Help from English natives
Hi everybody!!
I read this:
I used to be friends with you. Now we dont talk no more
The question is: Though anymore is correct in this case, do English natives usually say it that way, or is it just someone's mistake?
And I found some others:
You ever back in the NY area?
That's definitely not correct grammar
Thanks in advance!! 
18 Answers
Hi, Benz..."We don't talk no more" is not correct grammar. You may possibly hear it in casual speech among friends if they are joking around, and you will hear it in some areas that are not academically inclined. "Anymore" is the correct grammar, as you noted.
"You ever back in NY?" is actually heard quite a bit, although it is casual speech. This is said by people of all academic stripes. "Are you ever back in NY?" would, of course, be the complete sentence.
Of your two examples, the second one is heard more commonly throughout all levels of society.
(This is in the US; this form of casual speech may be totally unacceptable in other English speaking areas.)
Benz Hello again and Welcome 
In England the first expression would be considered bad English by many if not most people and as Mountain girl said
'We don't talk anymore' is the correct way of expressing this idea.
The use of the words 'no more' would be considered street language or slang and more commonly used by uneducated people and accepted in gang culture.Other educated people would probably know what it means especially Journalists.
As for the expression
You ever back in the NY area?
Do you ever go back to the NY area or Have you ever been back to the NY area? would be better English
I have to admit that what is acceptable in english spoken in U.S.A. is not always understood or accepted as good English in the UK or England in particular...and as I am sure you are aware colloquial language/street language (the vernacular) is more informal than written language the latter having more precise rules governing what is acceptable.
I hope this helps
Benz said:
My doubt here was whether you native English use these structures as everyday language or it was teen language or it was just some guy's poor language.
No way! The average person (in the northern United States) does not say "we don't talk no more" in everyday language. It sounds horrible to us!! My son, age 28, will same something similar or "I ain't got none" and I correct him every time...especially when he says such barbaric things in front of his friends.
I used to be friends with you. Now we dont talk no more
You hear people say this sometimes, but it is bad grammar. It's not acceptable English.
You ever back in the NY area?
This is also bad grammar. It requires the verb: Are you ever back in the Ny area?
You hear people say this more often than seeing it written. I think it's just a case of laziness when are speaking.
It's bad grammar but people say it.
The 2 sentences that you asked about are "ghetto speak", people who wish to fit into certain segments of American society may choose to speak this way, even if they know it is wrong. It makes people appear ignorant. They are "kickin' in the hood with their homies". No translation.
Let me see if I can answer this for you, Benz. My first post somehow got deleted in my attempt to answer your inquiry about "since I can remember" and "ever since I can remember", so I will have to type it again! "Since" can be used to to express a measurement of time, as in "I haven't been the same since then". It is also used as a synonym for "because". For example: Since I remember English grammar, (therefore) I can tell you the answer).
If you say "Ever since I can remember, I have studied English grammar.", it is clear that you are talking about the amount of time you have studied English, not the fact that you have studied English. It is the same with "then"; used with "since" it refers to a span of time. "(Ever) Since then, I have learned a lot". ("Ever" is optional here, really used for emphasis, because the word "then" makes it clear what you are talking about.)
Does it make a bit more sense now? I have edited this several times in an effort to be specific and concise. It is confusing, but if you can make the distinction you will speak with a much greater command of the language, and sound like a native speaker!
And regarding your initial question, those are both pretty common phrases in American English, although "We don't talk no more" is definitely widely considered as incorrect, and is not used as often as the second phrase, "You ever back in the NY area?". I'm assuming that was used in a chat/text message/e-mail format, or an informal conversation, and you are right, it is not correct grammar, but it is a common form of speech. If you were wondering about the meaning, it comes from "Are you ever back in the NY area?" (Do you ever come back or plan to come back?) I have mixed feelings about whether it's OK or not to say something like this, because colloquial language has it's own value, charm and meaning depending on where you are in the world. Once you have a degree of fluency in the language, it can't hurt to start playing with colloquial phrases as long as you are sure of the meaning.
Benz, chruhlman, webdunce ..and everyone who has posted: Knowing that other languages besides just Spanish also employ the double negative, I also thought to remember hearing that the double negative used to be part of English grammar. So I went searching for some reference to this.
I probably remembered reading Chaucer in an English literature class years ago. The class read a translation in "modern English". I still have old tapes of a reading of the entire original but I do not readily understand most of it.
In any case, my search was not difficult. Here a quote from H.L. Mencken (1880–1956). The American Language. 1921 :
Like most other examples of “bad grammar” encountered in American the compound negative is of great antiquity and was once quite respectable.
What I came across next in my search was an outstanding article on the subject in Wikipedia. I was "blown away" by the depth and breadth of the author's knowledge - considering also where you can find use of the double negative in our modern language - Both webdunce and chruhlman have pointed out usage to you already.
One of our posters - I do not remember who - once remarked that Wikipedia articles tended to put him or her to sleep. I don't think that this article about the double negative in English will have such an effect. It is very interesting!
Where I live in England I don't hear either of your examples very often. They are bad English.
Amykay said:
The 2 sentences that you asked about are "ghetto speak", people who wish to fit into certain segments of American society may choose to speak this way, even if they know it is wrong.
I know this is sometimes the case with certain young English people too, often among the people sometimes described as 'Chavs'. (In case people are unfamiliar with the word 'Chav' I'll just say that it is used to describe aggressive teenagers, of white working class background, who repeatedly engage in anti-social behaviour such as street drinking, drug abuse and rowdiness, or other forms of juvenile delinquency.)
Other examples of this way of talking are:
'Done' in place of 'did.
'I done my homework. What he done was stupid.'
'Go' instead of 'Say' (this is given as one definition of Go' in my newest dictionary, I'm sad to say)
An' he goes, an' I go. An' he went, an' I went... !
Of course, from where I am from some people do say things like "We don't talk no more", but people this is usually from people that are not academics (you hear those types of things from country-type people.)
My problem with the double-negative is that you learn early in Mathematics, a double negative makes the mathematical expression equal positive, so the double negative, by the rules of Mathematics and English grammer, makes the sentence positive.
For example, I was talking to one of our customers the other day at work, and they were questioning if a certain activity always happened. So, for emphasis that it always happens, I used a double-negative to emphasize that it always happens. I said:
There is no way that this cannot happen.
A true double negative, and intentional, but the sentence is obviously stating that this always happens.
That is why I have so much trouble understanding why this double-negative situation is the rule in Spanish....
I used to be friends with you. Now we dont talk no more
This is common speech in my area. I speak like this. Having been to college, I do not write formal papers with these constructions, and I would (try) to avoid them if I ever traveled out of the southeastern US. Also, I (try to) avoid them if speaking of serious subjects to superiors.
Incorrect? Well, technically. However, it IS a widespread regionalism and is correct to the people who speak that way.
I say, I ain't got none, too.
My use of double negatives is the only thing that helps me understand phrases like no voy a decirlo a nadie because I really do say "I'm not going to tell nobody." Or, lo necesito ahora más que nunca.
I consider double negatives to be somewhat more emphatic, by the way. Puts a little extra "ooomph" into it...a little more feeling. It feels closer...more connected...less distant (as one who uses both types of speech...but I am biased to the incorrect type...
)
You ever back in the NY area?
(Do) you ever (get) back in the NY area? (a possible intent of the speaker)
Incorrect but common. We can leave out verbs and even subjects in casual speech (only context can supply the missing infomation). I am very apt to leave out the subject in quick comments like Thought it was that way! Only context would indicate WHO thought it was that way...it is usually the I or you that is left out...rarely 3rd person subjects do I leave out like that.
When I realized that I already can determine subject by context, it helped me (a little) with Spanish 3rd person verbs which can also be 2nd person, too (all depends on context).
I know about English grammar. I've studied it since I remember!! lol... My doubt here was whether you native English use these structures as everyday language or it was teen language or it was just some guy's poor language.
.
Thanks everybody. You've been very helpful!!
The person who would say "Now we dont talk no more" would probably not preface that with "I used to be friends with you", but rather have said "Me and you used to be friends" or even "We used to be friends..."
Note, by the way, that when we transcribe what that person says, we need an apostrophe between the "n" and the "t" in "don't".
Hey Benz Unlike Spanish, the use of the double negative is incorrect. The idea is that negative of negative is actually postive No more is possible with postive construction I come no more It also used when denounced or expressing a desire that you don´t want to see it. No more tears.
