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Anonymous Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

what if I were perfect? What if I was perfect?

Hi guys,

I am confused by which phrase has the correct grammar... I thought "what if I was" should be the right way to say it but the article I was reading it used "What if I were perfect". Which one do you think is the right one? would like to see some explanation as well if possible. thanks for the help in advance.
  

Top answer

' the subjunctive form 'were' is used for an irrealis situation - the speaker is not perfect. Although this used to be regarded as the only 'correct' form in such utterances, many people, especially in British English, now use indicative 'was'.

— Fivejedjon

  • ' the subjunctive form 'were' is used for an irrealis situation - the speaker is not perfect.
  • Although this used to be regarded as the only 'correct' form in such utterances, many people, especially in British English, now use indicative 'was'.
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4 Answers
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In 'What if I were perfect?' the subjunctive form 'were' is used for an irrealis situation - the speaker is not perfect. Although this used to be regarded as the only 'correct' form in such utterances, many people, especially in British English, now use indicative 'was'.
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now I get it, actually both are correct as the article I was reading is using US english.
Thanks for the great help!
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fivejedjonIn 'What if I were perfect?' the subjunctive form 'were' is used for an irrealis situation - the speaker is not perfect. Although this used to be regarded as the only 'correct' form in such utterances, many people, especially in British English, now use indicative 'was'.
I recently found a curious factoid relating to this topic.

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CalifJimI was astounded.
I am astounded.
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