Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

As a Southerner who would definitely say "I might could…", I would never say “I didn’t necessarily could speak it well”. That’s not how double modals work. (“I used to could…” seems marginally ok to me though.)

Also the “needs fixed” thing is not a Southern dialect property, I associate it more with like Pittsburgh.



I never heard either one in the South OR in Pittsburgh. I have heard them in California, though, which draws people from everywhere.

However, I think there's a Lyle Lovett song that goes "We used to would <verb phrase>."

What I like about it is: you understand it. Although it might strike you as "wrong" and I'd probably never say it myself, let alone write it.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: