Myname
I was or I were I know this is silly question but I am kind of confused. I know that were comes with ( I , you and we) And Was comes with ( she, he and it) But I always hear people saying ( I was) For example : -I was reading the book.. -I was about to read my book -I wasn't here -I was talking to him I don't know if these sentences are correct or not but I feel like they are. And once I said ( I wish I was ) and the teacher corrected me and said ( I wish I were!) I'm kind of confused. Thank you in advance ;)
2017년 3월 8일 오후 12:25
답변 · 4
2
You teacher is right - we use "I were" for imagined situations as well as past plural. It's the same for all persons: I wish I were, I wish you were, I wish he were, I wish she were, I wish it were... Although you can find many examples of "I wish I was", you also need to know "I wish I were" is perfectly correct and still in use. The grammar rule is that subjunctive mood follows "I wish", and "were" is the subjunctive form of "to be".
2017년 3월 8일
2
I wish I were is the English past subjunctive. It's still used but not by everyone.
2017년 3월 8일
Hi Go there: http://writingexplained.org/was-vs-were-difference It should help you ;) Bye
2017년 3월 8일
The "I was" examples are correct! I'm not sure about your teacher's comments though. When speaking (American) English, it's not uncommon to say "I wish I was". "I wish I were" sounds a bit more formal in my opinion, and I'm not sure when it is more appropriate to use than the former.
2017년 3월 8일
아직도 답을 찾지 못하셨나요?
질문을 남겨보세요. 원어민이 도움을 줄 수 있을 거예요!