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Anonymous Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

Use of was versus were...

I know that it is said in conversation, but is it proper to use "were" in the construction below?

At this time, there is no expectation for any future medical treatment that
would be of any benefit for this patient unless his condition WERE to
change.

Thank you!
  

Top answer

Yes. In fact, it's always the proper verb to use in that construction, because you're writing in the subjunctive - see .

  • Yes.
  • In fact, it's always the proper verb to use in that construction, because you're writing in the subjunctive - see .
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5 Answers
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Yes. In fact, it's always the proper verb to use in that construction, because you're writing in the subjunctive - see .
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Thank you, CSynder. I could not access the link, as it had to be approved first.
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It's not vitally important that you change it, but your statement is a little verbose (and uses the passive voice, which I abhor unless absolutely necessary [n.b. this is just my opinion, and is certainly not a rule]). I'd probably say it this way:

"Unless his condition changes, we do not expect any future medical treatment to help this patient."
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I hear you! However, this is a medical transcription document. In the medical transcription field, it is almost always required that you have to transcribe verbatim, only making corrections for minor grammatical errors and flagging the document if anything else seems inconsistent. It is a challenge to know the fine line between verbatim and tampering with a doctor's document.

Thank y

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