What is the difference between "were" and "have been", and are these sentences gramatically correct? 1) some of the best known writers of detective fiction in the twentieth century were women.

Jun 19, 2022 · I learned from many sources that as if it were is accepted by all native English speakers. And as if it was is widely used, especially informally. But is the simple present indicative accepted as ...

Technically, you should use 'were'. You are correct that the sentence is subjunctive because of the indefiniteness introduced by 'as though'. The subjunctive takes the plural form of the past tense of 'to …

Were -ing (past continuous of BE) is used to situations which were happening at a special time in the past and none hypothetical, it is more direct, not imaginative.

Nov 5, 2014 · That is, both "were to" (using the irrealis "were") and "was to" (using a past-tense verb) would usually be interchangeable in a sentence structured similar to yours, but that would be if the …

Apr 19, 2020 · Yes, but despite what you may have read, "I wish I were rich" is not a subjunctive clause. The subjunctive is a clause type that uses the plain form of the verb, as in "It is vital that I be kept …

But I cannot rule out the possibility that Indian English—and specifically Indian Political English—has evolved this usage of were to precisely in order to express firmness and caution in the same …

The usage of something like Were you vs. Weren't you for an example: You were going to talk to Michael, (were you/weren't you)? In the sentence above, which makes sense grammatically? And if b...

Apr 26, 2017 · "If + were" expresses the subjunctive mood, which refers to wishes and desires and is known as a "non-factual" mood. If you're mentioning a possibility or a probability, a chance that …

Jan 17, 2017 · Were you able to attend the meeting yesterday? Is used as the standard question. Could you... Tends to be used for things that are going to happen in the future, for example Could you …