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Is this sentence grammatically correct? "If I were a flower I would bloom" Or should it be "if I was"?

user15945
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1 Answers1

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The rule is, if your hypothetical scenario suggests your being something you're not (or something that isn't true), use were:

If I were stronger, I'd break your arm!

(I'm not stronger.)

If I were a flower, I'd go crazy!

(I'm not really a flower, though I've been called a pansy.)

If my room were clean, it would be a first.

(My room isn't clean.)

If it may be true, use was:

Is this answer was poorly constructed, it may have been due to the fact that I was really tired.

(It may be poorly written.)

The same rules apply to sentences with though:

He appears as though he were homeless.

(He's not homeless, yet.)

This is addressed, among other places, on pages 56-57 of my favorite reference book, "Woe Is I" by Patricia O' Conner.

Also supporting this explanation is rule 10 on subject/verb agreement at grammarbook.com.

Alternate views I hadn't known of before, like this, can be found but in my humble, unbiased opinion, the acceptance of was in place of were in false hypotheticals is limited to a colloquial environment, which encompasses an ever broadening scope of society. I could well be mistaken (I was once before), but I've seen no evidence of such. (Even the cited page still recommends the use of were in untrue "if" clauses.)

Kai Maxfield
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  • I know what you mean, but I think we should add that the less formal If I was a flower would also be possible and grammatically correct. This "was" has nothing to with past time; rather it is concerned with modality, a kind of meaning involving non-factuality, and hence is best referred to as a 'modal preterite'. – BillJ Feb 26 '16 at 09:12
  • @BillJ thanks for the input; according to the resources I have at my disposal, my position is accurate. As far as I'm aware, "If I was a flower..." doesn't work. If you know otherwise, perhaps an explanation with resources would be good to add here as well. See rule 10 at http://www.grammarbook.com/grammar/subjectVerbAgree.asp – Kai Maxfield Feb 26 '16 at 16:07
  • Hi Kai. Here's a link to a website in which one of the world's leading grammarians, Geoffrey Pullum, notes that If I was and If I were mean the same thing: link. Many people prefer "were", but most grammarians say "was" is also correct. – BillJ Feb 26 '16 at 17:11