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ESL forum >
Grammar and Linguistics > Was vs were
Was vs were
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arathai
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Was vs were
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Hi all teachers,
I would like to ask why we have to use if I were a boy is stead of if I was a boy? From what I �ve learnt if I were a boy or if I were rich will explain if it �s only our imagination so we use were . But why Justin bieber �s says if I was your boyfriend ",in stead of if I were your boyfriend.And we only use for pronoun I only is it?What about other pronouns like SHE,He, and etc.
Thanks |
13 Aug 2012
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cunliffe
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It �s the subjunctive and can be used with all pronouns, but it doesn �t make any difference if it �s �you � or plural they, as it is �were � anyway. There isn �t really much subjunctive in English, unlike French. To be honest, even this usage �If I were... � is dying out and it �s only older or self-consciously educated (!) people who use it. The only time you really hear it is when people say, �If I were you � + a bit of advice. So,� if I was your boyfriend�, is OK. |
13 Aug 2012
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ueslteacher
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One of the textbook by the mainstream esl publishers we use had this variant "If I/she/he/it was..." so it �s colloquial and commonly used. Sophia |
13 Aug 2012
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almaz
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I reckon the main reason why �was � and �were � are interchangeable is because the �were � form isn �t actually subjunctive* at all - it �s what is sometimes known as the irrealis, an isolated mood form which is a hangover from an earlier system. The acceptable alternative nowadays is the preterite was - and I wouldn �t say it was particularly colloquial.
*To the best of my knowledge, all subjunctives are plain forms anyway: they don �t, for example, inflect or have negative forms, unlike �were � (weren �t). |
13 Aug 2012
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almaz
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Yeah, Geoff Pullum must be "self-consciously educated". He �s only the Professor of Linguistics at Edinburgh University, among other things (see here).
Oh, and he �s written a few things as well - including the odd grammar book (see here).
Remind me who writes the �grammar � page for English Club.
To be honest, Lynne, I thought Pullum was remarkably restrained in his blog. 
Irrealis is a constellation (something which is remote and not real anyway). 
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13 Aug 2012
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cunliffe
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You win this one, Alex  . Nice to have you back, by the way. Your inimitable style was a real miss. |
13 Aug 2012
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douglas
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Sounds like a pretty smart guy--guess that�s why he opted for the US citizenship  |
13 Aug 2012
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