Language/English/Grammar/Was-and-Were

Was and were are both past tenses of the verb TO BE. The verb be is an irregular verb and it is used a lot.

Singular / Plural

• Was is used in the first person singular 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).

Example: "They were gone". Not: "they was gone".

If I was / If I were

Which of the following two choices is correct?

• If I was a better teacher, I could have more students.

-or-

• If I were a better teacher, I could have more students.

You hear people say both each and every day, so it’s hard to know which is correct.

The answer, however, has to do with the subjunctive mood which is a verb form that is used for hypothetical statements.

It is made up of the phrases I were, he were, she were, it were, etc. You often use this form to express wishes.

For example,

• He wishes I weren’t so selfish.
• He wishes it were wet outside.

In thoses sentences, he is talking about things he wishes would happen.