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Pedants' corner
Original poster

"you was" from grown adults

77 replies

CoffeeShoppe · 22/04/2013 15:19

Why?

Awful

Short rant over.

OP posts:
FannyMcNally · 08/08/2013 18:39

Don't we say 'Was that you down the pub last night?' and not 'Were that you down the pub last night?' English is very tricky.

Onesleeptillwembley · 08/08/2013 18:41

Never heard it in Yorkshire. One thing I've noticed on her is 'I done' or 'They done'. Aargh.

Onesleeptillwembley · 08/08/2013 18:43

Schobe my friend is from Belfast. She's all and blonde. Everybody assumes she's dim or dippy. The opposite could not be more true although she says some pretty dippy things.

TheRealFellatio · 08/08/2013 18:47

I detest 'we was' and 'I done' with a passion, but I do accept that it is a regional thing and I've had to learn to live with it or I would have spontaneously combusted long ago; having always lived in Kent or Essex I am surrounded by the English-mangling fuckers.

It's still WC sloppy bad grammar thing though, plain and simple.

Ironically I notice that people from Yorks and Lancs often say 'I were' which is the grammatical opposite of the mistake 'We was.'

Why can't people just say it one way - the right way? Confused

ZingWidge · 08/08/2013 19:03

I hate it and I'm not even English!

in fact I probably hate it more! Grin if I could/can make the effort to learn this language properly and improve my vocabulary and understanding all the time, I think it is shameful for a "home grown" English speaking person to speak incorrectly!

It's just sloppy and lazy and ignorant.
Ali G doing it is the only time it's funny ("is it because I is black?" Grin Grin Grin Grin )

ZingWidge · 08/08/2013 19:09

holly I'm pretty sure that "bored of" is correct.

"bored with" is fine

but "I would of loved to...." especially in writing, just no no no and noooooooo!

it is "I would've = I would have"! Angry

Onesleeptillwembley · 08/08/2013 19:09

Yorkers also say 'I aren't'. That drives me mad.

WhereBeThatBlackbirdTo · 08/08/2013 19:10

I hate 'we was'. Almost as much as 'where's it to?'

ZingWidge · 08/08/2013 19:13

bodiddly

"I was sat there" - I think it is correct if the speaker means to emphasise that they were told to sit on a particular seat/chair/place.
or am I wrong?

would it be "I was seated"? hmmm

I'm getting confused

ThreeBeeOneGee · 08/08/2013 19:22

The ability to use standard English when needed is a really useful skill.

We have a babysitter who used to say "you was". When the children were little, she looked after them once or twice a week, so I was curious to see if they would pick this up from her; in fact the reverse occurred.

burberryqueen · 09/08/2013 08:50

yes perhaps in that case zingwidge for example 'i was seated/sat at the front of the auditorium by a lovely usherette'
but what is annoying is 'I was sat by the pool' no no no! you were sitting!

Sleepwhenidie · 09/08/2013 08:59

Grates on me too, nearly as much as "doing (something) good" or "doing bad" which seems to be getting popular...noo, it's "well" or "badly" Hmm

ZingWidge · 09/08/2013 09:07

burberry

oh in that context it's definitely "I was sitting" or "I sat"

in fact any of these would make sense:

I sat
I was sitting
I have been sitting
I have sat
I had been sitting
I had sat
I would have been sitting
I would have sat
I was going to sit
I was about to sit etc.

but you know that already..Wink
(I've only listed some acceptable options as it's more fun than tidying up!Grin )

burberryqueen · 09/08/2013 09:10

Grin i know what you mean.....

CatWithKittens · 10/08/2013 11:00

I have to agree with Holly and differ from Zingwidge. I fear that I do not think that "bored of" can ever be correct - you can be bored with something or by someone but should never never say you are "bored of" anything or anyone.

ZingWidge · 10/08/2013 21:34

cat

I checked and you are right, "bored of" is technically incorrect and is best not used in writing.

but it's use is widespread because it is a logical formation following and therefore being similar to "weary of" & "tired of"

"my bad"Grin

ZingWidge · 10/08/2013 21:35

btw "bored with" and "bored by" are both correct

BathingBelle · 10/08/2013 21:47

There are indeed regional dialects that use 'you was' but we are no longer in the 1950s, exclaiming over the charming toothless person using this phrase in a b&w programme about ploughing.

We all have access to libraries, the Internet, newspapers (now who's in the 1950s?) and there's no excuse for such a basic error.

I know someone who does it to 'wind people up.' Sadly, they just think he's a bit ignorant.

JayPunker · 09/09/2013 03:05

I can sometimes accept that in speech, because, people do pick up certain, say, phrases, that they will habitually say. I cannot abide by it in writing, though. My sister has a tendency to say 'Why I was waiting' rather than Whilst, which is fine, but when she writes that, it just makes her look silly and I feel like washing her mouth out with tippex. She's 36 and she reads a lot of books. There is no reason for her to not be literate

MirandaGoshawk · 09/09/2013 22:06

I love Pedants' Corner.

Sigh.

MirandaGoshawk · 09/09/2013 22:07

This has made today worthwhile!

stealthsquiggle · 09/09/2013 22:10

My immediate manager does it. All the time. I am sure it is a regional thing but it still grates, every time.

Primrose123 · 09/09/2013 22:22

My PIL always say 'you was', and we are in Wales. It drives me mad. It was very awkward because my DDs used to say it sometimes, but I couldn't correct them in front of PIL when they had just said it too.

Another thing that I hear here is 'he have'. My friend's mum says this and she is a retired teacher!

nonmifairidere · 17/09/2013 19:29

David Beckham. He mixes with people who speak with the correct usage all the time, can he not hear he is getting it wrong?

redshifter · 22/09/2013 17:44

I have just discovered Pedants' Corner today.

I love it.