What is the usage difference between "if I were.....", and "if I was .........".?

Question

As to this reply:

If I were you, I would be careful where I step.
If I was an astronaut, I could fly to the moon.

I don't understand why it wouldn't be "if I were an astronaut, I could fly to the moon" or "if I was an astronaut, I could have flown to the moon"

Answer 1

This is a question about the subjunctive in English, which seems to be going the way of the dinosaur.

If I were you, I would be careful where I step.
If I was an astronaut, I could fly to the moon.

Answer 2

They mean the same thing, but they are used in different contexts.

Many people who answer this question will tell you that they mean something different, or that one is correct and the other isn't. It's true that "if I were" is the one that follows the grammar books, but in people's everyday speech "if I was" is used exactly the same way. They probably hear it all the time and don't even bat an eye.

However, I did look into the Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English to discover the difference in usage of these two phrases for you. I wasn't able to find the proportions of which version is used in which contexts, but I suspect you'll find "if I was" used more in informal speech and "if I were" used more in formal speech (though still not used all the time).

Answer 3

Beauty is stronger and is closer to being an absolute term than pretty. You could say, for example, that someone is "fairly beautiful" or "reasonably beautiful", but it sounds rather odd, whereas "fairly pretty" and "reasonably pretty" sound perfectly normal (compare cold and freezing, or big and enormous). In general, I'd recommend using the word "beautiful" sparingly. It's often the mark of a non-native speaker to overuse words of this kind. To call someone "pretty", I would add, is by no means an insult. I've always found it to seem slightly warmer than "beautiful", presumably owing to the latter's connotations of absoluteness.

Answer 4

Basically, if you're using "if," the usage becomes conditional. When it's conditional is when you use were instead of was. If I were rich; if I were tall; if I were Heather Locklear I might dump that guy... but I digress. If I were you I'd ignore that.

When it's no longer a conditional, you use was... but you should also avoid using IF. As in Dutch Professor's example, it would be better to say, WHEN I was sad, she made me laugh. Because it's no longer conditional, then. You're saying that, once upon a time, in the past, you were sad, and she made you laugh. It's true history, not a conditional. Like that!

Answer 5

"If I were" is the subjunctive past tense, and indicates a hypothetical situation:

--> If I were a prince (but I am not), I would ...

"If I was" is the indicative past tense, and denotes an actual circumstance in the past:

--> My friend was such a great help to me. If I was sad, she made me laugh; ...



Similar constructions are found in Latin, French, German, and many more languages.

Answer 6

If I was = past tense.

The correct use will generally be If I were, since you would be hypothesizing about what you might do if you were something else at the current time.

Unless of course you're talking about the past, e.g. If I was a brat when I was young, then I'm sorry.

Answer 7

If I were is correct; If I was is incorrect. Since the phrase itself implies a hypothetical, such as "if I were 15 again..." or "if i were to jump off that cliff..." it must take "were" as the verb. I will grant you, people do use "was" all the time, however, grammatically it is incorrect.

Answer 8

If i were=correct english. using "if" means it's subjunctive or hypothetical. It's not something that is actually true or happening

If i was=bad grammar

Answer 9

If I were a rich man,
La la la la la la la la la la la la la.

If I was riding in my car,
La la la la la la la la la la la la la.

Answer 10

past and present tenses