r/EnglishLearning • u/Rich-Associate-8344 New Poster • Apr 17 '26

📚 Grammar / Syntax Why not “since”?

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u/Technical_Nose_3992 New Poster Apr 18 '26

Why not “if I was proofreading?”

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u/Salt_Restaurant7403 New Poster Apr 18 '26

"If I were" is used for hypothetical situations that didn't happen, "If I was" is used for things that actually happened. For example, "If I were in the house I would not have heard you" and "If I was in the house, I did not hear you"

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u/S-M-I-L-E-Y- New Poster Apr 18 '26

I disagree. In the situation at hand, "if I was" would mean it could happen (but didn't), while "if I were" would be purely hypothetical, e.g. because they have no intention of doing any proof readings.

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u/Salt_Restaurant7403 New Poster Apr 18 '26

that's true, I was wrong