When to Use the Subjunctive - Grammar Tips from Prompt Proofing

    VANCOUVER, BC, November 01, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- When to use the subjunctive:

"I'd be safe and warm /
If I was in L.A."
(California Dreamin' - Mammas and Pappas)

Well, no. Great song but it's grammatically incorrect - many popular songs are of course.

In this case the singer is not in Los Angeles but some place with a decidedly more wintry climate. Therefore the subjunctive case is needed.

"I'd be safe and warm /
If I were in L.A."

Fiddler on the Roof, on the other hand, has it correct:

"If I were a rich man..."

Clearly the singer thinks he has little chance of ever being rich so, again, the subjunctive is appropriate.

In simple terms, use the subjunctive when you are considering what would happen if things were different from how they actually are.

Therefore:

If I were you. (I am clearly NOT you.)

I would marry him if only he were younger. (Obviously he is not - and can never be - younger.)

So when is it correct to use 'I/she/he/it was'? Whenever there is a possibility that it could be so.

For example:

If she was so overworked, she should have asked for assistance. (It is quite likely - though not certain - that she was, in fact, overworked.)

Using the subjunctive correctly can change the meaning, sometimes quite subtly:

If John were the best candidate, they would have hired him. (But he wasn't the best candidate.)

Compare:

If John was the best candidate then I know they will have hired him. (We do not know for sure but John could well be the best candidate.)

Check back next month for more grammar tips.

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