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Jisu98 Posted 20 years ago
Grammar
conditional
Thank you in advance for reading and answering.
My question is about conditional sentences.
I learned that " If + subject + (verb)past sentence, ~ would (could , might,...)" is conditional sentences.
But, they say that I have to use 'were' instead of 'was', if the verb is "be" - verb.
For example, Is " The man looked as if he was drunk." not correct? Do I have to say, " The man looked as if he were drunk." Or, both are possible?
What about "If I was you, I would not do that." May I use it? I read that "If I were you~" is idionmatic, then maybe can not say " If I was you~". I am looking forward any answer.
My question is about conditional sentences.
I learned that " If + subject + (verb)past sentence, ~ would (could , might,...)" is conditional sentences.
But, they say that I have to use 'were' instead of 'was', if the verb is "be" - verb.
For example, Is " The man looked as if he was drunk." not correct? Do I have to say, " The man looked as if he were drunk." Or, both are possible?
What about "If I was you, I would not do that." May I use it? I read that "If I were you~" is idionmatic, then maybe can not say " If I was you~". I am looking forward any answer.
Top answer
Hello Jisu98. It is very common to use were instead of was after if , both formally and informally. In a formal style , were is more common than was , and many people consider it more correct, especially in American English.
- Hello Jisu98.
- It is very common to use were instead of was after if , both formally and informally.
- In a formal style , were is more common than was , and many people consider it more correct, especially in American English.
- The grammatical term for this use of were is subjuntive.
- So first of all, the man looked as if he was/were drunk.
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5 Answers
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Hello Jisu98.
It is very common to use were instead of was after if, both formally and informally. In a formal style, were is more common than was, and many people consider it more correct, especially in American English.
It is very common to use were instead of was after if, both formally and informally. In a formal style, were is more common than was, and many people consider it more correct, especially in American English.
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What if the "was/were" were in regard to an object rather than a person? For example, "The man wished it were Sunday morning".
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Hello Anon,
This thread is so old that it would have been better for you to start a new thread with your question.
Objects take the third person form of the verb.
In your example, the subject is actually "it" which is not an object, and the subjunctive is used. It's used for (among other things) situations that are contrary to actual fact.
I wish I were g
This thread is so old that it would have been better for you to start a new thread with your question.
Objects take the third person form of the verb.
In your example, the subject is actually "it" which is not an object, and the subjunctive is used. It's used for (among other things) situations that are contrary to actual fact.
I wish I were g
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Hi, Are you saying we cannot make the subjunctive out of (?) an object?
I wish it were real money that I was getting, not the money made?/printed? for children games.
I wish it were real money that I was getting, not the money made?/printed? for children games.
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Forget all that object stuff. The subjunctive has nothing to do with objects.
I wish it were real money ... is perfectly fine.
CJ
I wish it were real money ... is perfectly fine.
CJ
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