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Oct 3, 2022 · Updated on October 3, 2022 Sentences. The correct choice between was and were in an if clause depends on whether you’re using an unreal conditional sentence, also known as a hypothetical sentence. But how do you know if you’re dealing with an unreal conditional sentence?
Oct 27, 2007 · In general, you use the indicative (is, was, am) if and only if you are indicating that a statement or hypothesis is true, and the subjunctive if you are not making a judgement about a statements truth value, or - by not indicating that it is true - implying that it is not true.
1 Answer. Sorted by: -1. "If it was not for", indicative, implies a certitude. "Napoléon was certain to win at Waterloo, if it wasn't not for unexpected heavy rains and his canons stuck in the mud". "If it were not for", subjunctive, express a doubt.
May 8, 2023 · Chances are, you’re familiar with one difference between was and were: the fact that was is the first- and third-person singular past tense form of the verb to be, while were is the second-person singular past and the plural past form of to be.
Jan 19, 2020 · Whenever we’re talking about something that isn’t a reality at the moment, we discard “was” and choose “were” instead. It doesn’t matter whether we are referring to a single person or a group of people. As soon as we cross the border between reality and speculation, “were” is the only word to choose.
Mar 28, 2024 · Understanding the subject-verb agreement rules and distinguishing between singular and plural usage of “wasn’t” and “weren’t” significantly enhances your overall grammar skills, enabling you to communicate more effectively and confidently in English.
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A clause introduced by if may express a simple condition relating to the past and take the indicative form of the verb. For example, in "If Allan was there, he was drunk," the if clause introduces a supposition, hence a verb in the indicative mood.
