What if I (were/was) (Guest:Sandy)

Question

Need to write "what if I (were/was) ....something I think it is "were" because of the supposition IF while others think that was is correct because of the I. What do you think? Thanks.

Maj · Accepted Answer

If you are looking for correctness I would use "were" though I would say both are correct and a lot of textbooks use "was"instead of "were". However, if you are sitting an exam I would use "were".

Jacko · Answer

It depends...

In grammar, there is what is called the subjunctive mood of the verb. You use this mood of the verb when something is contingent, but is not the reality or fact. In this case, you use the plural past tense of the verb.

Example:

(A) If the president were Al Gore, then America might not have faced war with Iraq.
(B) If you were on the right side of the divider, and I was on the left side, it explained why we did not meet.

In example A, Al Gore is not the president; it's Bush. In this case, you are talking about a hypothetical scenario. In example B, the whole scene did happen; You were, in fact, on the right side of the divider, and I, on the other hand, was on the left side.

AintIdiot · Answer

I don't know if I used the word in correctly because I get confused with in, on, for, to, about, by.

AintIdiot · Answer

Did Jacko use them correctly? I know you use in, if it's inside, but what about in my head, or on my head. Grrr...this thing is out my head. Can you give some rules?

Hitchhiker · Answer

As a very basic and general rule:

in = inside/part of (A plan in mind)
on = Above something (But also: something on my mind = something i'm thinking about)

"on my head" would mean "sitting on my head" (It's not the same as "on my mind")

What if I (were/was) (Guest:Sandy)

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