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I was or I were
I know this is silly question but I am kind of confused.
I know that were comes with ( I , you and we)
And Was comes with ( she, he and it)
But I always hear people saying ( I was)
For example :
-I was reading the book..
-I was about to read my book
-I wasn't here
-I was talking to him
I don't know if these sentences are correct or not but I feel like they are.
And once I said ( I wish I was ) and the teacher corrected me and said ( I wish I were!)
I'm kind of confused.
Thank you in advance ;)
Mar 8, 2017 12:25 PM
Answers · 4
2
You teacher is right - we use "I were" for imagined situations as well as past plural. It's the same for all persons: I wish I were, I wish you were, I wish he were, I wish she were, I wish it were...
Although you can find many examples of "I wish I was", you also need to know "I wish I were" is perfectly correct and still in use. The grammar rule is that subjunctive mood follows "I wish", and "were" is the subjunctive form of "to be".
March 8, 2017
2
I wish I were is the English past subjunctive. It's still used but not by everyone.
March 8, 2017
Hi
Go there: http://writingexplained.org/was-vs-were-difference
It should help you ;)
Bye
March 8, 2017
The "I was" examples are correct! I'm not sure about your teacher's comments though. When speaking (American) English, it's not uncommon to say "I wish I was". "I wish I were" sounds a bit more formal in my opinion, and I'm not sure when it is more appropriate to use than the former.
March 8, 2017
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Myname
Language Skills
Arabic, English
Learning Language
English
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