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- riichard_c
August 2017
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![]() | nelthoroAugust 2017 Because in fact English does have a 'subjunctive mood', like Spanish, French and Portuguese. However, the conjugation is really only visible in verbs like 'to be'. It has nothing to do with the number of people involved - it just happens to be that 'were' is the verb ending used. So - If I were, if you were, if he/she/it were, if we were etc. It's used in conditional sentences like, "If I were you, I would buy that car." Nowadays it's very common to say just 'if I was', and it's accepted in most grammar books. However, 'if I were' is still used by more educated people, and it just sounds nicer. If you want to say 'if I was' - go ahead, but if you want to make your English sound really nice, try 'if I were'. Good luck! |
![]() | AussieInBgNovember 2023 As nelthoro has eluded to, past subjunctive and simple past in English have identical conjugations except for ”to be. |
![]() | Anyby1993November 2023 The word ”were” is used in conditional sentences, even if the subject of the sentence is singular. This is because conditional sentences are hypothetical, meaning they are talking about something that could happen but may not. The word ”were” helps to create a sense of uncertainty in the sentence. https://elastic-man.com |
AussieInBgNovember 2023 Garbage generated from incorrect/incomplete data/information fed into ChatGPT then pasted to pad a spammed hyperlink.
Don’t trust everything generated by AI bots
![]() | wazdev_rohAugust 2017 Cuz it is conditional sentence ,,,in conditional sentences we use we're with singular and plural |