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"If I was" - is it ever correct?

  • 21-10-2012 07:06PM
    #1
    Rebelheart
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 3,077 ✭✭✭


    I'm struggling to get grammatical clarity on this, largely because so many people still say "If I was".

    Is there ever a time when "If I was" is correct? I would say "If I had been there", for instance, where most people would say "If I was there".

    Apparently, "If I were" is used in hypothetical situations such as "If I were you". But when is "If I was" correctly used?


Comments

  • #2
    pickarooney
    Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 36,210 Mod ✭✭✭✭pickarooney


    "I'm not sure if I was in O'Reilly's last night. I was too hammered to remember."


  • #3
    Ravelleman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,635 CMod ✭✭✭✭Ravelleman


    'Were' is strictly correct in past subjunctive clauses and is indicative of an educated speaker. If the if clause is followed by a conditional clause (would), you know you should use were instead of was.

    You can use was after if if the clause is indicative - 'If he was sick then he certainly didn't mention it.'

    The example you gave above isn't really valid here. 'If I had been there' is the third conditional, while 'If I were' is the second conditional.


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