LL-L: "Grammar" LOWLANDS-L, 06.FEB.2000 (07) [E]

[Lowlands-L Administrator]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 06.FEB.2000 (07) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: Eldo Neufeld [greneuf at interchange.ubc.ca]
Subject: Use of dative case

Dear Lowlanders:

In the February 5 submission by Roger P. G. Thijs in which he listed items
dealing with Flemish which he found on his round of bookshops in Veurne and
Bruges, his item 4. caught my eye:

"4. Me was told, in Veurne, De Groote had already published similar books,
all out of stock. I found in Bruges though:
Dr. William De Groote, De voetbalzotten, tweede druk, 1992, ISBN
90-6966-086-3, published by the Rotary club of Bruges and "Uitgeverij Van de
Wiele, Brugge", 104 pp."

I have not seen the use of the dative case as in "Me was told," and am
curious as to where this is used and how frequently.  Grammatically it must
surely be correct, but why don't we use it?  In N. American English we use
the accusative form exclusively (as far as I know):

 "I was told,"  "he was told," but "It was told to me"

I would appreciate a linguist's evaluation.

Eldo Neufeld
4040 Blenheim St.
Vancouver, BC   V6L 2Y9
Tel: (604) 738-4378
e-mail: greneuf at interchange.ubc.ca

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