Grammar fact of the day
- Which one is correct, “if I was an actor” or ” if I were an actor”?
Note: Sentences starting with ”if” call for a special form of the verb known as the SUBJUNCTIVE. So in this situation, you just need to substitute were for was.
Explaining Subjunctive:
This subjunctive mood is not often taught in English courses but you use it frequently. The subjunctive is used to talk about hypothetical situations or things that are contrary to fact.
In subjunctive, you imagine yourself in their position or situation and what you would do or how you would react.
For instance :
- If I were you, I would study more.
- “If I were” is also used when you are wishing for something.
For instance:
- If I were a rich man, I would visit many countries.
Grammar fact of the day
- if I was… is only acceptable in conditional past-tense sentences.
Note: When you’re talking about a possibility that did happen or might be true, use “was”.
For instance:
- If I was rude to you, I apologize.
- I’ll fix the error if I was mistaken.
Grammar is the system of a language. People sometimes describe grammar as the “rules” of a language, but in fact, no language has rules*.
If we use the word “rules”, we suggest that somebody created the rules first and then spoke the language, like a new game.
But languages did not start like that. Languages started by people making sounds which evolved into words, phrases, and sentences.
No commonly-spoken language is fixed. All languages change over time. What we call “grammar” is simply a reflection of a language at a particular time.
