# I was like, She was like - expletive like, quotative like



## lolitas

This is a quotation from an article on the Internet:
[She tells _Seventeen _magazine, "We became boyfriend and girlfriend the day we met. He was on a quest to meet me, and he was like, 'I think you're beautiful and I really like you.' And I was like, 'Oh, my gosh, I like you so much.' Nick and I loved each other. We still do, but we were in love with each other." ]
What makes me confused is the term "I was like", "he was like". I can figure out what she meant by using it.
Could you explain it to me, please?
Thank you in advance

_<< Moderator note.  This is one of several threads on the same topic. Please read all of them before commenting.

*She was like... [use of "like" as a quotative] - expletive like*

*Expletive "like": It's like for two days ... I have eaten like one kilo of chocolate.* >>_


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## AER1018

It just means "I said" and "he said."  I know it is not correct to say "I was like," but many people say it.  I say it pretty much all the time.


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## oskhen

A related way of talking is "I was all"/"He was all", etc. It's very colloquial and means, as far as I know, exactly the same.


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## lolitas

thank you a lot
So "i was like" means "i said". I'm still wondering if "i'm like" means "i say" or "i was like" is just a colloquial expression used with the past tense


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## marquess

AER1018 said:


> It just means "I said" and "he said." I know it is not correct to say "I was like," but many people say it. I say it pretty much all the time.


 
That's roughly what it means to me, but as the next reply says, it's very colloquial, and I think most people in UK would consider it bad English really. Perhaps more acceptable is US?


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## xqby

marquess said:


> Perhaps more acceptable is US?


 
Yeah, something like that. It's still generally understood to be lazy English, and I would be miffed if I saw it in writing, but in speech it's not a big deal.


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## AER1018

Yes, I would never, ever use it in writing.  I only use it when speaking informally to family and friends.  I would never use it in a formal setting.  It must be more acceptable in America, as it is always used here.


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## losvedir

lolitas said:


> thank you a lot
> So "i was like" means "i said". I'm still wondering if "i'm like" means "i say" or "i was like" is just a colloquial expression used with the past tense



"I'm like" works for me, though I think it's only used for retelling events that have already happened.

For example:

"So, I went into this bar, and I was like, 'I need a drink.' And the bartender was all, 'No way, you're too young!'"

However, if you're retelling a story but using the present tense to make the other person feel like they were there, you can say it this way:

"So, I go into this bar, and I'm like, 'I need a drink.' And the bartender is all, 'No way, you're too young!'"

But note that it's very colloquial and is used more by younger people, I think. I can't think of any possible way of using it with any future tense.

edit: Ah, Franzi does have an example in the future. "I will be like" works, though "I will like" doesn't.


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## marquess

lolitas said:


> thank you a lot
> So "i was like" means "i said". I'm still wondering if "i'm like" means "i say" or "i was like" is just a colloquial expression used with the past tense


 
I suppose 'I was like' means 'I said' because it is a contraction of something like ' I was speaking/talking like/in this way...'


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## Franzi

lolitas said:


> thank you a lot
> So "i was like" means "i said". I'm still wondering if "i'm like" means "i say" or "i was like" is just a colloquial expression used with the past tense


 
Yes, it works in any tense:

"She was like 





> , so I told her
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ."  (This is normal narration in the past tense.)
> "So he's like
> 
> 
> 
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> but then I'm all
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> " (This is using present tense to describe a past experience.)
> "But if I tell Mom that, she'll be all
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> 
> ."  (This is using future tense to predict what someone will say.)
> "So I'll be telling him what to do and he'll be all
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ." (This is a habitual situation.)
> 
> "I was all" and "I was like" are much more common in casual speech in the US than "I said" is, at least among younger people. You can tell by just how pissed off teachers and language authorities are about their use. It's probably safer for a non-native speaker to stick to 'said'.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> 
> Click to expand...
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> Click to expand...
> 
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> Click to expand...
Click to expand...


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## nichec

lolitas said:


> This is a quotation from an article on the Internet:
> [She tells _Seventeen _magazine, "We became boyfriend and girlfriend the day we met. He was on a quest to meet me, and he was like, 'I think you're beautiful and I really like you.' And I was like, 'Oh, my gosh, I like you so much.' Nick and I loved each other. We still do, but we were in love with each other." ]
> What makes me confused is the term "I was like", "he was like". I can figure out what she meant by using it.
> Could you explain it to me, please?
> Thank you in advance


 
I was like, I went, I said...................They all mean pretty much the same thing to me.

Sometimes, when I talk to some American young girls (not all, of course), I get really overwhelmed by all the "like"s I get from them, you can hear three "like"s in a sentence, or maybe even more


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## lolitas

Well, now i see why many people get international certificates such as Toefl, Ielts... can't understand what native speakers said.
Thank you all, again.


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## gasman

Surely "I was like" is just a filler, to give time to gather words together, and the idler people are, the more they "I was like"!


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## Monkey F B I

nichec said:


> I was like, I went, I said...................They all mean pretty much the same thing to me.
> 
> Sometimes, when I talk to some American young girls (not all, of course), I get really overwhelmed by all the "like"s I get from them, you can hear three "like"s in a sentence, or maybe even more



I hear more *all* the time. 

I believe this originated with valley girls in the United States, but it's spread to all parts of the country. I have to admit that I'm like totally guilty of it like once in a while.


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## Cagey

marquess said:


> I suppose 'I was like' means 'I said' because it is a contraction of something like ' I was speaking/talking like/in this way...'



Yes, this is how I understand "I was like ......" , too.  

Sometimes it may simply substitute for "I said".  Often, however,  people seem to be using it to show that they were not only saying these words - or something like these words - but that they had the attitude and manner that went with the words.  That is, "I was like ... " emphasizes the attitude rather than the specific words used to express it. 

"I was all ..." seems to me to be used in the same way.


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## Dimcl

Lolitas, none of the posts here have recommended *not using* this phrase but I will.  With apologies to the posters who have admitted using it in conversation, this is a terrible habit to get into.  As Monkey FBI has indicated, this manner of speech originated with "Valley Girls" in California and gives the perception that the speaker is a shallow, self-centred airhead.


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## sdgraham

AER1018 said:


> Yes, I would never, ever use it in writing.  I only use it when speaking informally to family and friends.  I would never use it in a formal setting.  It must be more acceptable in America, as it is always used here.



No, "like" is NOT always used here. If you have any doubts listen to radio-TV news programs where the speakers at least make an attempt at good communicative English.

"Like" is an interjection, i.e. a crutch, similar to "y' know" used by people lacking communication skills. 

My impression is that "like"  is used most often by young females, such as the "Valley Girl" speech that was much discussed some years ago. (That it appeared in _Seventeen_ magazine is like, you know some kinda proof.)


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## ewhite

xqby said:


> Yeah, something like that. It's still generally understood to be lazy English, and I would be miffed if I saw it in writing, but in speech it's not a big deal.



Speak for yourself. Among us fogeys it is.


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## kalamazoo

It's very colloquial.  I don't recommend it to any non-native speaker.  It doesn't always mean "I said" because you could say "Someone cut me off in traffic and I was like all mad about it but then I calmed down."  So it basically describes a reaction to something, which might include saying something or just feeling or acting a certain way.  You could also say "Someone cut me off in traffic and I was like yelling at him" for instance.   Or "I was riding in my friend's car and someone cut him off in traffic and my friend was like yelling at the person who cut him off."


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## sdgraham

kalamazoo said:


> It's very colloquial.  I don't recommend it to any non-native speaker.  It doesn't always mean "I said" because you could say "Someone cut me off in traffic and I was like all mad about it but then I calmed down."  So it basically describes a reaction to something, which might include saying something or just feeling or acting a certain way.  You could also say "Someone cut me off in traffic and I was like yelling at him" for instance.   Or "I was riding in my friend's car and someone cut him off in traffic and my friend was like yelling at the person who cut him off."


So, what is lost if the gratuitous interjection is avoided?


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## Franzi

People are mixing up two totally different patterns here.

1. Most younger people in the US replace 'to say' with various casual variants in natural, casual speech. This is true even of people who don't sound like valley girls and who normally speak in a "correct" manner. I agree that non-native speakers should avoid these variants. I agree that most language authorities hate them and wish to stamp them out. The most common variants are "I was like", "I went", and "I was all". If you delete 'like' from this version of "I was like", the sentence loses its meaning.

2. 'Like' is also used as an interjection. This is especially common in valley girl speech, and the speech of young women more generally. It is also common in California English of all types, including that of older people and men, but people notice it less because they have less of a prejudice towards old men than towards young women. This 'like' can be deleted from a sentence with no change in meaning.

"I was, like, mad at her!"
"I was mad at her!"

This usage is no different from inserting 'um', 'uh', 'you know', or any other words like those into a sentence. It upsets people because they associate its use with groups they dislike. Again, I would recommend that a non-native speaker avoid using this. 'Um' is more neutral and less likely to give grammarians a rage-induced heart attack.


Edited to add:  I think we've answered the original question several times over, but if anyone wants yet more detail on the usage of 'like', here is an excellent blog post with a lot of discussion and links to several journal articles: http://www.defectiveyeti.com/archives/001761.html

The main point the posters there and in the various links make is that "I was like" usually precedes a _reenactment_ of the quote complete with facial expression and tone of voice, not just the words someone said.


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## kalamazoo

Nothing is lost. The "like" is pleonastic.  That's not always bad of course. We say "I know the book is interesting" or "I know that the book is interesting" and the 'that' is pleonastic there too. That said, I think the "like" in the sense that we are discussing sounds pretty teen-agerish, especially when used very extensively, and I don't recommend it in general.

There is, I think, a somewhat related use - which is to pause while you are searching for the right word to describe someone's reaction. "How did he act when you told him?" "Well he was ....like... how can I describe it...well first he was mad and then he started crying."  This is not something you would write but you might say it.


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## Phil-Olly

Here in Glasgow we have an even more annoying variation:
"I/he/she was like that:"
A typical conversation goes something like(!):
"So, I was like that:'Really?' And he was like that: 'Aye', and I was like that: 'No if ah've got anything to do with it; and he was like that: 'You wish!'"
A Scotsman never uses one word ('said') when three will do!

Incidentally, the use of  'like' as a filler features in Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting (Edinburgh dialect), where the expression 'likesay' appears (confusingly) often at the end of quoted speech.  It's a contraction of 'the likes ae(of)', and just trails off into infinity ('the likes of .....')


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## panjandrum

This particular usage - "I was like ..." or "I'm like ..." to introduce my reaction or my quoted response - is very, very common here.
I hear it used predominantly by those under 20, and to a lesser extent by those who mix a lot with them.  Among "I was like" users I have found very well educated people, including post-graduate English students, from the UK and the US.


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## elroy

Indeed, unlike most respondents here I wouldn't even advise non-native speakers to avoid it unconditionally.  It often sounds more natural in casual speech than "I said."  I would encourage non-native speakers with advanced English skills to get a feel for when it's used and by all means to incorporate it into their own colloquial speech.

If that marks me as uneducated, well, then, like, whatever!


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## Forero

The "I/he/she was like" in the original poster's quotation is usually accompanied by imitating not just the speech but the body and face movements of the people being quoted. In fact, there may not be any quoted words at all:

_I was like "what is that in your hand?", and he was like ""!_

The other, more "vacuous", _like_ is not always just a filler, but often means something like "I hesitate to say it, but" as a way to "soften" something about to be said:

_She said he was, like, a coward._

The statements that sound like questions are another version of the same idea, as if the speaker questions himself or herself and is unable to stand behind these statements.

But what bothers me most about this dialect, whatever it is, is the way the vowels wonder around capriciously. Just about any vowel can substitute for any other (except, remarkably, where it would become a different word).


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## panjandrum

elroy said:


> Indeed, unlike most respondents here I wouldn't even advise non-native speakers to avoid it unconditionally.  It often sounds more natural in casual speech than "I said."  I would encourage non-native speakers with advanced English skills to get a feel for when it's used and by all means to incorporate it into their own colloquial speech.
> 
> If that marks me as uneducated, well, then, like, whatever!


BEWARE.
As advised earlier, if you are seeking to communicate with anyone aged over 28 years and seven months, don't use this construction. 
I may exaggerate to make the point, but while this is entirely natural in some contexts it is anathema in others.

It is still possible to communicate successfully at all levels without using "I am like".
Natives may get away with it.
Non-natives don't.
Be very, very careful.


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## elroy

Forero said:


> But what bothers me most about this dialect, whatever it is, is the way the vowels wonder around capriciously. Just about any vowel can substitute for any other (except, remarkably, where it would become a different word).


 I'm not sure what you're talking about there.  Could you give an example of what you mean? 





panjandrum said:


> BEWARE.
> As advised earlier, if you are seeking to communicate with anyone aged over 28 years and seven months, don't use this construction.
> I may exaggerate to make the point, but while this is entirely natural in some contexts it is anathema in others.


 Of course.  That's why I said "unconditionally."  I meant that this is not a phrase that non-natives should avoid like the plague; rather, it is one they should try to learn how to use (if they are interested).


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## Forero

elroy said:


> I'm not sure what you're talking about there.  Could you give an example of what you mean?


In the "Valley Girl" dialect, several of the vowels seem to be in almost free variation.  For example, the words _quest_ and _other_ in the quote might be pronounced with the same vowel, somewhere around my _a_ in _cat_ or a British _ir_ in _bird_, and _other_ may be pronounced with different vowels in different contexts.


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## cuchuflete

I can think of only one reason for a non-native to take the trouble to learn to use the VGL (Valley Girl Like) constructions: to sound like a slightly less than articulate native speaker. If that is the objective, the means have been stated clearly in this thread.  It is certainly worth learning to understand the gnats and fleas on the underbelly of colloquial English, but that does not require acts of imitation.


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## elroy

I do not associate "I was like" with the Valley Girl way of speaking.  Not at all.  It is far too common and widespread to justify such an association.  I have heard it used by hundreds of people from all over America and from all walks of life.  I simply consider it colloquial, and I do not consider it a sign of inarticulate speech.


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## Forero

The people I have heard talk this way (lots of _like_s, the rising pitch at the end of a statement, and the "shifty" vowels) are far from inarticulate.  I find this way of speaking cute, in a way, but the vowel thing irritates me for some reason.


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## elroy

I feel the need to post a clarification, as I feel that some may have misunderstood me.  In my first post, I was referring only to the expression "I was like" meaning "I said," which is the topic of this thread.  Frankly, I'm not quite sure how "like" and other Valley-Girl phenomena got into this.  As Franzi tried to explain in post #21, the "like" in "I was like, 'Wow!' " is not the same as the "like" in "He was, like, really rude."  The former is ordinary colloquial English; the latter is also colloquial, but it is frowned upon by many, especially those over 40.

I do agree with Forero, by the way, that there are articulate people who speak Valley-Girl-style.


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## duglarri

The use of the phrase, "Like" as "Said" is extremely wide spread. It extends all over Canada and the US. Here in British Columbia, it is rare to hear a person say, "I said," instead of "I was like," when recounting a story. Though around age 18, people start to stop saying, "I was like," due to being frowned upon by their teachers. It's not an economic or cultural style of speech- I believe it's a generational change in the English language itself. Linguistic experts argue that all languages evolve over time. Isn't this an example of that evolution? And for those who think that saying, "I was like" is some kind of a fad that can be turned back, I'd say that that is as likely as all of us returning to speak the English of Chauser. As a member of the group that uses "I was like," I would like to say, just like, get use to it.


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## una madre

duglarri said:


> The use of the phrase, "Like" as "Said" is extremely wide spread. It extends all over Canada and the US. Here in British Columbia, it is rare to hear a person say, "I said," instead of "I was like," when recounting a story. Though around age 18, people start to stop saying, "I was like," due to being frowned upon by their teachers. It's not an economic or cultural style of speech- I believe it's a generational change in the English language itself. Linguistic experts argue that all languages evolve over time. Isn't this an example of that evolution? And for those who think that saying, "I was like" is some kind of a fad that can be turned back, I'd say that that is as likely as all of us returning to speak the English of Chauser. As a member of the group that uses "I was like," I would like to say, just like, get use to it.



Interesting discussion.  My daughter knows not to use it when in discussion with me but easily lapses into using the term when talking to her friends.  
Language in transition/evolution, I suppose.  You're right duglarri, young adults do seem to abandon the phrase as they enter university or the business world - it really does sound juvenile in the way it is used.


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## se16teddy

Franzi said:


> 1. Most younger people in the US replace 'to say' with various casual variants in natural, casual speech. This is true even of people who don't sound like valley girls and who normally speak in a "correct" manner. I agree that non-native speakers should avoid these variants. I agree that most language authorities hate them and wish to stamp them out. The most common variants are "I was like", "I went", and "I was all". If you delete 'like' from this version of "I was like", the sentence loses its meaning.


 
Yes, the function of _like _here seems to be to indicate that: 'the preceding verb does not mean exactly _was_ but means rather _said'. _

The Oxford English Dictionary seems to agree with Franzi that this 'valley girls' _like _is used in two different ways:
_dial. and vulgar. Used parenthetically to qualify a preceding statement: = ‘as it were’, ‘so to speak’. Also, colloquially (originally U.S.), as a meaningless interjection or expletive._ (meaning 7 of like, _adjective, adverb _(_conjunction_)_, _and_ noun_2)


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## cuchuflete

Seconding those who distinguish between "I was like" ~ "I said"/"As it were"/"So to speak"/_et al., _and the gratuitous interjection of seemingly random _like_s as phatic ( ?  Just trying out a new term learned on these pages  ) equivalents of _er, um, _and the like, it is useful for a non-native learner to understand both.  

The former is a case of, pardon the atrocious attempt at a pun, _The margins are coming!_ What was once on the margins of standard colloquial English has now become so widespread that it may be useful to learn both to understand and speak it, in  appropriate informal contexts.   

As to the second category, it is far from new. (Those musty enough may remember Maynard G. Krebs* using _like_ before, during, and after every phrase and clause in his stylized beatnik imitations, _c. late 1950s, _"Like, I'm getting all misty.")  Understanding what _like_ may mean, if anything, in this usage can be helpful to a non-native.  Learning to imitate it is another matter.  

Caveat:  If you are learning English, try to avoid using _I was like..._ in speaking with those (1) more than a decade older than yourself, (2) standing at the front of a classroom, (3) wearing a suit, and (4) in any sort of formal writing.  Likewise, do not say _as it were _to those less than four decades older than yourself. Use it sparingly in very formal writing.  




* http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/lawrence/153/krebs.html


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## kurwamac

I say 'as it were' all the time. There aren't that many people who are four decades older than I am, and even fewer who are compos mentis.
 
Admittedly I'm playing devil's advocate here, as I'd rather pull my tonsils out with a buttonhook than use 'like' to introduce a quotation, but if it were accepted it could furnish a useful distinction.
 
There are two ways in standard English to report what someone said, You can use a clause with 'that': _He said that he had never seen anything so shocking in his life_, or quote the words that were used: _He said: 'I've never seen anything so shocking in my life.' _
 
However, I know from experience that most people have a poor record at remembering exact quotes from memory. If one had taped the episode, it might turn out that what he actually said was more on the lines of _'I've never seen anything so...I mean, you know, really, I was never so shocked in my life.'_
 
If we accepted the form: _He was, like, 'I've never seen anything so shocking in my life'_, it could mean that the speaker was trying to convey the liveliness inherent in direct discourse whilst acknowledging that it might well not be a verbatim account.
 
And yes, I do realise that the intelligence level of most of those who use the locution means that I'm fighting an uphill battle here.


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## Franzi

kurwamac said:


> it could mean that the speaker was trying to convey the liveliness inherent in direct discourse whilst acknowledging that it might well not be a verbatim account.
> 
> And yes, I do realise that the intelligence level of most of those who use the locution means that I'm fighting an uphill battle here.


 
Yes, that is precisely what it means.

I don't think it's necessary to bring up the idea that only stupid people use the "I was like" construction: there have already been plenty of posts in this thread, including ones from people outside of California and outside of the US, commenting that intelligent, educated adults do use it.  Yes, it's informal.  Yes, grammarians hate it.  That doesn't actually mean it's a sign of poor education or lack of intelligence or anything else.


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## espider

It sounds terrible to anyone over about 30. If you really want to be wound up each day, take a commuter train into London (as, for my sins, I do) and you will hear brainless teenagers and twenty-somethings whose "conversation" consists of " I/he/she was like....." every few seconds. That and making every statement sound as if it is a question do my head in! The latter may or may not be attributable to our colonial friends Down Under. As for the origins of "like", I just wish it would go back to whatever inarticulate home it came from!


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## cuchuflete

kurwamac said:


> If we accepted the form: _He was, like, 'I've never seen anything so shocking in my life'_, *it could mean* that the speaker was trying to convey the liveliness inherent in direct discourse whilst acknowledging that it might well not be a verbatim account.





Franzi said:


> Yes, that is *precisely what it means*.


*emphasis added.

*What some of us object to is that it does not _precisely_ mean anything.  At times it could indicate an approximation, and at times it could mean that the speaker is attempting to convey the tone of whatever is paraphrased.  However, as shown in this thread, at times it is just a mushy substitute for the past tense, "he said", and at others it is little more than filler sounds, uttered out of habit rather than to communicate precisely. 

I have no reason to believe that those who use it are stupid, insipid, uneducated louts.  They may be highly educated, intelligent, upstanding members of the community, and take a Saturday night bath whether they need to or not.  I would also refrain from accusing them of precise speech.


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## ewhite

espider said:


> . That and making every statement sound as if it is a question do my head in! The latter may or may not be attributable to our colonial friends Down Under.



The habit of you know? making every phrase? sound like a question? which we here in the USA refer to as "upspeak" has to be even more annoying than "I was like".


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## panjandrum

"I was like..." as an introduction to what I said and "I was like ..." as in introduction to my reaction or some other attribute are indistinguishable in normal use.
I was like ".... what I said ..."
I was like gobsmacked.

Neither are related in origin to the antipodean terminal pitch uplift which is not the topic of this thread 

<< Moderator note:  Could we please keep the thread on the topic as given in post #1 and avoid digressing into pet linguistic peeves. >>


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## Dimcl

Franzi said:


> That doesn't actually mean it's a sign of poor education or lack of intelligence or anything else.


 
Perhaps not, but I think they're very unimaginative people.  To use "like" in the way that we're discussing is the same as using the "F" word as a verb, noun, adjective, adverb, etc. (as we've all heard people do).  It shows a lack of "word power" and a tendency to be a sheep.  It's my guess that this is why people stop using it when they grow up.


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## Loob

I'm really quite taken aback at the way some contributors to this thread are criticising the linguistic practices of other contributors.

Surely "I was like" to indicate a re-statement/re-enactment is a fashion? 

It will either pass, or stay the distance and become part of the standard language.


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## Franzi

Dimcl said:


> Perhaps not, but I think they're very unimaginative people. To use "like" in the way that we're discussing is the same as using the "F" word as a verb, noun, adjective, adverb, etc. (as we've all heard people do). It shows a lack of "word power" and a tendency to be a sheep. It's my guess that this is why people stop using it when they grow up.


 
I don't see why that should be so.  "I was like", "I was all", and "I went" aren't entirely synonymous with "I said".  It's true they're not formal, but they do indicate something about the style of quote I'm presenting.  And, while they're used much more by younger people, I'm not convinced that people _do _stop using them when they get older.  They may learn to be ashamed of their dialect and disguise it in formal contexts, but I suspect the current patterns of usage have more to do with a generation gap than with people actually training themselves to use "I said" consistently after some age.

And, just for reference, I'm 27, female, from San Francisco, live in New York, have a degree in linguistics, and have worked in finance for several years.  I had thought "I was like" might be more of a California thing (or at least a US thing), but evidently not based on the responses here.  I'll have to pay attention to the older people at work and see if they use it.  The younger ones certainly all do.


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## PMS-CC

_It's my guess that this is why people stop using it when they grow up._


I believe a statistical study of the usage of "I was like" for "I said" would demonstrate that it is remains rampant within adult speech.  Certainly my aunts have used it since the days o' Maynard G. Krebs (yes, I know, no relation), and I expect to use it until my dying breath. "I was like..." may even be my last words, as I recount a heated debate from my youth to those gathered around me in the hospital.

Some people have made complaints about vowel-shifting upthread. As a Californian, I must object. We have a state vowel*, the schwa, and we honor it--and our great state--by replacing other vowels with it. I pity the fool that doesn't love the sound of vowels being bent into schwas. Anyone who objects to it is obviously aesthetically-challenged to the point of cultural illiteracy.**


*No, we don't.
**No, they aren't.


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## Franzi

panjandrum said:


> I was like ".... what I said ..."
> I was like gobsmacked.


 
If I were to say those two sentences aloud, the intonation would be quite different.  The first one would have pretty much the same intonation as "I said ...".  In the second one, the 'like' would stand out much more.  There would be pauses around it or the whole sentence would be in a fake valley girl voice or something.


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## panjandrum

panjandrum said:


> "I was like..." as an introduction to what I said and "I was like ..." as in introduction to my reaction or some other attribute are indistinguishable in normal use.
> I was like ".... what I said ..."
> I was like gobsmacked.
> [...]





Franzi said:


> If I were to say those two sentences aloud, the intonation would be quite different.  The first one would have pretty much the same intonation as "I said ...".  In the second one, the 'like' would stand out much more.  There would be pauses around it or the whole sentence would be in a fake valley girl voice or something.


In the time before "I was like" as "I said", the second sentence would indeed have been spoken as Franzi suggests - as if written "I was, like, gobsmacked."

But more recently, as "I was like" (followed by what I said) has become commonplace, the pauses and stresses in both sentences are the same.


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## Forero

cuchuflete said:


> As to the second category, it is far from new. (Those musty enough may remember Maynard G. Krebs* using _like_ before, during, and after every phrase and clause in his stylized beatnik imitations, _c. late 1950s, _"Like, I'm getting all misty.") Understanding what _like_ may mean, if anything, in this usage can be helpful to a non-native. Learning to imitate it is another matter.


I always thought Maynard's _like_ meant something like _why_, not the adverb but the interjection pronounced "wye":

_Like, I'm getting all misty_ = "Why, I'm getting all misty."
_Like man, that's cool_ = "Why man, that's hot."

I think the two _like_s we have been discussing here have their roots in the past, and the word _like_ has quite an interesting usage history. In fact, all the _like_s and most of the _-ly_s in English (the word _likely_ has it twice) go back to the same Indoeuropean root as their German cousin _gleich_ ("same", "like").


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## kalamazoo

By now I don't even know if I say this myself or not!  I probably do sometimes and don't even realize it, but I'm sure my husband never says it.   I think it would sound rather strangeto me if I heard someone with a French or German or other non-native accent saying it.   My dentist is German and speaks English very fluently with only a slight accent, but when he used the word "bling" the other day it sounded comical.


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## cuchuflete

Forero's theory of like=why is interesting, and it works some of the time in the case of
Maynard G.

 “Like your Dad’s a grouch, Dobie.”  ~ That is to say, Dobie, your Dad's a grouch.  ~ Why, your Dad's a grouch, Dobie.

I'm not so sure about his constant, "Like, wow!"  
Translating that _like_ to the interjection _why_ would be like redundant.


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## Phil-Olly

What interests me is why the usage of "I was like..." for "I said ..." seems to have completely taken over in some circles.

Overhearing to conversations on the train in Glasgow (not that I eavesdrop!), the pattern, "I was like that ..." / "He was like that ..."  appears to dominate, and is so much more wordy than "I said ...."  / "He said..."

What's going on in the speaker's mind?  Is it a desire to be thought trendy?  Or does the speaker think that this is more colourful language than the simple "said" because it implies that an action accompanied the speech?  Or is it simply a learned habit?

You would think that the expression "I was like that .." would be accompanied by an action, by way of illustration - but it very seldom is.


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## ewhite

> You would think that the expression "I was like that .." would be  accompanied by an action, by way of illustration - but it very seldom  is.



I seem to remember that way back in the 90s, such was the case. "I was like" was followed by a wordless expression to indicate how something made one feel.

Then to my chagrin, it morphed into a replacement for "I said".


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## xjm

panjandrum said:


> BEWARE.
> As advised earlier, if you are seeking to communicate with anyone aged over 28 years and seven months, don't use this construction.
> I may exaggerate to make the point, but while this is entirely natural in some contexts it is anathema in others.
> 
> It is still possible to communicate successfully at all levels without using "I am like".
> Natives may get away with it.
> Non-natives don't.
> Be very, very careful.



Oh dear.  I am aged 29 and one month, and yet this expression does perhaps fall from my mouth now and again.  Conversationally.  From time to time.  Particularly when speaking to fellow children of the 80s.  

Defense: I actually think it's an innovative form.  It's much richer than "I/he/she said."  When you use this expression, you aren't merely reporting speech.  You are giving a complete impression of the speaker: posture, gestures, facial expressions, intonation, and attitude and are all imitated and perhaps exaggerated for emphasis.

Oh!  Oh oh oh!  "I was like" can also be used to demonstrate or vent your _internalized_ reaction to something--thoughts or feelings you had that you did not express at the time, because it would have been socially inappropriate.  Perhaps your boss tells you to do something ridiculous.  You politely explain to your boss why the suggestion is infeasible.  However, later, to your coworkers, you might say: "She asked me to do X, Y, and Z... and I was like, that is the most idiotic thing I have ever heard..."

Edit 3: the whole phrase often gets mushed together in speech and comes out something like "Eyes Ike."


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## eni8ma

Seems during the '80's it was the Valley girls in the US, and Kylie Mole in Australia.

"I was like" = "I said", etc is very common in Australia, and although it started with teenagers, has (for me at least) seeped up through the generations.  I notice myself talking like that a lot. (an' I ain't no airhead (tongue firmly in cheek) )  Wouldn't use it in "proper" English, of course 

A related phrase is "she goes" = "she said". I never watched Kylie Mole, but I seem to recall that a favourite phrase was something like "and she goes, she goes ... she just went!"

BTW, I am in my mid-fifties, and no one ever seems to object to my using either of these phrases. (plus, I speak very well, so no one ever mistakes me for an airhead )


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## Alxmrphi

"I was like", has developed over the last 20 years into what we call *a quotative construction* in linguistics. Its function is to emphasise the reporting nature of an utterance, often accompanied by attitudes towards the interlocutor. It's nothing weird, and I believe it's here to stay. The current generation of 30 year olds and younger have been exposed to it in such a systematic nature, building in popularity up to the point now where I think the future speakers of English growing up now will have internalised it so much it (IMHO) will not be dropped, given its current universality in the English speaking world.

Another concurrent quotative construction is with 'all'... "_I was *all*, he was *all*....._"]

For those with a linguistic interest (who have academic access to journals) on quotative constructions and their development in the youth populations of the English speaking world I urge you to read the study "_Be like _et al. beyond America: The quotative system in British and Canadian youth" in the Journal of Sociolinguistics here.


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## panjandrum

When observed in conversation, this expression introduces not simply a  bland repetition of the words spoken, but rather an animated  re-enactment of the dialogue.
What's more, the reported dialogue is most unlikely to be exactly what  was said.  So it is an impressionistic animated re-enactment.
In this context, "I'm like" and "He's like", is a more accurate introduction than "I said" and "He said".

Taken from another fun thread on a rather similar topic:
Expletive "like": It's like for two days ... I have eaten like one kilo of chocolate.


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## suzi br

gasman said:


> Surely "I was like" is just a filler, to give time to gather words together, and the idler people are, the more they "I was like"!


 
Maybe so, <...> Or rather, they have to hold the turn and are probably speaking in a rushed, breathless fashion and fear that if there is a milli-second of silence someone else will start to talk.

It can grate on me when someone repeatedly says it, as in the example here. On the other hand I thouht it was just a fashion and would pass, only to be replaced with some other empty words by the next generation. On the other hand alxmprhi shows another view.

I am trying to think what we used to say when I was a teenager in the 70's: "ya know?" perhpas filled the role?


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## Copperknickers

I would often use that form, being under 18, although I try to catch myself before I do. To me saying 'I said' all the time sounds a bit boring, yet 'I replied', 'I asked', 'I ventured' sounds rather odd.


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