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Anonymous Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
Hello :)
He smiled as if it was a compliment and rummaged his pocket
He smiled as if it were a compliment and rummaged his pocket
Which one is it? And can you please explain.
Kind regards
Lisa
He smiled as if it were a compliment and rummaged his pocket
Which one is it? And can you please explain.
Kind regards
Lisa
Top answer
To the purist, the second is correct. The past subjunctive of BE is were in all persons, and the subjunctive is the correct form in such hypothetical situations. However, for many native speakers, especially of BrE, the subjunctive is now dead.
- To the purist, the second is correct.
- The past subjunctive of BE is were in all persons, and the subjunctive is the correct form in such hypothetical situations.
- However, for many native speakers, especially of BrE, the subjunctive is now dead.
- For such speakers, the first is fine.
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2 Answers
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To the purist, the second is correct. The past subjunctive of BE is were in all persons, and the subjunctive is the correct form in such hypothetical situations.
However, for many native speakers, especially of BrE, the subjunctive is now dead. For such speakers, the first is fine.
However, for many native speakers, especially of BrE, the subjunctive is now dead. For such speakers, the first is fine.
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