Were and weren't are correct (and the subjunctive mood is weird). When you express a wish , the past subjunctive is the correct tense and mood. [Link added -- I did say the subjunctive is weird.]

2024年8月9日 · Is it the same as weren't? Were’t aught to me I bore the canopy, With my extern the outward honouring, Or laid great bases for eternity, Which proves more short than waste or ruining; Have I not seen dwellers on form and favour Lose all, and more, by paying too much rent, For compound sweet forgoing simple savour, Pitiful thrivers, in their ...

Using "weren't" is a more archaic strategy and can be confusing, as you note. – John Lawler. Commented ...

2020年4月27日 · A descriptivist would obviously say that "weren't you" is correct because it's very common (actually more common than "were you not"). So then, this question would seem to be: "Are there any prescriptivist grammarians who think that 'weren't you' is incorrect?" That opinion might be out there somewhere, but it's not very common. –

2020年1月19日 · The person saying it should be wasn't cited this for support: "The use of were and weren't in the subordinate clauses depends on the reality or truthfulness of the subordinate clause. If it is true, then the indicative forms was and wasn't are in order. If it is not true i.e. counterfactual, then the past subjunctive forms were and weren't are ...

2012年6月30日 · The most common pattern that people get tripped up on are if-then sentences where the if clause is counterfactual. In these cases, the if clauses use the past subjunctive forms were and weren't, even if the subject is singular or the verb is present tense. The then clause--and this is usually a giveaway--will take the conditional form.

2015年11月18日 · I mean it seems to me I always face when people say "coudn't" and yesterday I faced that "wasn't able to" also can be used but how often or even usual people use that phrase. Is there the same difference between "couldn't" and "wasn't/weren't able to" like between "could" and "be able to" ? Unfortunetly, my expirience is not so vast like you –

2018年7月6日 · “It weren’t like that” or “I weren’t going to stop there today” — in New Zealand that is just plain wrong, but it is probably a valid local usage somewhere in the UK. It is correct to use “If I weren’t” (for example, feeling so ill) if we follow it with “I would ( verb )” where there is a condition affecting the outcome ...

2014年4月26日 · Dear Teachers, can you explain me please the difference between these two sentences: 1) We weren’t having coffee in the bar. (I Know this sentence is grammatically); but, can I say #2: 2) We didn't have coffee in the bar or "we didn't drink coffee in the bar" Can I say like I have described in...

2012年3月5日 · Well, since they do mean the same thing, I would think that they are generally interchangeable. Both are grammatically valid, but there is one reason to use one over the other; if you are trying to increase the emphasis on one word, don't contract it.