Is it grammatically correct to say "I was sat there watching the
game"...as an alternative to "I sat there..." or "I was sitting
there..."

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Request for Question Clarification by justaskscott-ga on 22 Sep 2005 10:17 PDT

I believe I have answered this question at:

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=571021

If you need an additional answer, please let us know.

I had sat there.  (Past Perfect)
You can't use "was sat".
You can of course say "I am sitting" (Present Continuous)

I believe that it is a solecism, and although guyfromusa says you
*can't* use "was sat", go to England -- particularly in t'North! --
and you'll find many well-educated people who *do* use it all the
time! It would be fascinating to hear from a linquistics expert who
could probably trace it back to some conjugation/interpretation of
latin or gaelic.

For the definition of solecism, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solecism 

"... Some examples of usages often regarded as solecisms in standard English are:

    * "This is just between you and I." for "This is just between you
and me." (hypercorrection by people instructed to avoid the common
"you and me" form in the subject of sentences; "me" is in fact the
correct pronoun for the object of a preposition.)
    * "He ain't going." for "He's not going." (dialectic usage; see ain't)
    * "This is me and Leslie's house." for "This is Leslie's and my
house." (dialectic usage)
    * "Whom ate the food?" for "Who ate the food?" (hypercorrection by
people who think that whom is simply a formal version of "who")..."