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Debpriya De Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
Unreal conditional
"If I were here, he would think I was a gambler too."
Should the underlined "was" be replaced with "were" ?
If not, could anyone explain to me why we use two different past simple forms of "be" in such sentences ?
Should the underlined "was" be replaced with "were" ?
If not, could anyone explain to me why we use two different past simple forms of "be" in such sentences ?
Top answer
No. 'Were' is the subjunctive of 'be' in the conditional clause, while 'would think' is the conditional verb in the main clause. 'Was' is simple past, regressed in reaction to the 'pastness' of 'were' and 'would'.
- No.
- 'Were' is the subjunctive of 'be' in the conditional clause, while 'would think' is the conditional verb in the main clause.
- 'Was' is simple past, regressed in reaction to the 'pastness' of 'were' and 'would'.
- 'Was' could almost as easily be 'am'.
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2 Answers
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No. 'Were' is the subjunctive of 'be' in the conditional clause, while 'would think' is the conditional verb in the main clause. 'Was' is simple past, regressed in reaction to the 'pastness' of 'were' and 'would'. 'Was' could almost as easily be 'am'.
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If I "were" here is using the past subjunctive, not simple past, form of "be". The subjunctive is used for hypothetical situations (such as an "if" statement) that may not actually happen.
http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs-subjunctive.htm
The underlined "was" does not need to
http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs-subjunctive.htm
The underlined "was" does not need to
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