"He goes, She goes, I go" etc.

HiDesertHal

HiDesertHal

Senior Member
Location
Southern California's High Mojave Desert
In recent years many people have stopped using the word SAID, and have substituted the word GOES for it.

Example: I say "That car isn't worth that much.", and he goes "It's worth even more.", then a women comes up and she goes "It's worth a lot more.", etc.

Some people would rather "go" than "say"!

HDH
 

It depends on the region and the country as to how the English language evolves.

At one time where I live anyway, if you accomplished something people would say "Good For You".

Now they say "Good On You". Have you noticed that? Slang usage also becomes part of the language.

Our teachers, the nuns, where very strict in usage of the language. They tried to promote the proper usage and stressed English as a subject. One of the things they taught us was to parse a paragraph so that you were not rambling on. I love English as a language. It has so many expressive words that bite right to the heat of the issue.
 
Lately, people seem to have developed a habit of starting every sentence with the word 'So' for instance if are asked where they work they might reply "So, I flip hamburgers in MacDonalds" it's SO​ annoying !
 

I've noticed an even shorter version. The young'un is talking to a friend about a conversation with her boyfriend: "So he's 'you know, I don't wanna go tonight' and then I'm 'well, you said you'd go' and then he's 'well, I have to work late' and then I'm 'well, I go places with you when I have to work late' and he's 'well, I'm too tired so I'm not going" and then I'm 'well, just forget about it then!'"

Very efficient, huh? Cut out the "says" AND the "goes".....
 
A lot of people seem to take shortcuts these days, or say the word that's easiest for them to say. Wren, I've noticed that too about people starting every sentence with "so", not in my personal contacts, but on television interviews, etc. I think they need a minute to think how they're going to answer and so buys them another second or two. :p
 
HiDesertHal said:
In recent years many people have stopped using the word SAID, and have substituted the word GOES for it.

Example: I say "That car isn't worth that much.", and he goes "It's worth even more.", then a women comes up and she goes "It's worth a lot more.", etc.

Some people would rather "go" than "say"!

HDH
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That speech pattern's been around since the mid-1980s, or possibly earlier.
I recall one day my then-teenage niece visited her grandmother, and the older woman was absolutely bewildered, had no idea what she was talking about! :)
 
SeaBreeze said:
A lot of people seem to take shortcuts these days, or say the word that's easiest for them to say. Wren, I've noticed that too about people starting every sentence with "so", not in my personal contacts, but on television interviews, etc. I think they need a minute to think how they're going to answer and so buys them another second or two. :p
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It doesn't bother me when people talk that way, verbally, but it does kinda bug me to see it in writing- vacay, staycay, an (instead of 'and'), etc.
 
I've noticed that too about people starting every sentence with "so", not in my personal contacts, but on television interviews, etc. I think they need a minute to think how they're going to answer and so buys them another second or two

Maybe "So" is the modern day equivalent of "Errrm"....:D
 
I think many people have two sets of vocabulary, an everyday colloquial one, and a more formal, relatively grammatically correct one used for business, professional, creative, or other facets of their lives.
 
Shalimar said:
I think many people have two sets of vocabulary, an everyday colloquial one, and a more formal, relatively grammatically correct one used for business, professional, creative, or other facets of their lives.
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I agree Shalimar, I often speak in a relaxed and many times not so grammatically correct way in everyday conversations with my husband or close friends. Sometimes purposely using incorrect grammar to make a point, emphasis or just to make a joke. A more formal manner if addressing a group of people or speaking to a stranger, especially in a business-like environment.
 
SeaBreeze said:
I agree Shalimar, I often speak in a relaxed and many times not so grammatically correct way in everyday conversations with my husband or close friends. Sometimes purposely using incorrect grammar to make a point, emphasis or just to make a joke. A more formal manner if addressing a group of people or speaking to a stranger, especially in a business-like environment.
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Me too, now if I could just stop saying “you know,” or “right.” I picked this up at work, just can’t seem to shake it.
 
Shalimar said:
I think many people have two sets of vocabulary, an everyday colloquial one, and a more formal, relatively grammatically correct one used for business, professional, creative, or other facets of their lives.
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I had a third that included everyday language I would not use in front of my grandmother. It definitely would never be okay in a business setting. I worked with a black woman who would laugh and say she had to talk like white people at work.

That 'goes' thing is a regional colloquialism. I don't hear people say it where I live, but when I talk to my son in Ohio, 'goes' is part of his basic usage. It's funny that it's usually present tense, 'went' is used more rarely.
 
Smiling Jane said:
I had a third that included everyday language I would not use in front of my grandmother. It definitely would never be okay in a business setting. I worked with a black woman who would laugh and say she had to talk like white people at work.

That 'goes' thing is a regional colloquialism. I don't hear people say it where I live, but when I talk to my son in Ohio, 'goes' is part of his basic usage. It's funny that it's usually present tense, 'went' is used more rarely.
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Oh, I forgot to include swearing as my alternate dialect. Lulz. Fluent in English and French!
 
I think Ebonics includes the phrase: "They goes...." and "They be going...." "He be going...." "It be going...."
 
JaniceM said:
No, but a Southern friend occasionally said "I done did."
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I always thought that the "done" was spelled "don". Thanks for clearing that up. I might have included that don spelling in a short story. I guess they might just use it as an intensifier.

BTW
Was your friend African American or do southern whites use that term as well?
 
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