Bad grammar!

[Le Chat]

I have noticed with the passing of years that quite alot of people now say 'we was' instead of 'we were' and 'I wish I was....' instead of 'I wish I were....'
This is an example of how bad grammar has sneaked into our language and is normal now for some people.
I have just been reading through Trip Advisor and otherwise perfect posts are spoilt with this incorrect use of the verb 'to be.'
The other thing I have noticed is that the perpetrators tend to be from southern parts.
Why has this happened?

[nicyooyak]

I think this happens all the time as dialects and languages are adapted. Specifically with internet / social networking sites there is also a paraphrasing of words to write with the least number of characters or people simply rush what they are writing.

[MarkRae]

People were saying 'we was' long before you were born.

When did people started to think that 'a lot' is a single word...?

[Ellipsis]

> 'I wish I was....' instead of 'I wish I were....'

Would "I wish I was a Wild West Hero" be an example?

[Calibax]

Certainly the subjunctive has gone out of fashion and 'I wish I was ...' has become almost standard, even among educated speakers.

[FredPuli43]

You can't have been in London or the London parts of Essex in the last sixty years at least ! "We was" is an extremely common form, heard everywhere, and has been for a long time. The verb goes: "L was, you was, he was, we was, they was"

[MarkRae]

> Mainly people using textspeak such as "alot".

I can't imagine ever being in that much of a hurry...

[MarkRae]

> LOL

Did you honestly "laugh out loud" at that? How I envy you! How wonderful it must be to be so easily amused...

[dr b]

If I Google "alot" (in quotes for exact matches only) I get 277 million hits. Alot is a town in India and ALOT is the ticker symbol for a firm called Astro-Med, so it does have some valid uses. Most of the other hits on the first pages are sites that discuss the fact that "alot" does not mean "a lot". So it's hard to blame Google - they don't produce the content.

[dr b]

Also:

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/the-alot

[MarkRae]

^^ Yeah, but it provides amusement for the hard of thinking...

[ummmm]

I say 'was' instead of 'were'. It's nothing to do with grammar, it's just how I speak.

[NoMercy]

My grammar isn't perfect, but I still consider myself a well-spoken person.

At least I can string a sentence together without a plethora of expletives and double negatives - a talent that eludes vast numbers of our indigenous thick.

[ummmm]

Grammar, imo, doesn't need to be perfect. As long as you get your point across.

What are you doing up so late/early, NoM?

[NoMercy]

I've pulled my gluteus maximus and evening turning over in bed is dreadfully painful. It keeps waking me up. :(