If I Was vs. If I Were

If I Was vs. If I Were If I Was vs. If I Were If I Was vs. If I Were By Maeve Maddox In 1964, when Sheldon Harnick wrote the lyrics for the musical Fiddler on the Roof, he had the poverty-stricken Russian milkman Tevye sing â€Å"If I were a rich man.† In 1992, affluent rock star Bon Jovi sang â€Å"If I was your mother,† but then in 2008, Beyoncà © sang â€Å"If I were a boy.† Clearly, both forms persist in popular usage. Curious to see how the two constructions compare in the world of pop music, I searched a site called ReverbNation. According to the search results, â€Å"If I Was† and† If I Were† as song titles are tied at â€Å"over 500 songs† each. According to linguist Geoffrey Pullum, co-author of the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (CGEL), there’s no significant difference between using was or were in what the CGEL calls â€Å"the irrealis form of the copula.† (A copula is what linguists call a word that links subject and predicate. Irrealis is unreal.) In Pullum’s view, both â€Å"if I was† and â€Å"if I were† mean the same thing in such a statement. A web search will bring up both acceptance and rejection of the â€Å"if I was† construction. Merriam-Webster illustrates its discussion of the usage by pointing out that F. Scott Fitzgerald used both forms for statements of unreality. Here are two: I wish I were twenty-two again †¦ - F. Scott Fitzgerald, letter, 27 Dec. 1925. †¦ if I was Vassar, I wouldn’t take you †¦ - F. Scott Fitzgerald, letter, 18 Apr. 1938 The M-W editor concludes: Clearly there is a choice to be made here, and if Fitzgerald could use either form, so can others. Unfortunately, not everyone will agree with Merriam-Webster on this one. To many people, â€Å"I wish I was a rich man† is not standard usage. There are contexts in which â€Å"if I was† can be justified. For example, â€Å"If she was ill, no wonder she left the party early.† In a statement that does not describe reality, or the possibility of reality, were is still the better choiceif only because a great many employers, clients, and customers still regard â€Å"if I was you† as nonstandard usage. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:16 Substitutes for â€Å"Because† or â€Å"Because Of†List of Greek Words in the English Language