Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.
Trending News
Conditional form of "to be"?
I often hear "was" used in the conditional voice (tense? case?), e.g. "If I was rich" or "If he wasn't there..." but my understanding of it is that one always uses "were," in the singular or the plural, e.g. "If I were rich," "if he weren't there." The first one sounds right, but the second sounds a little off. What are the rules on this?
2 Answers
- 1 decade agoFavorite Answer
I think you're on the right track... Seems to me that "If I were rich" would sorta be the conditional present, and "If I was rich" would be a convoluted conditional-past...
- 1 decade ago
that is simply the rule of subjunctive mood, wherein the sentence is contrary to the fact, so "were" should be used..
