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SFX Magazine had declared the sentence below as follow: 1) STAR TURN, 2) BEST LINES.

  • I wish Bernard Cribbins was my grandad. Perhaps he would be willing to adopt?

  • Rattigan: “If only that was possible.”
    The Doctor: “If only that were possible. Conditional clause.”

Is 'was' after 'I wish', 'if only' and 'if' (in conditional clauses) colloquial?

Does it be used in formal speech and writing?

  • Wrong? I don't understand. What is wrong with them? – Matt E. Эллен Apr 01 '12 at 19:27
  • @Matt - It is what I ask to me. Something is wrong because the sentences are reported (SFX Magazine) in an article that give verdicts ironically. –  Apr 01 '12 at 19:32
  • @Matt Эллен - After Irene's answer, I have rephrased the question. Now it is more consistent. –  Apr 01 '12 at 19:55
  • As an aside, the irony in the lines you cite doesn't lie in any grammatical mistake. In the first one the joke is that people can't adopt grandchildren, although he wishes they could. In the second one I believe the fact that a correct sentence is corrected in a pedantic manner constitutes the funny part. – Irene Apr 01 '12 at 20:13
  • @Irene - You are so kind! What do you think of rephrased question? Is it more consistent for you, at least? –  Apr 01 '12 at 20:40
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    Related – tchrist Jul 22 '19 at 23:55

1 Answers1

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There's nothing wrong with the sentences you write. Some people (I believe teachers among them) consider the use of the form was after I wish, if only and if (in conditional clauses) colloquial and claim that it shouldn't be used in formal speech and writing. They claim that the "correct" form to use is were. The language, however, has its own dynamics and is used regardless of the rules imposed.

Kit Johnson
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Irene
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    What 'some people . . . teachers among them' never seem to realise is that rules are derived from the way language is used, and not the other way round. – Barrie England Apr 01 '12 at 20:05
  • No doubt true, but I wish there were consistent rules about the subjunctive (derived from the way language is currently used) so that I could gleefully break them. – Zan700 Jul 05 '17 at 00:15
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    I find it more gleeful to break rules that are inconsistent, but to each their own. – John Lawler Aug 31 '18 at 22:58