What is the rule for wish I was, wish I were?
2006-09-29 01:07:55 · 19 answers · asked by chardonnay 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
Were; it's the subjunctive. The subjunctive mood expresses something that is contrary to fact, that is conditional, hypthetical, or purely imaginative; it can also express a wish, a doubt, or a possibility.
2006-09-29 01:17:47 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
OH I WISH I WERE AN OSCAR MEYER WEINER!!!
Was is past tense. Used in entirely wrong context here. If you put in was, you're saying something completely different than what you want to say, which is I wish I WERE a weiner!
2006-09-29 01:10:28 · answer #2 · answered by Holly 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I wish I were an oscar meyer weiner
2006-09-29 01:09:39 · answer #3 · answered by singleandback 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Oscar Meyer is incorrect. The verb is a form of "to be" in their statement. Since it is a possibility of which they speak, the verb is required to be in the past subjunctive, thus, "were."
Don't fault Oscar Meyer, though. There is a wireless company (I can't remember the name off-hand) whose current slogan is "Where you at?" Argh! Not only does this question lack a verb, but also ends in a preposition (very common error in this country using "at" at the end of a sentence redundantly to ask location). It all has to do with appealing to their target demographic, I suppose. That doesn't make it correct, though.
My teenage daughter calls me the "Grammar Nazi." LOL
2006-09-29 01:58:08 · answer #4 · answered by ? 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I wish i were an Oscar Meyer wiener that is what truely wish to be-e cause if i were an Oscar Meyer wiener everyone would be in love with me-e!!!!
2006-09-29 01:11:29 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
were is correct...since u never were an oscar meyer weiner
2006-09-29 02:57:09 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I wish i was an oscar myer wiener..... i dont now what the rule is but thats how the song goes!
2006-09-29 01:09:45 · answer #7 · answered by CrystalRose 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Strict grammarians or grammar books would say "were". But it's more commonly used as "was". If you want to be book-correct use "were", but if you want to sound more normal use "was". I use "were" because I'm an English teacher, that's how I learned it in the book ;P
2006-09-29 10:06:27 · answer #8 · answered by Earthling 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I wish I were...... but WHY would anyone truly want to be a hotdog so everyone would be in love with them? I think that's sad.
2006-09-29 01:19:59 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
WERE is the correct answer, its playing the commericial now on tv :)
2006-09-29 01:24:02 · answer #10 · answered by Billie 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋