Friday, April 6, 2018

tenses - "If I were" or "If I was"?






Possible Duplicates:
“If I was” or “If I were”. Which is more common, and which is correct?
“Was” versus “were”—word usage






Which one is correct:
"If I were a cop, I would wear a uniform"
OR
"If I was a cop, I would wear a uniform"?


Answer




if I were



This we call the second conditional utilising the subjunctive form, which can be used to discuss hypothetical/unreal situations.



If I were a cop, I would wear a uniform implies that I am not a cop and so I don't wear a uniform.



if it was



This would be the beginning of a question about a past event, for example:




If it was raining, why did you go out? meaning that it rained and you went outside; the speaker is questioning your motives.



Hope that helps


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