Help with English,please.Which sentence is correct and why?

Question

If it was up to you would you...?or
If it were up...?

I got bashed for this
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AnbaJSVUVRoscrglPKhsD9QgBgx.;_ylv=3?qid=20071230132242AAhACyL

Answer 1

If it were up to you, would you.....?


The reason is that this question is in the subjuntive mood, requiring a speculative answer. Subjunctive is used for doubt, advice, persuasion, etc., but we don't really use it correctly very often in English. We certainly don't study about it, as I did for French and Spanish. Here is a site you can reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subjunctive_mood

You can see the answer to your situation in the lower right two boxes of the table on that webpage:

The past indicative is "It was"
The past subjunctive is "It were"
Your question is subjunctive (it were) because of the first word IF, indicating "possibility." If the question were to be factual, rather than possible, you would need to use the indicative mood (it was).

I have to admit however, that we are VERY casual about the subjunctive, and most of us don't even know when we're using it or not. Everday conversation could use either of your examples (even though "were" is the only correct usage). You can see this by the other answers here, which truly reflect what people use colloquially in the US.

Answer 2

Mimii gave you a beautiful answer. She is 100% correct.

Sadly, the use of the subjunctive is in serious decline and in another 50 years or so I expect that "was" will be considered correct usage. Most people don't know when to use the subjunctive or are even aware that it exists. Just see how many people told you "was" is correct. No native speaker of English should ever have given that answer. Yes, it is commonly used, but in error. Colloquial English may be spoken that way, but a higher standard is expected for written English.

What really irks me it that I have seen it written in many novels incorrectly, which indicates to me that even the editors and publishers have relaxed their standards when it comes to the written word. Or maybe it is that they themselves do not know any better. Either way, this is one of the first steps toward making it an acceptable (as in correct) use.

Your user ID is hilarious! Thanks so much for the laugh.

Answer 3

Mimii has the correct answer.

I would have just given a thumbs up to her answer, but sadly I am new here and only a level 1

p.s. that dude who nitpicked at your grammatical error must just have a field day on message boards ;)

cheers

Answer 4

If it were. It is a rarely understood and rarely used correctly, I might add example of the subjunctive in English. (most of the time, you just don´t notice it, because the forms have evolved to look the same as the indicative).

Answer 5

"Were" is technically correct, but "was" is much more common.
Do you mean the one answer about a Grammar section? That's hardly a bash.

Answer 6

It would help if you added the end of the sentence.It could actually be both considering what you're talking about,such as, if it WAS up to ME I would... or if it WERE up to YOU...it all depends on if you're talking about yourself or if you were referring to someone else.

Answer 7

If it were because were is conditional. Was is past tense, indicating it was already up to you.

Answer 8

i do not think it matters i would go up to ppl and say ethier one and maybe see if they correct u

Answer 9

I believe it is "If it WAS up to you...?" because "it" is singular and "was" would be the singular form of the verb.

Example: You wouldn't say, "It were a great movie."
You would say, "It was a great movie."

Answer 10

were...cause it sounds correct and it is the correct form