Was were
Are they both ok saying if I was him and if I were him, I would. .....
Jan 23, 2016 8:38 AM
3
0
Answers · 3
It's good to know that the correct form is "If I were..." No-one can tell you that is incorrect.
You will hear "If I was..." as an accepted variation. As Randy has said, people are forgetting how to use this piece of grammar and mistaking singular "was" for subjunctive "were". It still works because all other past subjunctive verbs in English are identical to the past simple form.
January 23, 2016
0
2
Correct is subjunctive mood, namely "if I were he, I would..." Subjunctive mood is dying, because people forget how to use it. In fifty years, maybe it will be gone from English. But now students need to know the correct from.
January 23, 2016
0
2
I was
you were
he, she or it was
we were
they were.
January 23, 2016
0
0
Lien Shao-Tung
Language Skills
Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, German, Japanese