its not an action he undertook!

But I see your point and it's annoying.

[MsNorbury]

So agree. Is a marker of a thicko

[Savannahgirl]

Quite agree with you OP, my DSs have picked it up at school and I'm always correcting them on it. It drives me nuts and I sound like a broken record.

Another one that irritates me is the old "X and me" vs "X and I" as in "Fred and me went swimming".

I tell my DSs, you wouldn't say "Me went swimming" it would be "I went swimming", so when you add another person to the equation, that doesn't change!

I don't think my kids ever get through a whole sentance without me interrupting to correct their grammar

[BIWI]

Is it not a dialect thing? I think it's a way of speaking that you hear a lot in the North. (I'm from Leeds).

In which case it isn't incorrect!

[HandMadeTail]

Is grammar descriptive, or prescriptive?

[DaisySteiner]

The old 'X and me' thing is being increasingly overused though. I often hear people say things like 'My parents sent a present to my husband and I' Aaargh, NO!

[PuffPants]

It's not a northern thing, all sorts of people from all sorts of places have bad grammar.

It makes me cringe.

[SardineQueen]

My mum gets in a lather about "she was sat on the chair".

DH says "I'm going for a lay down" which makes me grind my teeth a bit.

[jkklpu]

It's a regional variation, so it's correct in some parts of the country, even if it winds up others. "We were led down" is nothing to do with lying, however, so don't follow that - either from "lead" or you mean "we were lain down".

[Savannahgirl]

I've heard it said as "led down", jkkipu, I think to mean "laid down"

[SardineQueen]

Presumably the people posting that they don't like it, are not in parts of the country where it is the usual way of speaking. We are in SE and although many people say "he was sat over there" it is not a regional thing it is just poor use of English.

If led down is for laid down is for lie down then that is a double whammy!

[FullBeam]

I agree with you, OP. I also find 'I was sat' really annoying. It seems to be so widely used that people think it is correct.

I have the same feelings about 'I done it.'

[anniewoo]

I hate hate hate ' she done it' or 'I done it'. Is it a particularly Irish thing? I am Irish (living in Ireland) and it makes me cringe as our education system is apparently good yet this is becoming the norm. Do British people use it? ' Bored of ' is another one. I blame the primary teachers- if they don't lead the way and teach correct grammar how will children learn it. Sorry for the rant.

[Savannahgirl]

I agree with you Sardine.

My DS's get frustrated that I'm always correcting them and tell me "It's what you say, not how you say it, that matters!"

I repeatedly have to keep telling them that the way you say something is every bit as important as what you are saying and will influence how others, especially prospective employers, see you.

[SardineQueen]

But clearly people are not getting irritated about people talking about babies being sat in high chairs or people being led down a path.

[clam]

I got into a futile argument with a bed salesman about a manufactured label in the store that said, "come and lay down on this bed," or something similar. He tried to maintain that it was perfectly correct.
Didn't buy it in the end.

[PuffPants]

SardineQueen, just because a lot of people say it doesn't make it grammatically correct. That just means a lot of people are wrong.

[Northey]

Is grammar descriptive, or prescriptive?

Prescriptive, handmadetail. Linguistics is the descriptive one.

[SardineQueen]

puffpants that is what I said.

[SardineQueen]

Or are you talking about people who speak with dialects?

I'm not fussed about dialects / local turns of phrase. I think they are a good thing TBH.

[ZZZenAgain]

I don't see how you can "be sat in a chair". Some people have said that "he was sat" can be correct but I don't see how it can be. What form is that supposed to be? It would be "he sat in his chair" (simple past) or "he was sitting in his chair" (past progressive) IMO. If it is a passive form, I would say "he was seated" or more likely "he was placed/put in a chair"

[SardineQueen]

"Where's the doll?"
"I've sat her in the pram"

That's what they are thinking of.

[SardineQueen]

Although I know f all about parts of speech so can't help with that!