Which is correct? "So why wasn't/weren't you good enough?"

Question

Someone has just messaged me saying as a professional business owner I should know the difference and that my sentence is wrong! I am not sure! Especially as I am from Yorkshire and we all know we speak differently up here!

So why wasn't you good enough?

Or

So why weren't you good enough?

The first one because I'm from Yorkshire and it's how I talk! — Mick Knowles, Sep 29 '23 at 19:17
It might be hard to see the resemblance, but when you un-invert the question, you get: "You wasn't/weren't…". The quote in that question is from another dialect of English, however. — Laurel, Sep 29 '23 at 20:09
"So why weren't you good enough?" is the preferred form in most parts of the US. — Hot Licks, Sep 29 '23 at 20:52
While this may be valid Yorkshire dialect, using it in formal contexts with correspondents outside Yorkshire will likely result in the kind of attitude you got from your correspondent. It would be best to learn "proper" English, not just your local dialect. — Barmar, Sep 29 '23 at 21:43

alphabet · Answer 1 · 2023-09-29T20:52:10.940

1

In most dialects of English, you is used with were; you was originally only a plural form, and it continues to be used with the plural were instead of the singular was.

But the Wiki page on the Yorkshire dialect notes that some speakers there use "you was" instead:

The reverse – i.e. producing constructions such as we was and you was – is also heard in a few parts of Yorkshire (e.g. Doncaster).

So, while only "So why weren't you good enough?" is correct in standard English, in your dialect the version with "was" may also be considered correct.

edited Sep 29 '23 at 20:52

answered Sep 29 '23 at 20:44

alphabet

18,217

It also can just be a lack of education. Is that a dialect? Dunno. – Lambie Sep 29 '23 at 20:59
@Lambie It is indeed a lack of education that causes people to look down on such nonstandard varieties. – alphabet Sep 29 '23 at 21:32
@Lambie Similar attitudes cause many Americans to interpret AAVE and "hillbilly" talk as indicative of ignorance rather than valid dialects. It's also the theme of Pygmalion/My Fair Lady. – Barmar Sep 29 '23 at 21:40
@Barmar There is a difference between You wasn't as part of Black English and how it is used here. The usage is not just Yorkshire dialect. There are other reasons for it. As a linguist, I do not disparage how anyone speaks, I am just saying one of the reasons is not much education. Nothing wrong with the speech per se. You are implying I look down on it. I don't. But it is one reason, among others. Your answer only talks about that Yorkshire usage. – Lambie Sep 30 '23 at 15:48
@Lambie Do you have a source for the claim that a lack of education causes people to adopt "you was," irrespective of dialect? I'm not aware of such a phenomenon; I've only heard "you was" from AAVE speakers, hence my assumption that you were criticizing speakers of dialects like AAVE. – alphabet Sep 30 '23 at 16:06
@Lambie The reason for my skepticism is that I don't think the educational system ever explicitly taught me to use "you were" instead of "you was"; that just seems like part of the normal process of language acquisition. To me dialectal variation seems a much more likely explanation. – alphabet Sep 30 '23 at 16:19
@alphabet That's because you didn't get your essay or composition using You wasn't marked with a red pen because you'd have written You were. Kids hear You wasn't used in their families, for example, but in writing a teacher would point it out. I don't think regular unschooled speech can be called a "dialectal" variation. – Lambie Sep 30 '23 at 16:31

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 29 '23 at 21:36

0

"So why weren't you good enough?" is correct in formal English. Use 'were' for second-person you.

So:

'You were good enough.' 'You weren't good enough.' 'Why weren't you good enough?'

answered Sep 29 '23 at 21:36

Frazer

1

Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please [edit] to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center. – Community Sep 29 '23 at 21:42

Tetsujin · Answer 3 · 2023-09-30T10:28:58.390

Speaking as one Yorkshireman to another…
The thing is, that in 'proper Yorkshire-ese' when spoken it would likely come out closer to 'Why want [or wənt] you…' with little differentiation between whether the word being substituted was originally wasn't or weren't.

Similar to the 'would of, could of' problem, it's heard so frequently in its abbreviated form that people become unaware of what the substituted word should actually be.
The 's' disappears entirely*, making the differentiation harder, unless you are to write it - when it once again becomes an important distinction.

I don't see how this can be explained as 'dialect', unless, as alphabet points out, we're talking that small area of 'heaviest' Yorkshire - between Sheffield, Barnsley & Doncaster - though I worked many years inside that accent zone, one of my nieces comes from there too; and it's not something I've come across in anything other than very casual speech. I don't know of anyone who would write it that way.

*The same happens with the 'd' in wouldn't & couldn't which come out as 'wunt' - you can guess the other - and sounds to southerners like you're swearing.
This, though, creates no confusion when written.

Just to make it fully clear, it's…
I was
He was
You were
We were
They were.

Which is correct? "So why wasn't/weren't you good enough?"

3 Answers3