Don't worry - the number of people (native speakers) who say "If I was" instead of "If I were" is very high. If you said "It's the subjunctive, so you need 'were'" they would look at you as if you had

" If it be a sin to work hard then i am a sinner." Why do we use " be" instead of " is" in the sentence ? In mathematical problems why do we say "if x be a prime number and y be an odd number ".Why don't

The wine cup is the little silver well where truth, if truth there be , doth dwell . Get a man drunk if you want to know what he's really like. Shakespeare is picturing wine being served in a silver cup. well is metaphoric for anything deep

Are those correct? Yes. Is it called "subjunctive"? Yes. Do we use only with some expressions and verbs? Yes. Can I say: She does not insist that he talk to her boss. Yes. CJ

It is recommended that she talk to her boss. The police officer demands that he open his suitcase. Are those correct? Is it called "subjunctive"? In what situation do we use it? Do we use only with some expressions and verbs

It would helpful to use those words in a sentence: (1) If I WERE the president (of course, I AM not), I WOULD always be serious, honest, and conscientious. (2) If I WAS rude yesterday (perhaps I WAS), I now wish to apologize to you.

The official past subjenctive of be is were in all grammatical persons. However, in informal style was is common in 1st and 3rd person singular. CB

why is it if I were instead if I was

"If you knew what I had gone through, you would surely pity me." Don't listen to these people. You can change it to "have" because only the first verb has to be in the subjunctive mood. The verb "knew" is

... why can't we put it after It's a pity as a subject (subjunctive?) clause to say the party would have been enjoyable if you attended, which is advisable? No. The meaning doesn't come across the way you envision it. Once you have the