I wish it was vs. I wish it were
Liz Johnson
these is correct usage and why?
"I wish it were Sunday."
"I wish it was Sunday."
Opinions?
Liz Johnson
Robert D West
The correct usage is "I wish it were Sunday." The speaker
is obviously expressing a desire that it be Sunday now,
when in fact it is some other day; he therefore must use
the subjunctive mood to indicate a state of affairs which
is contrary to fact.
>Liz Johnson
--
God is an agnostic. | aph...@cats.ucsc.edu
Karl Hahn
The first is correct, unless it actually is Sunday. "it were" is the
construct for the subjunctive mood. A clause that states something
that is contrary to fact is properly phrased in the subjunctive mood.
--
| (V) | "Tiger gotta hunt. Bird gotta fly.
| (^ (`> | Man gotta sit and wonder why, why, why.
| ((\\__/ ) | Tiger gotta sleep. Bird gotta land.
| (\\< ) der Nethahn | Man gotta tell himself he understand."
| \< ) |
| ( / | Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
| | |
| ^ |
Fred Lukoff
>I'm a new subscriber, so apologies if this is old stuff. Which of
>these is correct usage and why?
>"I wish it were Sunday."
>"I wish it was Sunday."
#1, because you need to use the subjunctive, and that's "were".
BL
Colin Kendall 6842
>
>In article <CBnq7...@usenet.ucs.indiana.edu> Liz Johnson <ejoh...@silver.ucs.indiana.edu> writes:
>>I'm a new subscriber, so apologies if this is old stuff. Which of
>>these is correct usage and why?
>>
>>"I wish it were Sunday."
>>"I wish it was Sunday."
>>
>>Opinions?
>
>The correct usage is "I wish it were Sunday." The speaker
>is obviously expressing a desire that it be Sunday now,
>when in fact it is some other day; he therefore must use
>the subjunctive mood to indicate a state of affairs which
>is contrary to fact.
But what if it is Sunday?
Glen Ecklund
"I'm glad it is Sunday."
--
Glen Ecklund gl...@cs.wisc.edu (608) 262-1318 Office, 262-1204 Dept. Sec'y
Department of Computer Sciences 1210 W. Dayton St., Room 3355
University of Wisconsin, Madison Madison, Wis. 53706 U.S.A.
Robert D West
In article <1993Aug13.1...@lds.loral.com> ken...@lds.loral.com (Colin Kendall 6842) writes:
>But what if it is Sunday?
was Sunday," than he's just confused and should go away.
--
An age is called Dark not because the light fails to shine, but because
people refuse to see it.
aph...@cats.ucsc.edu
J Lee Jaap
>I'm a new subscriber, so apologies if this is old stuff. Which of
>these is correct usage and why?
>
>"I wish it were Sunday."
>"I wish it was Sunday."
The correct usage is "I wish it were Sunday." The speaker
is obviously expressing a desire that it be Sunday now,
when in fact it is some other day; he therefore must use
the subjunctive mood to indicate a state of affairs which
is contrary to fact.
"I wish it was Sunday", perhaps because it is wrong, suggests
to me that it is in fact Sunday, but I wish Sunday had been
yesterday (or further in the past). Or I expect a continuation:
I wish it was Sunday when <something had happened>, although
"had been" is the proper tense.
Maybe I'm just making up meanings for improper grammatical
constructions. After all, such cannot be intended to mean
something that is as easily constructed properly, can it?
--
J Lee Jaap <J.L....@LaRC.NASA.Gov> +1 804/864-2148
employed by, not necessarily speaking for, AS&M Inc,
at NASA LaRC, Hampton VA 23681-0001
Fred Lukoff
>>The correct usage is "I wish it were Sunday." The speaker
>>is obviously expressing a desire that it be Sunday now,
>>when in fact it is some other day; he therefore must use
>>the subjunctive mood to indicate a state of affairs which
>>is contrary to fact.
>But what if it is Sunday?
Then you shouldn't be wishing!
- BL
Robert D West
In article <JAAPJL.93A...@amb3.larc.nasa.gov> J Lee Jaap <J.L....@larc.nasa.gov> writes:
>"I wish it was Sunday", perhaps because it is wrong, suggests
>to me that it is in fact Sunday, but I wish Sunday had been
>yesterday (or further in the past). Or I expect a continuation:
>I wish it was Sunday when <something had happened>, although
>"had been" is the proper tense.
Good point .... although in the former case, it would
still be "I wish it [yesterday] were Sunday." The second
is plausible ....
>
>Maybe I'm just making up meanings for improper grammatical
>constructions. After all, such cannot be intended to mean
>something that is as easily constructed properly, can it?
You're just being pedantic. But so am I. That's the
nature of this newsgroup, isn't it? At least you are
being pedantic in an interesting way .... ;=)
--
"Soffie has been waking up at night and crying 'Mommy,
Mommy!." Some night soon, she'll wake up and cry "Mommy!"
and Mommy won't be there. Ever.
aph...@cats.ucsc.edu
Matti Linnanvuori
these is correct usage and why?
"I wish it were Sunday."
"I wish it was Sunday."
Both are correct. "It/I were" is the only case when the subjunctive
can (but doesn't have to) be different from the past tense.
Reference: "Questions you always wanted to ask about English" by
Maxwell Nurnberg.
Matti Linnanvuori
Matti Linnanvuori
these is correct usage and why?
"I wish it were Sunday."
"I wish it was Sunday."
Both are correct.
Mike Oliver
>In article <CBnq7...@usenet.ucs.indiana.edu> Liz Johnson <ejoh...@silver.ucs.indiana.edu> writes:
> I'm a new subscriber, so apologies if this is old stuff. Which of
> these is correct usage and why?
>
> "I wish it were Sunday."
> "I wish it was Sunday."
>
>Both are correct. "It/I were" is the only case when the subjunctive
>can (but doesn't have to) be different from the past tense.
That is, the past subjunctive. Don't forget the present subjunctive;
we Yanks still use it even if the Brits have forgotten about it.
(In _The_Hitchhikers_Guide_to_the_Galaxy_, one of the two philosophers
objecting to Deep Thought says "we demand that our names are [such and
such]." I thought this was a mind-warpingly incomprehensible sentence
even past the point that one expects from Douglas Adams, until I realized
he meant "we demand that our names *be* [such and such].")
With regard to your statement "both are correct": I'm not going to argue
about what "correct" means. But there are plenty of people who will form
a low opinion of your education if you use "I wish it was Sunday" in
formal written English. In spoken English, on the other hand, you can
get away with it almost anywhere.
--
------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Oliver
UUCP:...!{ucbvax,{hao!cepu}}!ucla-cs!math.ucla.edu!oliver
ARPA: oli...@math.ucla.edu
Peter Moylan
>That is, the past subjunctive. Don't forget the present subjunctive;
>we Yanks still use it even if the Brits have forgotten about it.
>(In _The_Hitchhikers_Guide_to_the_Galaxy_, one of the two philosophers
>objecting to Deep Thought says "we demand that our names are [such and
>such]." I thought this was a mind-warpingly incomprehensible sentence
>even past the point that one expects from Douglas Adams, until I realized
>he meant "we demand that our names *be* [such and such].")
I don't think he did mean that. In the first place, the present
subjunctive is alive and well (in examples such as the above) in
British English, and from other evidence I'd say that Douglas
Adams knows how to use it. In the second place, the philosophers
weren't demanding that their names be changed; they were
insisting that they already had those names. Of course the
verb "demand" is not quite appropriate in such a sentence; but
it makes sense in the context of the rest of that scene.
Peter
>With regard to your statement "both are correct": I'm not going to argue
>about what "correct" means. But there are plenty of people who will form
>a low opinion of your education if you use "I wish it was Sunday" in
>formal written English. In spoken English, on the other hand, you can
>get away with it almost anywhere.
>--
>------------------------------------------------------------------
>Mike Oliver
>UUCP:...!{ucbvax,{hao!cepu}}!ucla-cs!math.ucla.edu!oliver
>ARPA: oli...@math.ucla.edu
--
Peter Moylan pe...@tesla.newcastle.edu.au
eger...@vax.oxford.ac.uk
In article <1993Aug29....@seagoon.newcastle.edu.au>, pe...@laplace.newcastle.edu.au (Peter Moylan) writes:
> Mike Oliver (oli...@wilshire.math.ucla.edu) wrote:
>
>>That is, the past subjunctive. Don't forget the present subjunctive;
>>we Yanks still use it even if the Brits have forgotten about it.
>>(In _The_Hitchhikers_Guide_to_the_Galaxy_, one of the two philosophers
>>objecting to Deep Thought says "we demand that our names are [such and
>>such]." I thought this was a mind-warpingly incomprehensible sentence
>>even past the point that one expects from Douglas Adams, until I realized
>>he meant "we demand that our names *be* [such and such].")
>
> I don't think he did mean that. In the first place, the present
>
> subjunctive is alive and well (in examples such as the above) in
> British English, and from other evidence I'd say that Douglas
> Adams knows how to use it. In the second place, the philosophers
> weren't demanding that their names be changed; they were
> insisting that they already had those names. Of course the
> verb "demand" is not quite appropriate in such a sentence; but
> it makes sense in the context of the rest of that scene.
I haven't read THHGttG recently enough to comment on that particular
scene, but I must agree with the person who said that the present
subjunctive is often neglected here in England. I have often heard
such sentences as "Madam Speaker insists that order is restored to
the House" (which always makes me think, "She can insist all
she likes, but order is clearly NOT restored...")
Kari