grammar

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Hello everyoneIn the following sentences:If my car were broken, I would fix it.If I were you, I would do that.If he were fast, he would win the race.can we change the auxiliary verb "were" to "was", or can we use "was" instead of "were"? and why in these kinds of sentences "were" is used with singular nouns and singular pronouns?please answer

Acosta · Accepted Answer

You can use was instead of were, but in conditional sentences type 2 it is very common to use were instead of was. In fact, in a more formal style, were is more common than was and many people consider it more correct, especially in American English.

XS · Answer

Thanks

Xerxes · Answer

XS,

Your examples pertain to the second conditional, in which you talk about situations in the present (or in the future) that are unreal.

E.g.

XSIf my car were broken, I would fix it.

Your car is not broken, but if it happened to be broken, you would fix it.

XSIf I were you, I would do that.

"You" are not "me", but if you were, you wouldn't do that.

You should really use "were" and not "was" in such constructions, although "was" is regrettably becoming very common today. Grammar purists generally hold the use of "was" in the examples above to be incorrect. I am a bit more tolerant myself, but I still cringe whenever I hear people say, "If I was rich, I would buy myself a nice house." It really should be "If I were rich…"

For further reading:
http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/secondconditional/menu.php

http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/410/grammar/2cond.htm

BarbaraPA · Answer

XS In the following sentences:If my car were broken, I would fix it.If I were you, I would do that.If he were fast, he would win the race.can we change the auxiliary verb "were" to "was", or can we use "was" instead of "were"?

and why in these kinds of sentences is "were" is used with singular nouns and singular pronouns?

This is called the subjunctive.
It's used for an unreal situation.
I am not you. But if I were you, I would do that.
My car is not broken. But if it were broken, I would fix it.

It is becoming less common to use the subjunctive, especially in the UK. You will still hear it used quite often in the US.

Clive · Answer

(We don't say My car is broken. We say My car is broken down.)

CalifJim · Answer

XSCan we change the auxiliary verb "were" to "was" ... can we use "was" instead of "were"?

We cannot always do that. It depends on the subject. If you were, for example, cannot be changed to If you was.

Here's a better way to look at it.

We use the past tense after "if" in these kinds of sentences (those with 'would' in the main clause). If 'was' shows up, you may change it to 'were'. This change is considered more "correct" by some people, and your English teacher may be one of them. (No other past form except 'was' is ever changed.)

If Karen won the prize, her mother would be very proud of her.
If the car needed a new battery, I would buy one.
If the window was open, I would close it. > (optional) > If the window were open, I would close it.

Except: The expression "If I were you" is fixed to the point that almost no one ever says "If I was you", so in this case you should always say or write 'were' instead of 'was'.

XSwhy in these kinds of sentences "were" is used with singular nouns and singular pronouns?

It is thought that the form 'were' better communicates the idea that you are speaking of a situation which is uncertain or unknown, hypothetical or imaginary (which is already indicated by "if").

CJ

XS · Answer

thanks for your answers

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