Common forms of spoken grammar

119b - Common forms of spoken grammar

Accusative personal pronoun as subject

I don’t know how but me and my sister got lost in the market. (level 3)

(the level 1 form would be: my sister and I got lost …)

Zero plural for nouns of measurement

That’s twelve foot long. You need something a lot shorter. (level 3)

(level 1 form: twelve feet long …)

What as a relative pronoun

That’s the house what she rented. (level 4)

(level 1 form: the house that/which …)

Them as demonstrative determiner and pronoun           

Did you get them photos we sent round? (level 4)

(level 1 form: get those photos …)

A:   What are the right plants then?

B:   Them over there, the peonies. (level 4)

(level 1 form: those over there …)

Ain’t as a negative contraction

I know something. That ain’t the answer. (level 4)

(level 1 form: that isn’t …)

also 120 for innit, which may be regarded as a variant of ain’t it

Double and multiple negation

She hasn’t got no sense at all, she hasn’t. (level 4)

I haven’t got nothing to say to no one. (level 4)               

also 438a Double negatives and usage

Patterns with past and -ed participle verb forms

These range from past forms used as -ed participle forms, -ed participle forms used as past forms and base forms used as past tenses:

She’s been so worried she’s hid in her room. (level 4)

Yeah, it’s good, innit, I seen it there yesterday. (level 4)

She’s already give it to me, thanks. (level 4)

Subject/verb concord

This is a very common area of variation in spoken grammar. Patterns occur involving singular noun + plural verb, plural noun + singular verb and structures involving existential there, in particular, in which a singular verb is followed by a plural complement. This last structure is very common in spoken English and is becoming established as a standard form:

It were too heavy to move. You need a winch of some sort. (level 4)

We was frightened like. That’s why we didn’t call her. (level 4)

There’s three other people still to come. (level 2)