When to use was versus were

When to use was versus were English can be difficult, especially when it comes to words that can be easily confused. A couple of examples would be who vs whom and further vs farther. Another combo that can get confusing is was vs were. There are several reasons why you might be struggling to decide whether you should be using was or were in a sentence. The simplest of these is the conjugation of the singular and plural forms of the past tense of to be. While this can cause minor problems to those learning English as a second language as they study, first language English speakers usually have few problems with this. The most common cause of debate and confusion is the use of were instead of was in the subjunctive mood (Well explain that below if you arent sure what subjunctive mood is.). Well cover both past and subjunctive mood topics in this article, and youll soon see just how simple it all is. Singular and Plural As weve observed, this is the easiest of the choices you need to make, but it also gives rise to the problems that so many people have when they begin to use the subjunctive mood. Singular: I was, he was, she was, it was BUT you were. (Just to make things more fun!) Plural: Its always were, regardless of whether were talking about they, we or you. So far, so easy! But now well examine how this relates to one of the most common errors in spoken or written English: the choice of was instead of were in the subjunctive mood. If I were / was a rich man the famous subjunctive mood The subjunctive mood is used to describe or speculate on a hypothetical situation, and youll hear people using both was and were in this context. But only one of these is correct. Whenever were talking about something that isnt a reality at the moment, we discard was and choose were instead. It doesnt matter whether we are referring to a single person or a group of people. As soon as we cross the border between reality and speculation, were is the only word to choose. For example I was rich and I owned a house at the seaside. If I were rich, I would have owned a house at the seaside. He was the captain of the team and he chose a different strategy. If he were captain of the team, he would have chosen a different strategy. In each of the pairs of sentences above, the first one refers to something that actually happened in the past, and the word was is the correct choice. The second sentence is a wish or a speculation it refers to an event that did not actually happen, and were is the correct choice. They were the winning team, so they celebrated their victory. If they were the winning team, they would celebrate their victory. As we can see, the subjunctive mood doesnt result in any change in word choice in this example. No matter how many people you are referring to, the subjunctive mood calls for the word were. If youve been prone to saying the incorrect I wish I was, If he was or I wish she was instead of the correct I wish I were, If he were or I wish she were, it will be easy to make the necessary adaptation and correct your grammar. Look out for the subjunctive mood. As soon as something is a wish or a hypothetical (if) situation, you will always choose were over was. Its a common grammar mistake. In spoken as well as written English, youll find that just about everyone from plumbers to presidents is guilty of this mistake. Of course, when presidents make this error, those who know better will laugh at them, so if youre hoping that what you say will be taken seriously, its worth learning when to use were instead of was. After all, once you understand the basic rules, its quite easy.