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Original poster

I was / you were / we were?

30 replies

eenymeenyminyme · 04/09/2019 12:23

That's right isn't it?

I keep hearing people saying 'you was' or 'we was' (to the extent that I've even caught myself saying it a few times - the shame!) and I'm now doubting myself...

Help me grammar experts!

OP posts:
lorettalemon · 04/09/2019 12:24

Yes, you're definitely right!

BogglesGoggles · 04/09/2019 12:24

Yes that’s correct. I don’t know where ‘you was’ cones from but it’s really irritating.

TheChippendenSpook · 04/09/2019 12:25

You're right. Smile

Dinosforall · 04/09/2019 12:28

DS' nursery teachers say this and it drives me mad as DS has picked it up. Speak properly FGS.

Dinosforall · 04/09/2019 12:29

This = 'you/we was'

Ninkaninus · 04/09/2019 12:29

Yes you’re right.

lazylinguist · 04/09/2019 12:30

You are correct. 'We was' is absolutely wrong.

BoswellsBollocks · 04/09/2019 12:34

One other thing I’ve noticed a lot is writing ‘been’ instead of being. How the fuck that caught on I don’t know. Confused

LeekMunchingSheepShagger · 04/09/2019 12:35

Yes you're right. I hear we was a lot though!

Original poster
eenymeenyminyme · 04/09/2019 12:42

Well that's a relief, I wonder how it happened?

Can only assume that a popular TV reality show or soap opera started it and it got absorbed into day to day speaking - weird how language evolves isn't it?

Good to know I'm not wrong on this one though Smile

OP posts:
hadwebutworldenoughandtime · 04/09/2019 12:56

What part of the country are you from? This is very common in the south and has been for years so not from Tv just a dialect thing. Also see, 'Was you...?'.

Mabelface · 04/09/2019 13:02

Very common in Manchester/Salford area. Seems to be a grammatical colloquialism.

MockersthefeMANist · 04/09/2019 13:05

I was/you were/we were is conventional

It is inevitably perverse because I is was because it's singular, and we is were because it's plural, but you could be either, so it has to choose.

To quote Fawlty Towers, when the Major is reading the paper and declares, "Hampshire won, Fawlty," and Basil replies, "Did it? Good!"

Babdoc · 04/09/2019 13:08

“You was” actually makes more sense than “you were”, when used in the singular. If you look at 18th century novels, it was a common usage.
I think Londoners kept the old usage after the wider country adopted the illogical plural version. However, it was never correct to say “they was”, as that was always plural.

Original poster
eenymeenyminyme · 04/09/2019 13:09

What part of the country are you from?

I'm in the south but have only really noticed it in the last year or so, although there's one guy in my office who's been saying it for a couple of years. I thought it was just him being strange but now I'm hearing it loads!

OP posts:
MockersthefeMANist · 04/09/2019 13:10

...or adopt the Scouse 'youse' as the plural you.

Ninkaninus · 04/09/2019 13:11

Yes it’s a regional thing, and I’m actually quite happy to make allowances for that - it’s just a feature of language in those areas and I don’t believe in being a snob about it. But in terms of what is strictly correct, it’s definitely not the right way to say it.

EBearhug · 04/09/2019 13:18

"You was" is quite common in certain areas. It's a regional variation - you could also hear "I were" in some areas. But if you were learning English in a formal setting (school, evening classes, etc,) you would be taught "I was, you were, he/she/it was".

The verb "to be" is fascinating - as one of our earliest words, it's very irregular in every European language I've come across, and you can’t avoid using it, as it's usually also an auxiliary verb (used in making compound verb tenses.) I've been learning Welsh the past few years, and I have been very confused at times. Then Spanish has ser and estar, depending on the circumstances... and anyway.... I find it all interesting. :-)

MockersthefeMANist · 04/09/2019 13:19

Non-standard dialect is not "wrong." Standard English is a dialect, intrinsically no more logcal or elegant than many alternatives. It is not "just" another dialect because it holds extrinsic prestige because it is employed by people with power.

CaptainMyCaptain · 04/09/2019 13:19

It's just a non-standard dialect but wrong by the Rules of Standard English. When I was teaching we fought a losing battle trying to get the children to say I was/you were/he was/ we were/they were etc. made even harder because most of the TAs and MDS used the non-standard version.

In some regional dialects people say 'I were' which would only be correct if they were using the subjunctive tense, as in 'If I were you' or 'If I were the Prime Minister'.

threadneedle · 04/09/2019 13:22

Something I've noticed a lot is 'I was sat' which sounds so wrong to me. I try not to be a pedant but I involuntarily cringe inside when I hear bad grammar

MockersthefeMANist · 04/09/2019 13:25

There are no rules. Only conventions:

This is not "wrong". It is rather good.

Delenia · 04/09/2019 13:26

It's a regional dialect usually in Northern region so depends where you're from if you regard it as "correct " or not. It's also influenced by socio-economic class which is why people can be snobby about it. We're lucky to live in a country so richly diverse in dialect and accents and I found it fascinating while studying my MA on linguistics. Users usually use it fully aware that standard and written English is I was/you were.

CaptainMyCaptain · 04/09/2019 13:33

Users usually use it fully aware that standard and written English is I was/you were.
They will only know that if they are taught it, though, (if it's not the way they speak at home) then they can make an informed choice.

Simonsaysitschristmas · 04/09/2019 13:49

I only ever hear people from Essex say “we was.” It annoys me a lot more than it should Grin