Hello Everyone!
Reading a nice book Grammar Devotional, I have found a statement that I would consider contentious. I would be grateful for your opinion on the matter - would you consider "If I was" grammatical?Â
Thank you!Â
What's in the book seems fair. Â
A thing I don't understand is why people keep saying the English subjunctive is disappearing. It's not.
Yes, in some cases, "If I was" is grammatical.
Was I rude? I'm not sure that I really was. But if I was rude, I'm sorry.
I have never heard it explained. I knew that If I was was correct in certain circumstances but I would have been unable to explain it until I read your link. It sounds quite logical to me. I don't think, "If I were rude I'll make it up to you" sounds right at all.
After thinking about this a bit, I wonder if past and future may have something to do with which you use. It doesn't sound right to me if I said, "If I were a rich man last week, I would have given all my friends a hundred dollar bill," even though the whole idea is fantasy. Maybe it's my ear.
But my answer to your question is yes, in certain circumstances.
But Dick, wouldn't that be "If I'd been a rich man last week ..."?