If I was, If I were
This has been something that has drove me kind of crazy, what's the correct way to say, is it either "if I were" or "if I was"?
e.g.
If I was better at football I could probably be a professional by now.
or
If I were better at football I could probably a proffesional by now.
Thanks, :)
Search from various English teachers...
Corrections · 7
2
Excellent observation.
In spoken English, native speakers more often than not use the form “If I was,” however, “If I were” would be correct in your examples — the subjunctive is used in these hypothetical situations (2nd conditional — unreal present).
Americans still tend to use the subjunctive in formal writing, and often use it in speech as well, however British speakers don’t use it as much as we do in writing, and rarely use it in the spoken language — less than 25% of the time, if that.
Btw: drive / drove / driven.
Keep up the good work!
0
American English: If I were...... Also: *professional
0
Thank you for your comments, I guess it depends if you're speaking in an american way or a british way?
0
In America you will hear some people say "If I was..." but the correct version is "If I were..."
0
Hello dear friend, it's a nice question, and the answer is " if I were ". It's so common, and I have never seen native speakers, and writers to use "if I was", however "if I was " is correct grammatically, too. Do you see what Imean?
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