The paradigm of “to be” has been since the time of Proto-Germanic a synthesis of three originally distinct verb stems. The infinitive formbe is fromProto-Indo-European*bʰuH-(“to become”). The formsis andare are both derived fromProto-Indo-European*h₁es-(“to be”). Lastly, the past forms starting withw- such aswas andwere are fromProto-Indo-European*h₂wes-(“to reside”).
Take or be taken. Get yours or get got. It was the code of the streets and I'd lived by it. The way thingswas looking, I was prolly gone die by it too.
Was is colloquially used with prepositions, chiefly but not exclusively in southern regions. Otherwise it is generally replaced with a pronominal adverb containingwo- (or in a few caseswes-). Hence:Womit hast du das gemacht?(“With what did you do that?”), instead ofMit was hast du das gemacht?, andweswegen instead ofwegen was.
The genitive case, and the dative case if necessary for clearness, can be paraphrased by means ofwelcherSache(“what thing”).Possessive genitives are more commonly paraphrased withwovon(“of what”). It is also possible to use the genitive formwessen, but it wouldn't be used in questions such asWessen ist das? because here it would be understood as the genitive form ofwer.
The colloquialwas meaning "something" can only be the first word in a sentence if followed by an adjective:Was Wichtiges fehlt noch.(“Something important is missing.”) Otherwise the full formetwas must be used:Etwas fehlt noch.(“Something is missing.”) The reason for this is that the latter sentence could be misinterpreted as a question ifwas were used.
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1718, Johann Caspar Schwartz,Johann Caspar Schwartzens Fünfftes Dutzend Wund-artzneyischer Anmerckungen von vielerley Arten der Geschwülste und Geschwüre, Hamburg, page97:
[...] denen Thieren und Gewächsen aber, vonwas Arten und Geschlechten selbige auch nur immer seyn mögen, [...]
1742, Johann Christoph Gottsched,Versuch einer Critischen Dichtkunst, Leipzig, page442:
Held August, du kühner Krieger! / Du bist der beglückte Sieger, / Vor, und in, und nach dem Fall. / Aufwas Arten, aufwas Weisen, / Soll man deine Thaten preisen / Hier und da, und überall?
1786, Johann Michael Schosulan,Gründlicher Unterricht für das Landvolk: Wie und auf was Weise jedermann seinen etrunkenen, erhängten, erstickten, erfrornen, von Hitze verschmachteten und von Blitz berührten unglücklichen Nebenmenschen Hülfe leisten, der Retter aber für sein eigenes Leben sich selbst sicher stellen solle., Wien, title:
Wie und aufwas Weise jedermann seinen [...] Nebenmenschen Hülfe leisten [...] solle.
Notes on the verbwęsen (to be): In recent times (~1800) the oldsubjunctivewer is used in place ofwas by many speakers. This might be the old subjunctive which is now used as apreterite or a reduction ofweren, which is the preterite plural indicative of the verb. It might also be an imitation of the High German cognatewar. Many smaller dialectal clusters do this, but no dialect does it. That means: even though there are many regions within e.g. Lower Saxony that usewer forwas, maybe even the majority, there is no straight connection between them, i.e. which form is used can depend on preference, speaker and specific region. Due to this "one town this way, one town that way"-nature of the situation no form can be named "standard" for a greater dialect, such as Low Saxon.
Smith,Ethnogeography of the Mayangna of Nicaragua, inEthno- and historical geographic studies in Latin America: essays honoring William V. Davidson (2008), page 88: The location of 46 settlements from this list containing the term ”was" —meaning "water" or "stream" — were obtained[.]
1989,Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Port Moresby: Bible Society of Papua New Guinea,Jenesis3:24:
God i rausim pinis man na meri, na em i makim ol strongpela ensel bilong sanap nawas i stap long hap sankamap bilong gaden Iden. Na tu em i putim wanpela bainat i gat paia i lait long en na i save tanim tanim long olgeta hap. Oltaim ol dispela ensel wantaim dispela bainat i savewas i stap, nogut wanpela man i go klostu long dispela diwai bilong givim laip.
Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828), William Barnes, editor,A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published1867
