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Lesson: using were in the past subjunctive mood

Subjunctive is difficult even for most native English speakers, mainly because it's not a tense; it's a mood. Past, present, future-those are tenses. We use them to tell what happened at a certain point in time. Moods, however, tell how a speaker feels about those events.

Have you ever heard a sentence starting with "If I were you"? That's subjunctive (past subjunctive, to be exact). And past subjunctive with the word were is what we are going to talk about today.

When to use subjunctive
Before you learn how to use it correctly, you have to know when to use it.
You would use subjunctive when you want to express wishes or desires.

Example: I wish you were here.

You would also use subjunctive to express that conditions are false or unlikely.

Example: If I were rich, I would buy a golden toilet.

Was = a common mistake
Because subjunctive is so confusing, it's common to hear people say was when they should say were.

Have you heard sentences like this before:

It would be nice if she was on vacation.
If I was her, I would dump that loser.
If he was president, he would order Ice Cream Fridays.

In each of these sentences, was should be were. The first sentence expresses a desire ("It would be nice . . ."), and the second and third sentences express false or unlikely conditions. I can't be her, so that is a false condition. Also he is unlikely to be president, so that is an unlikely condition.

Key words and phrases
One way to figure out if you should use were instead of was is to listen for key words and phrases. Here are some giveaways that you should use subjunctive and were:

I wish that . . .
It would be nice if . . .
I would like it if . . .
It would be wonderful if . . .
It would be super amazing and totally awesome if . . .

As you can see, the above phrases all express wishes and desires. That's a big clue that you're dealing with subjunctive.

Another clue is if there is an if/then construction:

If I were you, then I would eat a million donuts.
If I were her, then I would ride a tricycle.
If I were him, then I would be the best drag queen.

But-there won't always be a then with this construction. Sometimes, it is just implied, as with this example:

If I were a cat, I would step on my owner's keyboard to piss her off while she's trying to work.

You can note, though, that the construction is essentially the same.
Remember . . . if you are expressing wishes or desires or conditions that are false or unlikely, use were instead of was.
Quiz
This quiz mixes up past tense (was) with subjunctive (were). Use the skills you've learned today to determine if the sentence would use was or were. The answers are at the bottom.

1. If I _______ Mary, I would wear a lot of blue eye shadow.

2. When I _______ seven years old, I grew a third arm.

3. It would be fantastic if she _______ a superhero.

4. I _______ terrible at math, and I still am.

5. If I _______ a rockstar, my band name would be Dottie and The Ellipses.

Answers: 1. were (false condition) 2. was (past tense) 3. were (wish/desire) 4. was (past tense) 5. were (unlikely condition)

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"If I were you" and other subjunctive stumpers

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Lesson: using were in the past subjunctive mood Subjunctive is difficult even for most native English speakers, mainly because it's not a tense; it's a mood. Past, present, future-those are tenses. We use them to tell what happened at a certain point in time. Moods, however, tell how a speaker feels about those events.

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that Joe is doing ("running" is a gerund, and "Joe's" modifies that verbal). Usually, almost always in fact, we use the possessive form of a noun or pronoun to modify a gerund. Possessives with Gerunds :

Possessive forms are frequently modifiers for verb forms used as nouns, or gerunds. Using the possessive will affect how we read the sentence. For instance, "I'm worried about Joe running in the park after dark" means that I'm worried about Joe and the fact that he runs in the park after dark (the word "running" is a present participle modifying Joe). On the other hand, "I'm worried about Joe's running in the park after dark" puts the emphasis on the

running

Do we say "I can't stand him singing in the shower," or do we say "I can't stand his singing in the shower"? Well, you have to decide what you find objectionable: is it him, the fact that he is singing in the shower, or is it the singing that is being done by him that you can't stand? Chances are, it's the latter, it's the singing that belongs to him that bugs you. So we would say, "I can't stand his singing in the shower."

On the other hand, do we say "I noticed your standing in the alley last night"? Probably not, because it's not the action that we noticed; it's the person. So we'd say and write, instead, "I noticed you standing in the alley last night." Usually, however, when a noun or pronoun precedes a gerund, that noun or pronoun takes a possessive form. This is especially true of formal, academic writing.

There are exceptions to this. (What would the study of language be without exceptions?)

When the noun preceding the gerund is modified by other words, use the common form of that noun, not the possessive.

1. Federico was pleased by Carlos, his oldest son, making the Dean's List for the first time.

When the noun preceding the gerund is plural, collective, or abstract, use the common form of that noun, not the possessive.

1. Professor Villa was amazed by her students working as hard as they did.

2. The class working collaboratively was somebody else's idea.

3. It was a case of old age getting the better of them.

There are certain situations in which the possessive and the gerund create an awkward combination. This seems to be particularly true when indefinite pronouns are involved.

1. I was shocked by somebody's making that remark.

This would be greatly improved by saying, instead . . .

2. I was shocked that somebody would make that remark.

This is also true when the "owner" of the gerund comes wrapped in a noun phrase:

I was thankful for the guy next door shoveling snow from my driveway.

Related Links :
Possessives with Gerunds

Possessives versus Adjectival Labels

Possessives of Plurals

Irregular Plurals

Holidays Showing Possession

Compound Possessives

Possessives Constructions

Compound Constructions

Possessives with Appositive Forms

Double Possessives

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Possessives with Gerunds : English Glossary

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that Joe is doing ("running" is a gerund, and "Joe's" modifies that verbal). Usually, almost always in fact, we use the possessive form of a noun or pronoun to modify a gerund. Possessives with Gerunds : Possessive forms are frequently modifiers for verb forms used as nouns, or gerunds.

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The gerund looks exactly the same as a present participle, but it is useful to understand the difference between the two. The gerund always has the same function as a noun (although it looks like a verb). Some uses of the gerund are covered on this page.