Leding (sic) from the front

[toxicpixie]

Probably doesn't help that it's constantly evolving. "I'll just google that" drives Google nuts as it's making their name into a common word - like hoover and Hoover

[Westmarcher]

Which IS correct ?

A)...A couple was arrested by police on charges of blah, blah, blah......

or

....A couple were arrested by police .....etc, etc.

Interestingly, I wonder what the 'correct' answer is in Yorkshire? 

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Interestingly, I wonder what the 'correct' answer is in Yorkshire? 

WUZ

IanS

[Ithoriel]

In Glasgow:

"Twa gadgies wuz lifted by the polis"

[fsn]

Surely, contextually either is correct? (Sticks head out, waits for axe.)

If the discussion is about a "couple" as a unit then "was" is correct. However, if the "couple" is a measure of individuals, then "were" is correct.

Consider "the squadron was established in 1939" and "the squadron were disappointed that he wasn't awarded a medal." in the first case one refers to the collective, in the other the individuals.

If this is wrong, then it's because we speak differently on Shetland. It's da Nordic influence, du kens?   

[Leman]

Athletes foot lute skol sounds very Scandinavian if you lilt it in Hollywood style. So does Lumpy Custard. And of course there is always the Swedish barman Lars Torders.

[Techno]

So.....

What's the rule(s) regarding "I was" and "I were".

"I was walking up the road".........That's right (surely)
"I were walking up the road".....Absolutely not.....Except for certain dialects ?

"If I was to say"....Is that right ?....

Or should it be..."If I were to say ?"

If I were a rich man......Did Topol get it wrong ?....I think we should be told.
Again....I know which ones sound right to me....

Cheers - Phil

[Ithoriel]

If the people you are addressing understand what you mean it's "right."

It's not about "right" or "wrong" it's about "understandable" or "incomprehensible."

Pitch your grammar and vocabulary according to your audience.

[fsn]

Techno! Techno! Over here! Listen!

Him say. You speak good if him know word say. Him say you smile ... SmilE ... not scowl SMILE ... yes that's it ... you smile when you glad. You not smile when you not glad. Him know what you say him OK.

[FierceKitty]

Were in the first and third person singular is for impossible or very unlikely conditionals. Though preferred by educated speakers, were in such cases has never become the exclusive form, and UK and international speakers are very likely to use the competitor was. Interestingly, Americans tend to be a bit more careful about getting it right, in so far as that means anything; a useful illustration of how US English is often a bit on the archaic side (or less degenerate, depending where your sympathies lie).
Were can be similarly employed in unreal wishes (I wish I were in your shoes.)
If I were you, I'd say Topol was right.

[Techno]

Ta, FK !

So if it's something that's pretty likely......

"If I was to hit the post button."

Unlikely.....

"If I were to win the jackpot on the lottery."

Cheers - Phil

[Subedai]

Casting mind waaaaay back to school, I seem to remember our English teacher saying that if the subject is singular -as in couple- then 'was' is used, if the subject is plural -as in two people- then you use 'were'. How much that has changed in the intervening decades I don't know.

[toxicpixie]

My normal rule of thumb is "is the meaning intelligible, whether it's technically correct or not, to the audience you're aiming at". If it is, fneh. Don't sweat it.

Then realise just after posting that you've typed too quickly, missed actually important punctuation and possible several words, and have completely mangled the whole thing into gibberish even before DAMN YOU AUTOCORRECT has had its way...

Then edit, if possible, to add a load of extra run on sentences with ampersands and extra gubbins and smileys.

[FierceKitty]

Casting mind waaaaay back to school, I seem to remember our English teacher saying that if the subject is singular -as in couple- then 'was' is used, if the subject is plural -as in two people- then you use 'were'. How much that has changed in the intervening decades I don't know.

You was taught wrong by that teacher! Actually, one of the surest signs of the sort of teacher who enters the profession because he couldn't get a job as a street sweeper is a tendency to give out little bromides like that, without going into detailed explanations (and becoming aggressively defensive if asked for the explanation which would reveal his own lack of understanding).

[Techno]

Techno! Techno! Over here! Listen!
Him say. You speak good if him know word say. Him say you smile ... SmilE ... not scowl SMILE ... yes that's it ... you smile when you glad. You not smile when you not glad. Him know what you say him OK. 

Sorted, Geezer ! 
Cheers - Wotshisname