<p>I'm always confused on these two: were or was?</p>
<p>If I were you...
If I was you...</p>
<p>I wish that were the bell.
I wish that was the bell.</p>
<p>If I were to...
If I was to...</p>
<p>I wish I was there!
I wish I were there!</p>
<p>If it was a good day...
If it were a good day...</p>
<p>etc.</p>
<p>If I were you...
If I was you...</p>
<p>I wish that were the bell.
I wish that was the bell.</p>
<p>If I were to...
If I was to...</p>
<p>I wish I was there!
I wish I were there!</p>
<p>If it was a good day...
If it were a good day...</p>
<p>etc. </p>
<p>A lot of these are of the construction "If x were something x would something." For example "If I were taller I would play basketball."</p>
<p>A similar construction is "If x <a href="past%20tense%20verb">B</a>** x would something. For example "If John liked Batman he would go to the movies." "Were to (infinitive verb)" takes the place of a verb in the past tense, and the two are interchangeable. For example "If John were to like Batman he would go to the movies." </p>
<p>For "I wish I was there" it's just "was."</p>
<p>I think you can argue that the subjunctive tense is correct for all of these, and definitely in the case of "I wish I were there!".</p>
<p>If I were a grammar teacher, I'd probably lament that the subjunctive just isn't used as much as it used to be. :)</p>
<p>def tagged for sat prep</p>