Was or were???? help!
I wish I was/were friends with----
which one should I use? was or were? thanks!
Top answer
Hi People may have different opinions on this because the way we decide that question has changed in recent years. Going back a few years, the grammatical answer would have been 'were'. It is called the subjunctive mood and is used to describe something that isn't true at the moment: - I wish I were friends with Fred, but I'm not.
- Hi People may have different opinions on this because the way we decide that question has changed in recent years.
- Going back a few years, the grammatical answer would have been 'were'.
- It is called the subjunctive mood and is used to describe something that isn't true at the moment: - I wish I were friends with Fred, but I'm not.
- However, in ordinary, conversational English, many people just wouldn't do that: - I wish I was friends with Fred.
- I slightly prefer the second of those, 'was', because it's simpler.
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Hi
People may have different opinions on this because the way we decide that question has changed in recent years.
Going back a few years, the grammatical answer would have been 'were'. It is called the subjunctive mood and is used to describe something that isn't true at the moment:
- I wish I were friends with Fred, but I'm not.
However, in ordinary, conversational
0moonchildflowerI wish I was/were friends with----
Which one should I use? Was or were? Thanks!
Play it safe and use 'were'. It's classier.
But don't be surprised to hear 'was'. That's also used.
C
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