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.

Do kids learn how to use the subjunctive correctly in school any more?

@MaybeAMoaner you said you tried googling it, without success. To find it you need to google something like:
Past tense conjugation of the verb "to be"

Here is an example of one of the many results (scroll down to past tense) ... www.grammar.com/Conjugating-the-Verb-To-Be

"You was" is never correct. Our old nanny said it (she's from London) and it made me wince every time as I didn't want DC picking it up.

@Tulipomania

Do kids learn how to use the subjunctive correctly in school any more?

I went to schools where grammar was very well taught, but I don’t think we ever actually learned about the English language subjunctive. I can only assume that we absorbed the correct usage through hearing it and reading. It was a different matter with foreign languages though, where it was something you had to learn. I still remember learning the French phrases that took the subjunctive - something that would cost you marks if you got them wrong at (then) O or A level.

Rob Beckett uses “was” so maybe it’s a Kent thing?

It should be “were” for both examples.

@AlbertBridge

Or some people write informally on MN/social media.

Was is never the informal form of were.

Too true

@SirensofTitan

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.

I think people code switch easily between different environments, so yes I think some people probably do write or say it in informal situations but wouldn't in a formal report for work.

I should say, I personally don't use was instead of were, and in truth it annoys me. But people judging others' use of language on MN where people dash things off quickly annoys me more.

Interestingly though, and I'm a southerner, I'd say (in a different example!)

'I was in the shower'

Yet my born and bred north west family would say

'I were in the shower' (or more accurately 'in't shower' )

I know that this int an answer to yourn question but I'm intrigued to know what were said when you asked 'why they was in the shower' I were wondering if you was thinking thems having an affair?

SPOTTYBLUE
The correct grammar for your sentence on rudeness is
‘ if I had been rude to my parents …’
The tense is important.

It being the past participle.