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Moon7296 Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
if only / I wish
1. I wish I were a millionaire!
2. If only I were(was?) a millionaire!
3. If only he was tidier, more attentive to me, more loving, etc.
4. I wish he were tidier, more attentive to me, more loving, etc.
Q1) Is "If only" clause stronger in meaning than "I wish"?
Q2) I extracted the sentence #3. Note the be verb was.
I was wondering if that "was" can be "were" in #3.
And "were" in #4 can be "was" but less common, right?
Q3) What about other sentences considering be verbs?
2. If only I were(was?) a millionaire!
3. If only he was tidier, more attentive to me, more loving, etc.
4. I wish he were tidier, more attentive to me, more loving, etc.
Q1) Is "If only" clause stronger in meaning than "I wish"?
Q2) I extracted the sentence #3. Note the be verb was.
I was wondering if that "was" can be "were" in #3.
And "were" in #4 can be "was" but less common, right?
Q3) What about other sentences considering be verbs?
Top answer
moon7296 Is "If only" clause stronger in meaning than "I wish"? Not significantly. moon7296 I was wondering if that "was" can be "were" in #3.
- moon7296 Is "If only" clause stronger in meaning than "I wish"?
- Not significantly.
- moon7296 I was wondering if that "was" can be "were" in #3.
- And "were" in #4 can be "was" but less common, right?
- The purist would use 'were' in all those sentences, but many people use 'was'.
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1 Answers
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moon7296 Is "If only" clause stronger in meaning than "I wish"?Not significantly.
moon7296I was wondering if that "was" can be "were" in #3. And "were" in #4 can be "was" but less common, right?The purist would use 'were' in all those sentences, but many people use 'was'.
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