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Post by marie on Jul 16, 2009 16:58:57 GMT
Hello.
a) I wish my English was as good as your French.
b) I wish my English were as good as your French.
Does it depend on whether I see English as plural or singular? English is singular so it should be WAS, right?
Merci.
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Post by Twoddle on Jul 16, 2009 17:27:27 GMT
Hello. a) I wish my English was as good as your French. b) I wish my English were as good as your French. Does it depend on whether I see English as plural or singular? English is singular so it should be WAS, right? Merci. Not necessarily, Marie: in the context of your sentence b), "were" is in the subjunctive mood and is thus correct. Unfortunately, however, the use of the subjunctive is declining inexorably, and many people would use "was". If I were ( subjunctive) you, I'd use "were", because you prefer to get things absolutely correct. |
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Post by SusanB on Jul 16, 2009 17:50:34 GMT
Yes, Marie, I think you would prefer 'were', for the reason Twoddle gives. However, to my (native) ears, 'were' sounds less comfortable in that sentence. (My ears are a bit younger than Twoddle's, though they are not particularly young.)
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Post by Pete on Jul 16, 2009 22:09:21 GMT
Would you use the subjunctive in French, marie? I know the construction would be different but it feels as if it should take the French subjunctive.
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Post by marie on Jul 17, 2009 16:03:37 GMT
Twoddle, thank you, you certainly do know what I like.
SusanB, my non-native ears think WERE just sounds sweeter.
Pete, hmm... I would write it as:
>je souhaiterai que mon français soit aussi bon que ton anglais.
>j'aimerai que mon français est aussi bon que ton anglais.
Not so different, is it?
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Post by deanna on Jul 29, 2009 19:29:09 GMT
Personally, I would use 'was' - purely because in this day an age it is more often used than 'were'. Although, having said that, 'were' is the correct option, as Twoddle said.
"If I were (subjunctive) you," - this, however, sounds far more natural than "If I was you". does it not?
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Post by Pete on Jul 29, 2009 21:19:56 GMT
Personally, I would use 'was' - purely because in this day an age it is more often used than 'were'. Although, having said that, 'were' is the correct option, as Twoddle said. "If I were (subjunctive) you," - this, however, sounds far more natural than "If I was you". does it not? As you read through other threads, Deanna, you will see that 'correct' means different things to different people. |
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Post by Paul Doherty on Aug 17, 2009 19:10:19 GMT
... you will see that 'correct' means different things to different people. Is that my cue?  Deanna, many people have come to grief trying to define what "correct" might mean when it comes to language. Can something be what most people say and still be "incorrect"? Who defines "correct", and by what measure? |
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Post by deanna on Aug 28, 2009 22:35:50 GMT
Hmm... interesting point raised. To be honest, I guess there is no correct and incorrect - almost like someone's opinion. You can't call someone wrong if its their opinion. Then again, personally, I hate the way most people speak today. Everything sounds so common and the grammar is appauling. Words like 'ain't' and 'innit' are becoming very common very quickly. 'Innit'  ? In what, I ask you? I suppose we have to go by what the dictionaries and such say. On the other hand, I was reading a book on pronunciation and came across some rather strange peices of English. One of which included 'the pillows was on the bed'. Hm. English for East Londoners, perhaps? |
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Post by Pete on Aug 29, 2009 12:17:51 GMT
Hmm... interesting point raised. To be honest, I guess there is no correct and incorrect - almost like someone's opinion. You can't call someone wrong if its their opinion. Then again, personally, I hate the way most people speak today. Everything sounds so common and the grammar is appauling. Words like 'ain't' and 'innit' are becoming very common very quickly. 'Innit' ? In what, I ask you? I suppose we have to go by what the dictionaries and such say. On the other hand, I was reading a book on pronunciation and came across some rather strange peices of English. One of which included 'the pillows was on the bed'. Hm. English for East Londoners, perhaps? Nuffink rong wiv a bi' a cockernee, me awld luv! |
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Post by deanna on Sept 13, 2009 19:32:57 GMT
Yes, but my point is that this was an English Language book, not 'How to turn cockney in your spare time.'
Even the ELB's of this world are going to pot.
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Post by Vadim on Sept 14, 2009 13:12:10 GMT
Hmm... interesting point raised. To be honest, I guess there is no correct and incorrect - almost like someone's opinion. You can't call someone wrong if its their opinion. Then again, personally, I hate the way most people speak today. Everything sounds so common and the grammar is appauling. Words like 'ain't' and 'innit' are becoming very common very quickly. 'Innit' ? In what, I ask you? I suppose we have to go by what the dictionaries and such say. On the other hand, I was reading a book on pronunciation and came across some rather strange peices of English. One of which included 'the pillows was on the bed'. Hm. English for East Londoners, perhaps? Surely it's time and place? You say that you're annoyed by the new words (in my opinion - ain't and innit) and the slide in grammar, yet you use "its" yourself instead of "it's". It could be said that that's a slip, but it is, after all, a grammar forum! |
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Post by Tone on Sept 14, 2009 13:43:21 GMT
It seems that Muphry's Law will ever apply!  Tone |
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Post by Montevoige on May 3, 2020 15:53:21 GMT
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Post by Dave Miller on May 3, 2020 19:26:34 GMT
Well, ignoring the background, let’s look at the English. Not online, but on line, here. And some sort of stop needed before “95”? |
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? In what, I ask you? 
