What is the difference between "were" and "have been", and are these sentences gramatically correct? 1) some of the best known writers of detective fiction in the twentieth century were women.

May 13, 2016 · From other's conversation,I found out they mentioned I was and sometimes they also mentioned I were. Is there any rules for I was/were?

Jun 19, 2022 · I learned from many sources that as if it were is accepted by all native English speakers. And as if it was is widely used, especially informally. But is the simple present indicative accepted as ...

Nov 5, 2014 · That is, both "were to" (using the irrealis "were") and "was to" (using a past-tense verb) would usually be interchangeable in a sentence structured similar to yours, but that would be if the …

Sep 24, 2023 · (A) He talks about his wife as if she WERE an angel descended from heaven. (B) He talks about his wife as if she WAS an angel descended from heaven.

Technically, you should use 'were'. You are correct that the sentence is subjunctive because of the indefiniteness introduced by 'as though'. The subjunctive takes the plural form of the past tense of 'to …

Apr 26, 2017 · "If + were" expresses the subjunctive mood, which refers to wishes and desires and is known as a "non-factual" mood. If you're mentioning a possibility or a probability, a chance that …

Were -ing (past continuous of BE) is used to situations which were happening at a special time in the past and none hypothetical, it is more direct, not imaginative.

We was is not standard English, it is used in some regional dialects: The verb 'to be' has two simple past forms in Standard English - I/he/she/it was and you/we/they were. Apart from the special case of you, …

But I cannot rule out the possibility that Indian English—and specifically Indian Political English—has evolved this usage of were to precisely in order to express firmness and caution in the same …