"I says"

[Dennis R. Preston]

>"I'm like ..." is beginning to show its age; the hipper are now "I'm
>all..." or even "I'm ...."

dInIs

>You could also try a different verb to get the chatty effect--  'so I go..."
>or in the US today you'd be more likely to get "so I'm like, 'get lost!' "
>
>Dale Coye
>The College of NJ

--
Dennis R. Preston
Professor of Linguistics
Department of Linguistics and Languages
740 Wells Hall A
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1027 USA
Office - (517) 353-0740
Fax - (517) 432-2736