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Kooyeen Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

Both - Either

0 Hi,02br
00If someone asked what's ok in 01i00"I wish I was/were rich"02i00, 01i00"was or were?"02i00, would you answer:01ol
    01li
  1. 00You can use both.02li
    2. 01li
  2. 00You can use either.02li
    3. 01li
  3. 00Both can be used.02li
    4. 01li
  4. 00Either can be used.02li
    5. 02ol
00I'd say that all of the above versions are ok. Maybe "either" is better (since you always use one at a time, either "was" or "were"), but "both" is ok too in my opinion (and it is understood that you don't use both at the same time, but you can use both, alternatively). Am I right? Thanks 050010id1
  

Top answer

02br 02br 02br 02br 00If you 01b 00were02b 00 me, how would you handle the problem? 0-

— Goodman

  • 02br 02br 02br 02br 00If you 01b 00were02b 00 me, how would you handle the problem?
  • 0-
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6 Answers
0
0Kooyeen,02br
02br
00It's always "were" in this kind of conditional context.02br
02br
00I 01b00wish02b00 Mary 01b00were 02b00my girlfriend – but she is not .The thought is imaginary.00 02br
02br
00I wish I were rich- but you aren’t.00 00“were” is used to infer the “if”00 00
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0
0Oh my, I knew I should have thought of a better example! 05002br
00The question is not about "was" and "were", but about "either" and "both" (and considering the fact that you can say "I wish I were..." or "I wish I was...")02br
00So, let's change the example: "When people greet friends, do they say Hi or Hello?" Now, would you answer:01ol
    01li
  1. 00You
0
0
0Well, it depends on the complete context. Both mean A and B. Either means A or B.02br
02br
00John can speak French and German = Both languages 02br
02br
00John can speak either French or German. In these context, “either” 00 00has the relative meaning of both. 02br
02br
00“You can either take it the easy way or the hard way” –
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0
0 Well, there's enough context, I think.02br
00I know the difference between "both" and "either", but sometimes I think both can be used in place of either, as long as it's not confusing. Imagine this question is asked here in this forum:02br
02br
01b00"I [have just seen/ just saw] your mother" - Which one?02b02br
02br
00You coul
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0
0 01blockquote
00If someone asked what's ok in 11i10"I wish I was/were rich"12i10, 11i10"was or were?"12i10, would you answer:12br
11ol
    10 11li
  1. 10You can use both.12li
    2. 11li
  2. 10You can use either.12li
    3. 11li
  3. 10Both can be used.12li
    4. 11li
  4. 10Either can
0
0
0 Thank you.02br
00It is interesting to notice that "both" wouldn't be ok logically, but the context tells you that it doesn't mean "both at the same time". 050010id1
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