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Maybe it is standard English, but "I've seen them worse." does not sound like it to me. There is something peculiar about it but I cannot seem to get a fix on why or how it is different.

Does it have to do with them, worse or maybe both?

Minnie May has croup all right; she's pretty bad, but I've seen them worse.

Source: Anne of the Green Gables: Chapter XVIII -- Anne to the Rescue

learner
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    Bad < worse < worst. "Worse" is the comparative of "bad"; compare with good < better < best. The plural "them" is used here to describe the "group" of which "she" (Minnie May) is a representative. This is standard colloquial speech. – P. E. Dant Reinstate Monica Oct 08 '16 at 01:16
  • I guess now after your comment and esp. "a while" started to make sense. Them would need a bit more. Looks like time is a vital factor with man and me in particular. I'll come back and check later. Thanks P. E. Dant – learner Oct 08 '16 at 02:51
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    No need to come back. Settled! – learner Oct 08 '16 at 02:55

1 Answers1

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Minnie May has croup all right; she's pretty bad, but I've seen them worse.

This is colloquial language, and so indicates something about the general level of education, social class, and/or local dialect of the person speaking. Anne of Green Gables takes place in a somewhat isolated, rural community, so it's not surprising that it has evolved its own vernacular.

In this case, them generally refers to "children I've seen who have had the croup". The standard English way to say it would be, "she's very sick, but I've seen children who have had it worse (and who subsequently got better)"

By the way, you may see them shortened to 'em if the author wishes to indicate accent as well as dialect, "Yep, he's a bad'un but I seen 'em worse."

Andrew
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  • One good answer, Andrew. Thanks a lot. I should check some eye-dialect books to work on my colloquial language skills. – learner Oct 08 '16 at 03:40