Colloquial Standard English

Gwest   Thu Aug 23, 2007 9:26 am GMT
1.

Is this colloquial English? Is it also Standard English?

"You were still sitting there then?"


2. In other words, does the term "Standard English" include colloquial forms?
Guest   Thu Aug 23, 2007 11:53 am GMT
I don't know. Standard English would prefer the inversion and without the filler then, perhaps with so: SO, were you still sitting there?
Guest   Thu Aug 23, 2007 1:30 pm GMT
I don't think inversion is mandatory (especially in US spoken English, where the tone would clearly indicate the question):

"You were still sitting there?"

-or-

"Then, you were still sittting there?"

-or-

You were still sitting there, then?"
Guest   Fri Aug 24, 2007 4:20 am GMT
<Standard English would prefer the inversion and without the filler then,>

So it's not Standard then?
Mirror   Fri Sep 07, 2007 12:37 pm GMT
I think it is proper and formal to say it this way. The "then" is replacing the meaning of "at that moment" or "afterwards" but referring to a past moment.
Think of the sentence in present form; say talking to someone on the phone and you couldn't believe that she's still waiting for the table:
"You are still waiting there now?"
Uriel   Sat Sep 08, 2007 7:38 pm GMT
That looked like perfectly standard English to me. Nothing colloquial about it.
Guest   Sun Sep 09, 2007 5:39 am GMT
Sure that's fine to say. But I'd probably say: "At that time (or moment) you were still sitting there?"