Introduction

The regularization of the past tense BE paradigm is a phenomenon that has long been neglected by dialectologists and sociolinguists, although it is extremely widespread as well as frequently used. Recently this feature has commanded the attention of several renowned linguists across the English-speaking world, and yet comparative studies on a wider scale are still missing. In particular, this chapter deals with the use of was for were, as well as the reverse use of were for was, for regularization occurs both ways.