- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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 –
- 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
- past tense - What is the difference: have been vs were - English . . .
We were in love for eight years [were is past tense (I was, they were, we were,etc ) and the past tense means an action started and ended before now After eight years, your love for each other ended ]
- Should I use was or were in as though he was frightened?
Technically, you should use 'were' You are correct that the sentence is subjunctive because of the indefiniteness introduced by 'as though' The subjunctive takes the plural form of the past tense of 'to be' as its auxiliary verb, even in the singular Having said that, many expert native English speakers will say 'was'
- 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
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