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Rimma Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

Were I not?

Hello there,

Can you help me out with this sentence, please?

- I would go back to school and study more were I not over 40?
Why were I not instead of if i were not 40 and what's the difference? where can i use this structure?

Thank you.
  

Top answer

"were I not" is just another way to say/write "if I were not". (this is called inversion) Another phrase that you might find useful is "had I (not) been", which is equivalent to saying "if I had been/if I had not been"

— Ivanhr

  • "were I not" is just another way to say/write "if I were not".
  • (this is called inversion) Another phrase that you might find useful is "had I (not) been", which is equivalent to saying "if I had been/if I had not been"
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4 Answers
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"were I not" is just another way to say/write "if I were not". (this is called inversion)

Another phrase that you might find useful is

"had I (not) been", which is equivalent to saying "if I had been/if I had not been"
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rimmaWhere can I use this structure?
In very formal writing, usually. Very rarely in an ordinary conversation.

CJ
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