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Joe2012 Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Regarding is and was, present tense and past tense.

Sentence : "If Yen was/is allowed to trade our exhanges I would have short it"

My question : Which tense, is or was, would be correct in this sentense ?

Thanks
  

Top answer

I'm sorry the sentence doesn't make any sense to me if either word was used. Is - present was - past. If you are stating if and talking about the future the is would be the word to use.

— Dave Phillips

  • I'm sorry the sentence doesn't make any sense to me if either word was used.
  • Is - present was - past.
  • If you are stating if and talking about the future the is would be the word to use.
  • Hope that helps
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8 Answers
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I'm sorry the sentence doesn't make any sense to me if either word was used.

Is - present

was - past. If you are stating if and talking about the future the is would be the word to use.

Hope that helps
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Razer,
Do you mean to say: "If the Yen were allowed to trade in our exhanges, I would have shorted it ? "
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dimsumexpressRazer,
Do you mean to say: "If the Yen were allowed to trade in our exhanges, I would have shorted it ? "

Ya ya thanks for getting it. Can you answer one mor
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Were is past tense but in the plural form. Was -for singular, were - for plural.
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It's the subjunctive - a condition that is contrary to fact.

If I were a rich man,
I am happy. If I were angry, trust me, you'd know about it.

The Yen is not traded. If the Yen were traded, I would...
My mother-in-law is not coming this weekend. If she were coming, I would have to hire a cleaning crew before she arrived.
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Grammar GeekIt's the subjunctive - a condition that is contrary to fact.

If I were a rich man,
I am happy. If I were angry, trust me, you'd know about it.

The Yen is not traded. If the Yen were traded, I would...
My mother-in-law is not coming this weekend. If she were coming, I would have to hire a cleaning crew before she arrived.

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No, it's not, although many native speakers don't understand when they are supposed to use the subjunctive. (And in my opinion, as more and more native speakers don't know how to do it, it will no longer be a requirement of "proper" grammar and the current "non-standard" forms will become standard.

You will here "If I was rick" instead of "If I were rich" or "If it was traded" instead of
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