Was or were?

[MaybeAMoaner]

I hated learning the English subject at school so as a result my grammar and punctuation is not great.
I love reading people’s tips or corrections on sites like this so I can learn (now that I actually do find the subject interesting).

Can any one clarify for me that when it comes to the words ‘was’ and ‘were’ in the following examples which is correct as I use ‘were’ but I see a lot of people use ‘was’.
Examples that I’ve seen:

“Why was you in the shower” (I would have said were)
“Where was you going” (I’d say were here too)

Or is it perhaps a regional thing and both are correct?

I have googled it but couldn’t find a real answer.

I'd say you were correct on both. It's were.

Were, for both.

I was
You were
He/she/it was
They were

It is were, but common (but wrong!) to say was in certain regions. In Kent/Essex/parts of London you'd hear was a lot.

It should be were for both; but depending on where you saw the examples, there could be a regional variance.

Definitely both were - but some people will say was for both as that’s just how they talk.

"Were" is correct in both cases.

Some regions use "was" colloquially in informal language.

Ahhh great, thanks. That’s what I thought (that it was regional)
I’m from the north and no one says was here.
Which is why I only see it in text.

Thank you 😊

You're right with your use of 'were' here. It's also used in a hypothetical sense vs was, as in 'if I were a millionaire', rather than 'if I was...'. If you are talking about something that was real then you would use 'was', as in 'if I was rude to my parents as a child they would xyz...'.

I know that's not specifically what you're asking, but I think it's useful

You're right.

Some people are just thick.

@AlbertBridge

You're right.

Some people are just thick.

Or some people write informally on MN/social media.

In both your examples, the use of 'were' is correct. 'Was' is always wrong there.

It's used colloquially in some regions, but it's one of those things that makes me inwardly cringe when I hear it, in the same way as 'would of', 'could of' etc. I'm not enough of an arse to point it out, but I do hoick up my judgy pants.

@Sparklfairy

It is were, but common (but wrong!) to say was in certain regions. In Kent/Essex/parts of London you'd hear was a lot.

And in Yorkshire

@MaybeAMoaner I’m in the North and hear it a lot. And also s/he were instead of was.

@AlbertBridge

You're right.

Some people are just thick.

Or some people have barriers to learning for whatever reason and they're surrounded by people who talk this way so they know no better (or they're confused as in OP's case). To brandish them all as thick is extremely insulting, judgemental and narrow-minded.

My northern family say things like "you was good at that" because it's normal where they live.

As a pp said, you might say "if I were on holiday" because you're referring to something hypothetical, but mostly, you'd say "I was".

I'm not sure this kind of grammar is properly taught in schools. I think it's learned from hearing those around you, and from reading.

It doesn't bother me too much if someone was speaking, but it does surprise me if someone is writing.

I thought the OP was going to ask about what @Spottybluepyjamas explained. I was definitely never taught this in school, and people quite often use; "I wish I was a..."

To brandish them all as thick is extremely insulting, judgemental and narrow-minded.

Just as well, then, that I very clearly used the words "some people".

Or some people write informally on MN/social media.

Was is never the informal form of were.

Were is correct. The use of was in the examples you have is quite common though and sounds bloody awful imo.

@DramaAlpaca me too!

I'll add "she learned me to knit"

@Spottybluepyjamas

You're right with your use of 'were' here. It's also used in a hypothetical sense vs was, as in 'if I were a millionaire', rather than 'if I was...'. If you are talking about something that was real then you would use 'was', as in 'if I was rude to my parents as a child they would xyz...'.

I know that's not specifically what you're asking, but I think it's useful

That's really helpful

I use a mixture of was and were in that context but it was always a bit instinctive. I don't think I was taught the difference and when to use each

Or some people write informally on MN/social media

Do you think that there are people who know that were is the correct word to use but decide to incorrectly type was on social media. That's nonsense, no one who knows the correct use of language would do that.

A common (but correct) apparent breaking of the rules, is, ‘If I were you….’ (….I’d do so and so’. etc.).

@GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER, I know it feels like it but that’s not a breaking of the rule, what you’ve described is the subjunctive mood which expresses desire/wish/suggestion. The subjunctive form of ‘to be’ is ‘were’. If only I were taller / if he were 10 years older etc.

Yes, I know, @heyyellowyellow - I’m a linguist and a former teacher of EFL - but I thought it was maybe over-complicating things to bring the subjunctive into it.