Was or were?
Was and were are the past tenses of the verb ‘to be’.
We usually use ‘was’ with the pronoun ‘I’:
...
Was and were are the past tenses of the verb ‘to be’.
We usually use ‘was’ with the pronoun ‘I’:
...
‘I was outside in the garden when you called.’
‘I was so happy to see her at my party.’
The exception is when we are talking about a fantasy, or imagined situation. We call this the ‘past subjunctive mood.’ We use ‘I were’ when talking about a wish or an imagined possibility like these:
‘I wish I were going on holiday too.’
‘If I were going, I would spend all my time on the beach!’
‘If I were you, I would complain about that noisy dog next door.’
You will notice that many English speakers get this wrong, and it's now very common to hear 'I wish I was...', which is becoming increasingly accepted.
‘I was so happy to see her at my party.’
The exception is when we are talking about a fantasy, or imagined situation. We call this the ‘past subjunctive mood.’ We use ‘I were’ when talking about a wish or an imagined possibility like these:
‘I wish I were going on holiday too.’
‘If I were going, I would spend all my time on the beach!’
‘If I were you, I would complain about that noisy dog next door.’
You will notice that many English speakers get this wrong, and it's now very common to hear 'I wish I was...', which is becoming increasingly accepted.
