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This one has been bugging me for years. In "Light My Fire", Jim Morisson sings "If I was to say to you, girl we couldn't get much higher". Shouldn't it be "If I were to say to you"? I have no idea of the correct grammar but "were" feels correct in this context. Am I right or wrong? 121.44.39.11 ( talk) 10:33, 3 September 2011 (UTC)
Morrison did not say "If I am", but "If I was", even though he's clearly not talking about the past. That shows that the use of a different verb form when talking about a hypothetical is quite present in his usage, even if it's not the same as in the traditional standard rule. Michael Hardy ( talk) 19:02, 3 September 2011 (UTC)
I believe this is just one of many examples of language regularisation. "If I were" is a late remnant of a verb form historically distinct from past tense, and apparently known as past subjunctive, which has by now been almost merged with past tense. For regular verbs and even for most irregular verbs (all but be?) they are now the same. That be holds out longer than the other verbs is normal and expected because the more often an irregularity occurs in speech, the more stable it is. It's similar to how some nouns that used to be used very often have retained their irregular plurals (e.g. mice, oxen). In this particular case the distinction is still alive in German and is basically indicated by umlauts. E.g. compare "Ich war / Wenn ich wäre" = "I was / If I were", "Ich kam / Wenn ich käme" = "I came / If I came", "Ich schwamm / Wenn ich schwömme" = "I swam / If I swam". Presumably, the difference between the corresponding English verb forms got lost as a result of vowel shifts. For many German regular words it has disappeared as it has in English, e.g. "Ich öffnete / Wenn ich öffnete" = "I opened / If I opened".
"If I was" already sounds basically like a correct variant to me, although I wouldn't say it myself. I guess it will soon become the more 'correct' form and "If I were" will be downgraded to an old-fashioned alternative. Hans Adler 21:38, 3 September 2011 (UTC)
Memorandum:
HOOTmag ( talk) 23:08, 3 September 2011 (UTC)
If the verb after if is in the present tense, the following verb may be in the present, future, or imperative; depending on the situation. For example:
If the verb after if is in the past tense, the following verb should be in the conditional. For example:
If the verb after if is in the past perfect tense, the following verb should be in the conditional perfect. For example:
Although, as with practically anything in English, I'm sure there are exceptions. Inter change able| talk to me 22:46, 8 September 2011 (UTC)
Language desk | ||
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< September 2 | << Aug | September | Oct >> | September 4 > |
Welcome to the Wikipedia Language Reference Desk Archives |
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The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages. |
This one has been bugging me for years. In "Light My Fire", Jim Morisson sings "If I was to say to you, girl we couldn't get much higher". Shouldn't it be "If I were to say to you"? I have no idea of the correct grammar but "were" feels correct in this context. Am I right or wrong? 121.44.39.11 ( talk) 10:33, 3 September 2011 (UTC)
Morrison did not say "If I am", but "If I was", even though he's clearly not talking about the past. That shows that the use of a different verb form when talking about a hypothetical is quite present in his usage, even if it's not the same as in the traditional standard rule. Michael Hardy ( talk) 19:02, 3 September 2011 (UTC)
I believe this is just one of many examples of language regularisation. "If I were" is a late remnant of a verb form historically distinct from past tense, and apparently known as past subjunctive, which has by now been almost merged with past tense. For regular verbs and even for most irregular verbs (all but be?) they are now the same. That be holds out longer than the other verbs is normal and expected because the more often an irregularity occurs in speech, the more stable it is. It's similar to how some nouns that used to be used very often have retained their irregular plurals (e.g. mice, oxen). In this particular case the distinction is still alive in German and is basically indicated by umlauts. E.g. compare "Ich war / Wenn ich wäre" = "I was / If I were", "Ich kam / Wenn ich käme" = "I came / If I came", "Ich schwamm / Wenn ich schwömme" = "I swam / If I swam". Presumably, the difference between the corresponding English verb forms got lost as a result of vowel shifts. For many German regular words it has disappeared as it has in English, e.g. "Ich öffnete / Wenn ich öffnete" = "I opened / If I opened".
"If I was" already sounds basically like a correct variant to me, although I wouldn't say it myself. I guess it will soon become the more 'correct' form and "If I were" will be downgraded to an old-fashioned alternative. Hans Adler 21:38, 3 September 2011 (UTC)
Memorandum:
HOOTmag ( talk) 23:08, 3 September 2011 (UTC)
If the verb after if is in the present tense, the following verb may be in the present, future, or imperative; depending on the situation. For example:
If the verb after if is in the past tense, the following verb should be in the conditional. For example:
If the verb after if is in the past perfect tense, the following verb should be in the conditional perfect. For example:
Although, as with practically anything in English, I'm sure there are exceptions. Inter change able| talk to me 22:46, 8 September 2011 (UTC)