Appalachian Grammar Lesson 20

According to The Dictionary of Smoky Mountain English people in my area use the word never in two ways which differ from the traditional use of the word.

Examples:

1. Never replaces a past-tense verb referring to a single event. Correct usage: "I didn't see Scott and Seth at the festival." Incorrect usage: "I never seen Scott and Seth at the festival."

2. Never is followed by did and the infinitive of a verb. Correct usage: "I have never been to a place that was so lonesome and sad." Incorrect usage: "I never did go to a place that was so lonesome and sad."

I totally agree with the Dictionary-because I use never in exactly the way it claims. But what I'm a little doubtful about-is whether or not my usage is all that different from other areas of the US. So leave me a comment and tell me how you never.

Tipper

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Comments

[JOHNIE T. ARANT]

I STILL OSE NEVER
I NEVER GO SHOPPING
WITHOUT MY WIFE OR
I I NEVER GO TO TO
THE MOVIES.
JOHNIE

[Charline]

How about "never once"? "She never once told me she liked my hat."

[Larry Proffitt]

I knew we had a heavy accent but I never thought my hunting buddies and I would hear it so far from home . About 15 years ago we went in the Walmart along I 40 in Amarillo and we thought the greeter had emigrated to Texas from far east Tennessee.
Larry Proffitt

[NCMountainwoman]

One of my mother's favorite expressions was "Well, I NEVER!"

[Miss Cindy]

When my nephew was small, a long time ago, we lived in a small town in WNC that had garbage pick up. My uncle brought the boy a very big box home to play with. By big I mean refridgerator size. He had great fun with that big box but after a couple of weeks we got tired of that big box in the yard. So, on the day of garbage pick up I slipped out early and dragged the big box around where the gargage was waiting for pick up, thinking that the truck would come before the child saw it.
I was wrong. My nephew came around the house just in time to see his box go into their big truck
Now here comes the point of this story.....he was very upset seeing his box removed. He stood there in the yard shaking his head back and forth and said....."never, no, never, dam garbageman took my box!!!"
I've never heard anything funnier.

[Ethel]

Everyone in my area uses never in just the same way! Must be all through Appalachia.

[Jane Bolden]

I never realized until now how I use the word never. I thought of something I say often. I never got to go. Instead of saying I didn' t go.

[Tipper]

Mike-I think Im guilty of the whenever usage too : )

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[Howland]

"I hain't never made corn likker but I've knowed two-three people that has..

[B. ruth]

Tipper,
I never did hear of setch!...Most of my nevers are follered by did...I would put it in front, a'liken to "I did never hear of such", but that confuses even my "bassackerds" way of speakin'.
"Did I never or I never did!"
Soooo, that there would seem like I heared such or not so much?
Like "Ima Hoot" maybe we should just leave off never, altogether.
Mountain folks really never saw a never they couldn't climb...they just went about their business and did it...
Thanks Tipper,

[Mike McLain]

I have heard both uses of never all over the place. If you substitute, "I never saw them at the fair" for "I never seen them at the fair", I don't see anything wrong with that usage and I hear it everywhere.

I have a friend from West Virginia who is in the habit of saying, "Whenever I was 12 years old...", or "Whenever I lived in Georgia...". In my mind, I use whenever to talk about a habit or repeated occurrence like, "Whenever I go to the grocery, I buy cornbread mix...", or "Whenever we travel, we stop at Cracker Barrel..." and I use "when" to talk about a point in time, like "When I was 12 years old..." or "When I lived in Georgia"

Any thoughts?

[Kimberly Burnette]

I use never in both of the "incorrect" ways!

[Shirla]

Are you sure your usage of the word ain't the right way?

[Terri]

Only difference is I would say, "I never saw" instead of "I never seen". Surely everyone in the great USA has said, at one time or another, "I never saw it coming".

[Mary Shipman]

Guilty as charged! It is still one of the common colloquialisms in the Ozarks too.

[dolores]

I use never as an adverb in a sentence. Sometimes, depending on the type of verb, I might also use what we call a helping verb - have, has, had. The English language can be somewhat tough to navagate, espeically for someone learning it from their native language. I can see how learning English for an adult can be difficult.

[Bob Aufdemberge]

Yes, "never" gets used out here on the edge of the plains just like in your examples, so it's definitely not limited to just Appalachia.

[Belva]

I use never the same way you do, Tipper. Most people here in Louisiana do. I think it may be more of a country thing than a regional one.

[Quinn]

I had to say these out loud a couple of times to be sure. The first one, yes; the second one, I never did hear. (reporting from the frosty North)

[Jim Casada]

Tipper--To revert to an old country classic from Webb Pierce, and thereby likely reveal my years, "I ain't never, no never, seen nobody like you.
Jim Casada

[Ethelene Dyer Jones]

Usually in our Appalachian parlance in Choestoe where I grew up, we would say, for example:
"I never did like the chore of pulling weeds out of the garden, but had to do it or our vegetables would never produce."
It seems we followed never--in explaining our negative action--with did--or another verb, sometimes mispronounced:
"I'd never heard (pronounced as though it had double rr's: hearrd) that tale told like Cecil could tell it!"

[Heyword Smith]

Would "I never saw Scott and Seth at the festival" be correct? Or "I never went to a place that was so lonesome and sad."
I don't think your use of never in either phrase is incorrect although other words might be questionable. But, if your choice of words conveys your thoughts to the other person, how can it be considered incorrect?

[kat]

I use it that way too. Just never thought about it before reading your post. So talking here in east Texas is alot like it is there.

[Tim Hassell]

If it hadn't been for this grammar lesson I never would've knowed the dif'ernce. I ain't sure I do yet. But Thanks for tryin' to educate me anyhow.

[Ima Hoot]

I was taught never to say never, so I never have and never will!

[Tim Mc]

I "never did" thing about using it any other way...

[Sheryl Ormond Paul]

Don't forget; Well, I never!
I guess here in FL we /I use the work exactly the same way you do.
But, I am a 'true' Floridian, not a transplant....they sure do talk funny.