I was or I were? - English Language Learners Stack Exchange I wish I were young I wish I were a boy I wish I were a policeman I wish I were a rich man All the above sentences suggest you want to be something you are factually not In other words, you are NOT young, a boy, a policeman, a rich man and you are sorry that you are not young, a boy, a policeman, a rich man If I were you, I wouldn't say that
What is the difference between were and have been? What is the difference between "were" and "have been", and are these sentences gramatically correct? 1) some of the best known writers of detective fiction in the twentieth century were women 2) some of the best known writers of detective fiction in the twentieth century have been women
Meaning Diffrence Would be and were - English Language Learners . . . The correct use is decided by when you had that thought: if the thought occurred to you when (or before) you were making the call, then would be is an appropriate choice (were is still possible) If, on the other hand, the thought occurred to you after that event then were is correct, but would be is not right - a possible variant would be must
Should I use “was” or “were”? - English Language Learners Stack . . . Stack Exchange Network Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers
is it was or were - English Language Learners Stack Exchange If you really wanna go nuts with it "My thoughts were the ones that had begun to drive me slightly mad" This makes it sound like you and your thoughts are not entirely one, which might be stylistically kind of cool
tense - If something was vs If something were - English Language . . . Use were (instead of was) in statements that are contrary to fact In your sentences it should definitely be: "What if the Moon were a Disco ball" - It's not true, that's why we use the subjunctive, it's contrary to fact "If + were" expresses the subjunctive mood, which refers to wishes and desires and is known as a "non-factual" mood
Meaning using was to and were to in sentence That is, both "were to" (using the irrealis "were") and "was to" (using a past-tense verb) would usually be interchangeable in a sentence structured similar to yours, but that would be if the sentence was in non-fiction text Since this sentence is in past-tense narrative mode, the reader, as they are reading, would probably interpret something
subjunctives - if we are to VS if we were to - English Language . . . If we were to meet the Paris climate goals, the use of fossil-based materials must be quickly reduced and replaced with renewable materials I have seen usage of both "if we are to" and "if we were to", and I am not sure which is correct Since it is a subjunctive mood, I thought past tense may be a better on Where am I wrong?
Who was or Who were? - English Language Learners Stack Exchange The question is usually in the same form as the answer So the answer might be these buildings were designed by Lutyens - the subject of the verb is the buildings So, the question is "Who were these buildings designed by>" You could also say "Who was the architect who designed these buildings? Lutyens was the architect –
Was vs Were - English Language Learners Stack Exchange In this sentence, I first describe a reality that is contrary to reality Going by the book, the word "were" in the sentence should describe a subjunctive mood Yet, to my ears at least, it seems a bit off-putting So the question is: was it correct to use "it were" in this sentence, or had it been more correct to use "it was" (if so, then why?)