'If I was' - is this incorrect?

[Hamishbear]

'If I was' - am I correct in thinking this should always be 'If I were'?

So therefore Midge Ure is incorrect in calling his song 'If I was' it should have been 'if I were'? That will date me :)

Just discussing with someone who tells me I am incorrect?

Off you pop

I think it's were if it can't be true because it's not possible and was if it could be

so - if I were 21 again... If I were you...

or if I was slimmer...

If that makes any sense

Thanks,

It's 'if I were', because it's the subjuctive tense.

There's a secondary tense called Conditional Tense. We were taught it at grammar school. Most of us say, "If I were you ...."

If there is a 'condition' in the sentence (if, whether, unless, I wish etc) it should be 'were'.

If I were you
If I were to explain it, you would understand
Unless you were to give ....
Whether I not I were to address the problem ....

.. as in the more grammatically correct 'If I were a rich man'. yadda dabble dabble dabble dubble daa

It should be were but was is also now accepted usage.

It is most definitely "if I were..." but I have noticed that even some well spoken individuals are now resorting to "if I was..." (though I certainly would not recommend it).

I thought it was If I was

If I were slimmer.

It should be, 'if I were' but there are much worse crimes against grammar. At least you didn't say, 'you was...' That makes me cringe inside.

I'll go and join frustrated in pedantic corner now.

I stand corrected.

I have always separated them by 'can it happen'? yes = was no = were.

I had thought this was a rule, but apparently it's one I've made up myself

Weirdly I was just thinking of this this morning, and it was also the Midge Ure song that drew my attention to it back in the day. No one uses it though.

It essentially depends if you would prefer to take a prescriptive view of grammar (ie what you read in grammar books is a reflection of 'correct English' and you should therefore follow the advice contained therein), or a descriptive view (ie grammar books simply reflect and describe the way English is spoken by a majority of people, and there is no single overall 'correct English'). Those who like the former would go for 'I I were', and if you fancy the latter you would be in favour of 'If I was'. The vast majority of people in the UK today use 'If I was', and a small minority - most of whom listen to Radio 4 - look down their noses at it.

PS I listen to Radio 4 :) but rather sit on the fence with this issue. Unlike the fewer/less debacle, which makes me shudder.

I would say 'if i were you' but i'd also say 'if i was standing over there'... hmm... wonder if there's a difference.. off to google..

Sometimes, "if I was" is correct, if it refers to something that may or may not have happened.

As in: "If I was being rude, then I apologise".

"If I were" refers to the fact that I am not. It's an expression of an altered state of being / something that's not real - "if I were slimmer", "if I were a rich man", "if I were you". (Hecate - that's the case whether it's possible you might be in that altered state one day, or impossible...).

It's a quirk of this particular instance of the Second Conditional:

Zero Conditional: It's true every time - present tense in the condition, present tense in the result (If you heat water to 100 degrees, it boils)

First Conditional: The probable/possible future - present tense in the condition, future tense in the result (If we finish on time, I'll be home by 6pm)

Second Conditional: The improbable/imaginary present or future - past tense in the condition, would+infinitive in the result (If I won the lottery, I would buy a big house)

Third Conditional: The imaginary past that didn't happen - past perfect in the condition, would + present perfect in the result (If I had been there, I would have seen there)

Normally we never say "I were x" we'd say "I was x" (ie "I were at the cinema earlier, sounds incorrect). But for some reason, in this particular instance of the second conditional, we often say "if I was you". It's more of a grammatical quirk than a hard and fast rule.

At least that's how I teach it to my ESL students. I am not a linguistic expert though!

I would have seen *him

I have drunk too much wine this evening. I shouldn't attempt any kind of grammatical teachings in this state.

we often say "if I WERE you"...

Get some wine, it might become more clear.

Never ever occurred to me before!

Still not as annoying as the Paul McCartney one though..

"If I were" is in the subjunctive tense.