And the other nice on here that can speak english properly 😉
What is the rule when I say:
If I were/was ?
I always use:
If I were you
If I was him

But during various chats or posts on here I came across:
If I was you?

Which one is correct

Thanks

I personally would use “If I were you/him” which I think is correct and more formal. However, I doubt anyone would object to “If I was you/him” but my feeling would be that it was more colloquial.

In my opinion it also depends on context, is it in speech or writing?

I would say “If I were you/him” as well.

thanks girls 😀
*/blow kiss/*

For spoken english, these days it seems to lean towards “If I were…” but technically, I would have thought it should be “If I were you” but “If I was him/her” and obviously “If I were..” for “them” for written. I’m a little confused over which part of the sentence to which the verb should agree though…if you see what I mean.

dacry yes I though it was
If I were you
If I was him but couldn’t quite make it as a lot of people use to say if I were him.

I were a bit slow there weren’t I?

dezb see I would have said “I was a bit slow

I would have thought it should be “If I were you” but “If I was him/her”

no, the ‘were’ is subjunctive (I think) and does not change for the person of the object. The verb goes with the subject. This is different to past tense I was, we were, with the additional complication that English is so formal we don’t use ‘thou’ and ‘you’ is always notionally plural 🙂

juan – Member
dezb see I would have said “I was a bit slow

Sorry, yes, I was being silly.

ARGGGGGGGGGGGGg
dezb FFS don’t you think I have enough trouble without you taking the piss 😉

Ahh, that’s what Dez does best!

I am not helped…
People I know and what they do best…
WCA show off and crash so not much on the bike
Peterpoddy eat cake so can eat
Dezb take the piss so cant be trusted
Rudeboy talk another language so I cant comprehend him

Oh dear jezus mother of gods 😉

You ponce!

Rudeboy talk another language so I cant comprehend him

Cheeky git. When you can learn to speak proper like what I does, then, and only then, may be free to criticise.

I fear, Juan, that the real problem lies in your difficulty in interfacing wih my vernacular, rather than me no speak propply.

innit, like.

I’m sorry, I’d always assumed English wasn’t RudeBoy‘s first language, which was why he was able to get away with such atrocities as “is not” without being kicked into insensibility ?

And the other nice on here that can speak english properly

juan by “griz” I hope you didn’t mean me 😯 …….. if you did, you were having a laugh, right ? 😕

‘Cause I think it would be stretching things considerably to suggest that I can ‘speak english properly’ !
I got about grade 4 CSE english and I’m lucky if I can manage to pronounce half of the ‘big words’ which I use on here – knowing what they actually ‘mean’ is something of a bonus …..

Still, you’re a foreigner so I guess you weren’t to know 😉

I once received a PM from Rudeboy which was one of the most perfectly constructed and cleverly written pieces of English language I have ever read.

The “coodnt”, “Yerp”, “is not” carry-on is just an act.

Oh, and Juan, I would say “If I were you..”

Rudeboy’s a Lunduner, so English is obviously not his first language…
(runs, hides in deep hole, pulls it in after him).
Trouble is, Juan, that English, outside of its formal structure, is a very flexible and adaptable language that readily absorbs words from many other languages, plus there are distinctive regional variations in speech that are reflected in the written form, plus it’s very idiomatic, which makes it a real bugger for poor non-English speakers attempting to learn it. It’s not as bad as Japanese, though. Or Hungarian, Finnish or Irish. 🙂

The “coodnt”, “Yerp”, “is not” carry-on is just an act.

you think we didn’t know that ?

Blimey.

Well, thank you, Foxy Chick! What a nice thing to say! I’m really flattered by that!

And yes, of course it’s an act. I think you’d need to be a bit dim, to think I’m incapable of using ‘correct’ English!

I do enjoy playing around a bit, with words. My favourite poem is Jabberwocky. I don’t think anyone could accuse Lewis Carrol of lacking language skills! I love colloquialisms, and dialectical differences. I once had a fascinating chat with the actress/comedienne Josey Lawrence, about how different regional accents are perceived, and the stereotyping that goes with this (thieving Scousers, Drunken Scotsmen, thick Brummies/Irishmen, devious Cockneys, etc).

I think it’s very important, to master the language that you speak. I do find bad grammar annoying, as it shows that some people have been taught badly/been too lazy to learn.

People should play around with language. I like slang, although I really, really hate txt spk, and the laziness of some young people, in their use of language. I find some of their ‘street’ slang quite funny, and sometimes just a bit cringeworthy. But it’s good that people can express their own identity in the way they communicate. That’s why I butcher words.

Oh, and I know it really, really annoys some people. Just makes me want to do it even more.

Watch this: Oi, Barnes, what dijical cam you go then, mate?

Bless Juan; he’s very proudly ‘French’, but he makes a real effort, to understand our language. He’s a very intelligent lad, too, and it’s pissed me off a few times, when people have sneered at him, for his use of English. At least he’s trying. Good luck to him.

Yeah. Language is plasticene. Let’s play.

Is there anything worse than someone who bangs on about adoring the language and mastering it, then finding it both big and clever to butcher it as an act? ‘Mastering’ a language then playing the part of someone less able is a bit of a tedious act. IMHO of course.

Now normally to find the correct use of the English language you have to ask the Scots; which means as a Frenchman you are at no clear disadvantage to those living in in the Scottish colony south of the Tweed.

In this case the verb as mentioned earlier agrees with the subject and therefore it is “I was”. However, English being English, if it sounds right and communicates well then it is generally acceptable; so if “I were” sounds better (which it generally doesn’t, but arguably in this case it does) then it is acceptable. That doesn’t make it correct; but it’s not incorrect.

Of course I’m an engineer and therefore barred from making any comment on any language.

Iain

Griz yes I mean you. You might have had poor marks at your GCCE but I find all your post to reflect a big intellect and eloquence, although you do use swearing a lot.

Swearing is **** ace!!!

TooTall; If you find it tedious, then don’t read it.

Woon’t it be really boring, if we all spoke exactly the same?

And yes, swearing is ****ing brilliant!

Jojo I concur as far as it’s done with your lovely accent 😉

“I were” sounds better

it sounds better because it’s right 🙂 As I said above, it’s the subjunctive, not the past, but by coincidence the same word is used. When you say “If I were you”, it’s not specifically past, present or future, but hypothetical

there some stuff on Wiki about the subjunctive, but I find it more confusing than helpful 🙁

As in “If I were” is called past subjunctive, but does not imply in the past 😐

One can’t help reading it when it is plastered all over the forum like a mad woman’s poo.

What, like a Dirty Protest?

RudeBoy = The Bobby Sands of STW?

tootall/rudeboy play nicely please

“I were” sounds better

it sounds better because it’s right As I said above, it’s the subjunctive, not the past, but by coincidence the same word is used. When you say “If I were you”, it’s not specifically past, present or future, but hypothetical

there some stuff on Wiki about the subjunctive, but I find it more confusing than helpful

As in “If I were” is called past subjunctive, but does not imply in the past

Hmmm. Read the Wiki bit and I’d agree not entirely helpful. I’m drifting towards the conclusion the the correct form (and I tend to disagree with the concept of correct english – some of the best english breaking ever convention going – though I still prefer Kerouac’s stuff when he used punctuation and Joyce is right out of here) depends on what you mean.

Anyway if langauge is about communication and it succeeds in doing so then is it not correctby definition – anything else is posturing (see my earlier post for plenty of that).

I’m drifting towards the conclusion the the correct form … depends on what you mean.

well, duuuh, yes, of course :o)

there some stuff on Wiki about the subjunctive, but I find it more confusing than helpful

As a Froggy, Wan should already know all about the subjunctive, n’est-ce pas?

As a Froggy, Wan should already know all about the subjunctive,

how so ? Just because they have it too doesn’t imply they understand its use any better…

juan – Member
Griz yes I mean you. You might have had poor marks at your GCCE but I find all your post to reflect a big intellect and eloquence, although you do use swearing a lot.

juan, you are obviously confusing me being correct on most matters, which I won’t deny is absolutely true 😉 with me being some sort of highly educated intellectual, which is absolute nonsense…… I really am a semi-educated foul-mouth geezer from Croydon 😯

As far as the swearing is concerned, I’ve cut out all that bollox since some **** grassed me up to the mods a couple of weeks ago and I was banned for two days. Still, I won’t deny that I do swear too much. The problem is that without making eye contact I forget just how posh and sensitive some of the punters on here are. Which kinda makes me think that despite my best efforts, it’s just a countdown ’til my next ban 😐

‘Mastering’ a language then playing the part of someone less able is a bit of a tedious act.

Tootall – I think mastery of language is an ability, rather than a knowledge of what is correct standard English. That mastery can be displayed through use of impeccable standard English, but there are many other ways of showing it.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but it sounds like you equate non-standard use with a lack of ability. Your saying ‘playing the part of someone less able’ is what makes me think that.

simonfbarnes – Member

well, duuuh,

Now slow down a second. What I mean is…

“If I was there last night, I have no recollection of it.”

“If I were you, I’d start remembering fast.”

I think they are both correct, even taking the almighty Wiki into account, so it depends or your meaning, or if you prefer the context. And the original post asks if there is a rule; not which form to use in which context.

Now go take some photos.

Iain