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Gammar guru's, question for you.
- Thread starter detz
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'If I were' is the grammatically correct of the two, although 'If I was' is used widely. Of course, things may differ in various English speaking nations.
So if I were going to add this to a software package that might be seen be millions I should use the "If I were" part?
It might be an idea, yes.So if I were going to add this to a software package that might be seen be millions I should use the "If I were" part?
Formal vs informal
e.g.
http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs-subjunctive.htm table at bottom.
Googling:
was were grammar
will give you some more examples. "I were.." isn't used that much really.
e.g.
http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs-subjunctive.htm table at bottom.
Googling:
was were grammar
will give you some more examples. "I were.." isn't used that much really.
Try this:
http://www.better-english.com/grammar/was2.htm
I got 100%
was - verb
First-person singular simple past tense indicative of be.
Third-person singular simple past tense indicative of be.
Everything else is were.
SO the answer is;
If I was a basket ball player (1st person singular)
If you were a basket ball player (2nd person singular)
If he was as basket ball player (3rd person singular)
If we were basket ball players (1st person plural)
...
btw: its nothing to do with formal/informal.
http://www.better-english.com/grammar/was2.htm
I got 100%
was - verb
First-person singular simple past tense indicative of be.
Third-person singular simple past tense indicative of be.
Everything else is were.
SO the answer is;
If I was a basket ball player (1st person singular)
If you were a basket ball player (2nd person singular)
If he was as basket ball player (3rd person singular)
If we were basket ball players (1st person plural)
...
btw: its nothing to do with formal/informal.
Ask a baseball player.
OK!
(<--- See the bat in my hand?)
"If I were..." is the correct usage.
I think "If I were...." is correct as well, but according to Thule's post, the 3 of us are probably wrong.
I think "If I were...." is correct as well, but according to Thule's post, the 3 of us are probably wrong.
My first answer was "were" too, however once you start playing around with a few sentences it becomes clear that "was" works all the time where as "were" only works in a few cases. EDIT Subjunctive was that case.
Try it
Past tense:
I was at my friends house
I were at my friends house
However, in this case...
If I was to say
If I were to say
which one is right?
It depends if you are using the Subjunctive:
So, the answer probably depends on the second part of the sentence. A good link on this topic is http://www.alphadictionary.com/blog/?p=164
It seems the correct answer depends, "If I were" is Subjunctive however Subjunctive is rarely used these days, so the "modern" answer would be "If I was".