He/she/it + were

Question

Hey,This has been bothering me for a while; as it makes no sense what so ever to me. Does anyone mind explaining why the following sentences (and he/she/it + were in general) are considered gramatically correct:'If he were here''If she were a little bigger'You get the picture. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

Yoong Liat · Accepted Answer

Astonishing
Hey,

This has been bothering me for a while; as it makes no sense what so ever to me. Does anyone mind explaining why the following sentences (and he/she/it + were in general) are considered gramatically correct:

'If he were here' [If he were (not 'am') a king, he would rule wisely. But it is not possible for him to be a king. Therefore 'were' is used. Sometimes 'was' is used.)

'If she were a little bigger' (Explanation is the same as above. She cannot be a little bigger. It is not possible for her to be a little bigger NOW or a few days later. So 'were' has to be used; 'was' is sometimes used. But 'were' is formal. This also applies to your first question.)

MrPedantic · Answer

As a footnote:

1. If he were here now, he would be able to answer the question.

2. If she were a little bigger, she wouldn't be quite so small.

The "were" in these examples is called the "past subjunctive". The past subjunctive is used principally in conditional (hypothetical) statements, such as #1 and #2.

Whereas the "normal" past singular is "was" ("I was", "he was", etc.), in the past subjunctive the form is the same ("were") in both singular and plural. (The seemingly odd form derives from the Old English past subjunctive.)

Especially in BrE, it is very common to hear "was" instead of "were", e.g.

3. If he was here now, he would be able to answer the question.

4. If she was a little bigger, she wouldn't be quite so small.

For instance, I heard David Cameron (the leader of the main British opposition party) say in an interview this evening,

5. If I was in the Prime Minister's shoes, I would do XYZ.

(Sorry, I can't remember what he would do, unfortunately. I think it involved sacking someone.)

MrP

Anonymous · Answer

AstonishingHey,
This has been bothering me for a while; as it makes no sense what so ever to me. Does anyone mind explaining why the following sentences (and he/she/it + were in general) are considered gramatically correct:
'If he were here'
'If she were a little bigger'
You get the picture. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

The verb to be has a subjunctive mode unlike most other English verbs where the subjuctive has been dropped.

It was there , he was there, she was hot are examples of the past tense of to be in the 3rd person single, there the mode is factual, in other words it happened.

They were there, is the plural form.

But the subjunctive mode always uses were.

If it were raining yesterday, if he were faster, if they had known, these are all subjunctive and hence use were. Generally if 'if' is used the verb should be were. In some expressions were can stand on its own without the if to suggest the subjunctive mode.

However listening to English teenagers talking now most of them talk completly rubbish to the above explination will be lost on them.

Hope this helps.

Anonymous · Answer

the answer is if she was

Anonymous · Answer

The use of the word "were" in these scenarios is correct because the "if' makes them conditional.  Thus, these scenarios may or may not happen because of the "if" which is the condition that makes the examples conditional.  Hopefull this helps.

Anonymous · Answer

"If he were" etc. is a subjunctive phrase. It describes a situation that is not the case, in other words, contrary to fact.

Anonymous · Answer

For example: we use if she were here, when we refer to a suposition (we dont know if she was here)

While: we she was here for a real true or statement

Reference: http://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=AwrBTvv7RDNYftcAYIjD8Qt.;_ylu=X3oDMTByOHZyb21tBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzcg--/RV=2/RE=1479783803/RO=10/RU=https%3a%2f%2fwww.quora.com%2fIs-it-if-she-was-or-if-she-were/RK=0/RS=wRBEH70fGZGEF83OjiXadx9GDwY-

He/she/it + were

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