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Italy flagMarco
If the fluid was/were Hi! Why does this book use WERE instead of WAS in the following sentence? "If the fluid were completely inviscid, the Reynolds number would be infinite." Thank you.

Corrections · 8

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Hi Marco!

 

The reason we use "were" is because we are speaking in the conditional tense - referring to a possibility. We only say "was" if we are talking in the past, about something that actually happened.

 

e.g. "When I was young, I used to love playing the violin."

This is the past - it actually happened.

 

e.g. "If I were older, I would be more respected."

This is the conditional - the person is not old, but they are imagining what would happen if they WERE.

 

Hope this helps! I am an English teacher on iTalki and I have a lot of experience with grammar and conversation, if you want we can have a session. I would love to talk to you and help you to improve your English!

 

You can book at http://www.italki.com/teacher/1042326

 

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Thank you all!
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You've had part of the story. The word "was" would have worked okay but the word "were" conveys the hypothetical sense more forcefully. It is what is called the subjunctive mood. Marco, your questions are always about the finer points of English grammar. I think you would find "Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage" (latest edition edited by Jeremy Butterfield) very useful indeed. In this particular case, you look up the word were and it directs you to a discussion on the subjunctive mood.
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Ahah well - it it is famous "congiuntivo" in English! (not conditional as someone said) - but - as in Italian - many people fail to use it in English! BTW, I left some questions for you on my entry that you corrected - I don't know if you get notified. Thanks!
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the condition sentence type 2 describes an action that can't happen at the present or future. In the condition clause every subject goes with "were"

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