Many people use if I was and if I were interchangeably to describe a hypothetical situation. The confusion occurs because when writing in the past tense, I was is correct while I were is incorrect. However, when writing about non-realistic or hypothetical situations, if I were is the only correct choice.
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Which is correct grammatically correct if I was or if I were?
A good trick to decide which you want to use is to determine if the thing you are talking about is something that actually happened or something that you are wishing or imagining might have happened. If it really happened, use “if I was,” but if not, go with “if I were.” Phew! Our heads hurt just thinking about that.
What to use with I Was or were?
“I were” is called the subjunctive mood, and is used when you’re are talking about something that isn’t true or when you wish something was true. If she was feeling sick… <-- It is possible or probable that she was feeling sick. "I was" is for things that could have happened in the past or now.
Can we write was with I?
Was is used in the first person singular (I) and the third person singular (he, she, it). Were is used in the second person singular and plural (you, your, yours) and first and third person plural (we, they). Singular = I was, You were, He was, She was, It was.
Can you say if I was?
Many people use if I was and if I were interchangeably to describe a hypothetical situation. The confusion occurs because when writing in the past tense, I was is correct while I were is incorrect. However, when writing about non-realistic or hypothetical situations, if I were is the only correct choice.
Is it correct to say I wish I were there?
“I wish I were there” is the correct past subjunctive form. The subjunctive “were” is used instead of the indicative “was” because the clause is preceded by “I wish” expressing something that is not real or actually happening. ‘I wish I were is correct”.
Were is past tense or present?
Meaning – Were is the past tense of the verb are. Look at this example of were used in a sentence. Since were means the same as the past tense of are in this sentence, it is the correct word to use.
Was is the past of is?
The past tense of is is was (colloquial, nonstandard).
Why do we say if I were?
The reason we use WERE instead of WAS is because the sentence is in the SUBJUNCTIVE mood which is used for hypothetical situations. This is a condition which is contrary to fact or reality (the fact is, I am NOT you). In the subjunctive mood we use IF + I / HE / SHE / IT + WERE for the verb To Be.
Was were past continuous tense?
The past continuous tense is formed by combining the past tense of to be (i.e., was/were) with the verb’s present participle (-ing word).It can also be used to describe something that was happening continuously in the past when another action interrupted it.
Is I singular or plural?
In This Article
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| I | We |
| Me | Us |
| Myself | Ourselves |
| You | You |
Were or was past tense?
When to use were
Whereas was is the singular past tense of to be, were is used for both the third person plural past tense (they and we) and the second person past tense (you). In the past indicative, were acts similar to was. “They were at the store,” you could say, for example.
Were instead of was?
Forms of Was and Were
As I said above, was and were are in the past tense, but they are used differently. Was is used in the first person singular (I) and the third person singular (he, she, it). Were is used in the second person singular and plural (you, your, yours) and first and third person plural (we, they).
Was possible or were possible?
Use ‘were’ for hypothetical cases and ‘was’ for factual ones. It depends on what you are trying to say. “If it was possible” is a hypothetical about contingent past events. “If it were possible” is a hypothetical about present or future events, strongly implying the possibility is non-existent.
How can I Wish I Were example?
Examples of The Phrase I Wish I Were
“I wish I were taller.” “I wish I were smarter.” “I wish I were funnier.” “I wish I were prettier.”
Do you say was there or were there?
We use there is for a singular object in the present tense and there are for plural objects in the present. There was is used when you refer to one thing or person. There were is used when you refer to more than one thing or person.
What were do I use?
How to Use Were
- First-person plural of “be” (We “were” busy last week.)
- Second-person singular and plural of “be” (You “were” busy last week.)
- Third-person plural of “be” (They “were” busy last week.)
- Subjunctive of “be” for all persons (If I “were” you, I’d demand a raise.)
Was or were after if?
If the verb in the if clause is “to be,” use “were,” even if the subject of the clause is a third person singular subject (i.e., he, she, it).See the examples below for an illustration of this exception: If I was a rich man, I would make more charitable donations.
Was in a sentence?
“She was an actress in her younger years.” “He was a star athlete in high school.” “Kevin was a pilot in the Air Force.”
What is the sentence of were?
Were sentence example. All eyes were on Alex as he mounted. Soldiers were marching through the fields. The houses of the city were all made of glass, so clear and transparent that one could look through the walls as easily as through a window.
Was used or is used?
“It is used“: wrong—if you include “for over a century”, you need to use a past tense. “It was used”: wrong—this implies that it is not currently used. “It has been used”: correct.