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 Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 2:52 pm
Vajra B. Hairava Is "If I was you?" technically wrong then? I didn't know. Even though I study the grammar of other languages, I don't know crap about English. And I don't want to, I already speak it. And anyway, whats wrong with saying 'if I was you' if thats how people say it? Because that is how the majority of them do say it. Down with linguistic prescriptivism! It makes the buzzing sound of pain that isn't sound. Does that make sense? Nope. But it hurt to hear it even before I knew it was wrong.
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Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 4:41 pm
"If I was you" doesn't sound right to me either, but it's a set phrase.
Set phrases are much more immune to linguistic evolution than more fluid language; in standard speech, the subjunctive is all but obsolete.
Same with "whom."
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Eccentric Iconoclast Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 5:50 pm
Ah. Well, its how I've always said it, and how evryone around me also does. But yeah, I never use the true subjunctive, I just tack 'if' onto things.
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Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 6:48 pm
o.O I don't know all the fancy words yet...
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Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 7:29 pm
Kumiko-Misaki Do you know if learning your mother language's grammer in a way the foreigners learn it (in a critical way), helps learning foreign languages? Actually, in my case, learning a foreign language helped me understand grammar in general better. sweatdrop Before that, I didn't know much besides what nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs were. There's a lot more prepositions than I'd have expected either... a lot of those, I didn't even realise were prepositions. Still, at least I've got a clearer idea of what qualifies now.
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Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 6:44 pm
Vajra B. Hairava Ah. Well, its how I've always said it, and how evryone around me also does. But yeah, I never use the true subjunctive, I just tack 'if' onto things. don't forget "then" rofl
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Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 6:45 pm
DavidGemmell Kumiko-Misaki Do you know if learning your mother language's grammer in a way the foreigners learn it (in a critical way), helps learning foreign languages? Actually, in my case, learning a foreign language helped me understand grammar in general better. sweatdrop Before that, I didn't know much besides what nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs were. There's a lot more prepositions than I'd have expected either... a lot of those, I didn't even realise were prepositions. Still, at least I've got a clearer idea of what qualifies now. Bar none!
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Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 7:05 pm
sweatdrop Major headache from a recent language class...
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Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 8:23 pm
I wouldn't mind having a language related headache.
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Posted: Sat May 26, 2007 11:39 am
I had headaches during middle school, but because of the LACK of proper language classes crying ... curse you, English teacher!(miss Balbo)
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Posted: Sat May 26, 2007 1:11 pm
Vajra B. Hairava I wouldn't mind having a language related headache.
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Posted: Sat May 26, 2007 11:22 pm
I normally say "If I were," but I don't care if other people say "If I was."
Respect for dialect! biggrin
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Posted: Sun May 27, 2007 11:07 am
"If I was"
or
"Who you is"
etc
I always thought this was bad english, but I never thought of it like another dialect before... eek
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Posted: Sun May 27, 2007 1:17 pm
"If I was" is improper grammar BUT... it's kinda like the word "ain't"
It is still accepted in most modern grammar books but "If I were" is more appropriate for formal situations. (Ask about "funner" for something even more confusing)
You see... way back when, only "were" could be used to describe the subjunctive case. Nowadays it only has to be past-tense to show that but formal documentation would prefer "were".
IMO just stick with "were" and you'll never go wrong.
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Posted: Sun May 27, 2007 1:28 pm
Its not bad English, its different English. Its English how I do it anyway. Saying "If I were" just sounds wrong to my ear.
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