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What is the correct use of 'were' and 'was' in an imaginary sentence such as:

''If I were to go biking I would be tired.''

How is this different from the sentences below:

If I go biking I will be tired, or If I bike, I get tired.

Does a sentence such as ''If I was to go biking, I would be tired'' make more sense?

John Lawler
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  • "Were" and "was" are interchangeable. This "were" is called the 'irrealis' mood form, an untidy relic of an earlier system, unique to "be", and limited to the 1st and 3rd person singular. "Were" is somewhat more formal than "was", and some speakers usually, if not always, use preterite "was" instead. – BillJ May 04 '21 at 19:00
  • All of the sentences you give are grammatical, all of them make sense, and all of them can describe the same situation, though they don't all mean quite the same things. Oh, and it doesn't matter whether you use were or was in this construction. – John Lawler May 04 '21 at 21:20
  • Your first sentence is a hypothesis, your second a prediction. – Kate Bunting May 05 '21 at 07:30

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