Illogic upon illogic!
Nov. 2nd, 2004 10:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
conuly
Notable quote found in my sociolinguistics packet. This is a quote that sociolinguists would tend to disagree with.
You could have fooled me. I thought it was correct to write 'we were' and incorrect to write 'we was'. I did not realise it was just a question dialect: I thought it was a question of grammar or, if you do not like that word, of logic. You cannot use the singular form of the verb with a plural pronoun.
(emphasis totally mine)
Logic? Logic? How can he think of talking about logic in a system where the singular second person plural is supposed to take, oh yes, a plural form of the verb? I was, you were, he/she/it was, we/you/they were. That's logic? Or does he say "you was"? If so, I'm impressed. Most people taking his stance wouldn't.
Head-hurty....
You could have fooled me. I thought it was correct to write 'we were' and incorrect to write 'we was'. I did not realise it was just a question dialect: I thought it was a question of grammar or, if you do not like that word, of logic. You cannot use the singular form of the verb with a plural pronoun.
(emphasis totally mine)
Logic? Logic? How can he think of talking about logic in a system where the singular second person plural is supposed to take, oh yes, a plural form of the verb? I was, you were, he/she/it was, we/you/they were. That's logic? Or does he say "you was"? If so, I'm impressed. Most people taking his stance wouldn't.
Head-hurty....
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no subject
Date: 2004-11-02 02:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-02 02:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-02 03:15 pm (UTC)http://home.bluemarble.net/~langmin/miniatures/yall.htm
Basically, there are times when it can look singular (but isn't really, but is spoken to one person referring to several absent people), but I've also definitely been y'alled in the singular. That's said to be a myth, but given that it's been said to me by people who weren't just joking, I think it's more like rare.