insisting on "were" in "if" constructions is a prescriptivist rule, and certainly some grammarians would tell you that "if I was" is incorrect, but no linguist ever would. The fact is, the subjunctive mood (if I were..) has been dwindling in use for hundreds of years - it's used mostly in high-class prescriptivist dialects and in formal writing.
Ha! Glad to hear this. Both my brother and I object strongly to "if I was", which after some thought I decided was because it is an example of some "invisible" tense.
Subjunctive mood, you say... Ah, yet another tense I love and use (albeit in an ignorant and lonely sort of way).
Totally forgot: "If I was" sounds wretched to my ears. Proscriptive grammarians can generally go fuck themselves, but I reserve the right to find some constructions *ugly*.
by all means, find it ugly %) I think the subjunctive mood is really interesting, and I'm not sure whether I use it in if constructions (now that i'm thinking about it, it's impossible to get an accurate sample).
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Subjunctive mood, you say... Ah, yet another tense I love and use (albeit in an ignorant and lonely sort of way).
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are you free next sunday for an imbolc bonfire?
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