# Se tu fossi stato....



## Vicky22

Dovrei tradurre questa domanda e risposta, ma non sono sicura della correttezza dei verbi.

"Se tu fossi stato su quell'autobus ti saresti alzato per lasciare il posto a un Bianco?" " Forse non sarei stato così coraggioso e sarei rimasto seduto".


"If you had been on that bus would you have stood up to leave your seat  to a white person?" " Perhaps I wouldn't be courageous enough and I  would be sitting down."

Thanks 		
http://forum.wordreference.com/editpost.php?do=editpost&p=10920254


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## Paulfromitaly

Ci sono decine di esempi sui periodi ipotetici, per non dire centinaia..

cosa sarebbe successo, se ci fossi stato anche io?
Se fossi stato io avrei detto
se fossi stato lì, non sarebbe successo nulla
se fossi stato seguito di più
Se fossi stato sicuro
Se non fossi stato minacciato, ti avrei telefonato



se ce ne fosse bisogno
se ci fosse la disponibilità di uno studio-ufficio
Se ciò fosse possibile
Se così fosse
Se così non fosse
se così non fosse sai cosa devi fare.
Se così non fosse,c'est la vie!
Se fosse ancora viva, che cosa starebbe facendo?
Se fosse andato piu in là avrebbe visto il significato
Se fosse deluso o arrabbiato?
Se fosse il caso
Se fosse per me..!
Se fosse perchè...
se fosse possibile preferiremmo fissare una riunione
Se fosse possibile, avrei molto piacere...
se il giardino fosse più grande ci metterei una piscina
Se il mercato fosse considerato
Se il tuo invito mi fosse arrivato, sarei sicuramente venuto
se lanciando una moneta fosse uscito testa
se nemmeno questo fosse possibile, comprenderei molto bene
Se non ci fosse già
se non fosse che l'aeroporto di Gatwick è rimasto chiuso
se non fosse che la selezione di certi elementi del luogo
se non fosse ita
Se non fosse ita di mezzo la pace d'una famiglia
Se non fosse mai finito?
Se non fosse per te sarei andato via..
se non fosse stato solo un bambino, non avrebbe mai potuto raccontare
Se non fosse uno dei migliori artisti in circolazione
Se non Le fosse di troppo disturbo, Le sarei grato se potessimo accordarci
se si fosse saputo già allora che il poliziotto...
Se solo fosse così facile
Se tutto fosse a posto non sarei così arrabbiata
Se tutto fosse sotto controllo, va troppo lento
se ve ne fosse stata una condivisibile


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## Vicky22

Ok. Grazie li leggerò tutti!!!! Ditemi solo se va bene "I would be sitting down", forse non lo troverò nei links ( data la forma in -ing ).


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## italtrav

Vicky22 said:


> Dovrei tradurre questa domanda e risposta, ma non sono sicura della correttezza dei verbi.
> 
> "Se tu fossi stato su quell'autobus ti saresti alzato per lasciare il posto a un Bianco?" " Forse non sarei stato così coraggioso e sarei rimasto seduto".
> 
> 
> "If you had been on that bus would you have stood up to leave give your seat  to a white person?" " Perhaps I wouldn't be courageous enough and I  would be sitting down."
> 
> Thanks
> http://forum.wordreference.com/editpost.php?do=editpost&p=10920254


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## Vicky22

Grazie, italtrav!!!! Comunque i links li leggerò lo stesso Paul! I promise.


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## Einstein

Anche la seconda frase è nel passato:

Perhaps I wouldn't have been courageous enough...
Perhaps I wouldn't have had the courage...
I might not have had the courage...

... and I would have stayed in my seat.
... and I would have stayed put.
... and I would have remained seated (more formal).

Una mia perplessità: in questo mondo razzista, dov'è che ci vuole coraggio per cedere il posto ad un bianco?


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## joanvillafane

something doesn't sound right about this.  If this sentence is referring to Rosa Parks, it was courageous of her to remain seated, not to give up her seat....


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## Einstein

joanvillafane said:


> something doesn't sound right about this.  If this sentence is referring to Rosa Parks, it was courageous of her to remain seated, not to give up her seat....


Exactly what I was thinking! (see my comment above).


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## joanvillafane

hi, Einstein - cross posted! Vicky, do you have more context to make this clear?


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## Vicky22

Oh caspita, ho fatto confusione! La frase era: Forse non sarei stato così coraggioso e *mi sarei alzato.
*Quindi : I wouldn't have been corageous enough and I would have stood up. Giusto?

Einstein, il tutto si riferisce a Rosa Parks nel cui mondo razzista (America anni '50) si pretendeva che i neri si alzassero per lasciare il posto ai bianchi. Lei, coraggiosamente, si rifiutò di alzarsi.


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## johngiovanni

Just to add that I would probably say "give up" instead of just "give" in the first part of the sentence, except for the "stood up" before it, so you might use "vacate your seat". "Relinquish" is another possibility.


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## Einstein

Vicky22 said:


> Oh caspita, ho fatto confusione! La frase era: Forse non sarei stato così coraggioso e *mi sarei alzato.
> *Quindi : I wouldn't have been courageous enough and I would have stood up. Giusto?
> 
> Einstein, il tutto si riferisce a Rosa Parks che, in quel mondo razzista, si pretendeva che i neri si alzassero per lasciare il posto ai bianchi. Lei, coraggiosamente, si rifiutò di alzarsi.


Sì, è quello che avevamo immaginato io e Joan, solo che avevi detto il contrario! Tutto chiarito. Si poteva dire anche "I wouldn't have had the courage (been courageous enough) to remain seated".


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## joanvillafane

Vicky, many people do not know this about Rosa Parks - so I'll just add it here: She was actually chosen by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for her courage and willingness to be arrested in this bus incident.  In other words, it was not just a random act, but they knew she would be arrested and she agreed to go through with it.


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## Vicky22

Grazie a tutti e due! Solo leggendo il vostro commento mi sono accorta dell'errore.

I didn't know it wasn't a random act. Thanks for your remark Joan.


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## Caroline35

Vicky22 said:


> Dovrei tradurre questa domanda e risposta, ma non sono sicura della correttezza dei verbi.
> 
> "Se tu fossi stato su quell'autobus ti saresti alzato per lasciare il posto a un Bianco?" " Forse non sarei stato così coraggioso e sarei rimasto seduto".
> 
> 
> "If you had been on that bus would you have stood up to leave your seat to a white person?" " Perhaps I wouldn't be courageous enough and I would be sitting down."
> 
> Thanks


" If you were on that bus, would you have stood up and given a white person your seat?" Maybe I wouldn't have been so courageous and  wouldn't have moved from my seat .  

I've tried to sound more like an English person, so this is my translation. Ciao,Caro


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## Giorgio Spizzi

Ciao, Caro.

Non capisco perché "If you were..." e non "If you had been...".

GS


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## Einstein

Caroline35 said:


> " If you were on that bus, would you have stood up and given a white person your seat?" Maybe I wouldn't have been so courageous and  wouldn't have moved from my seat .
> 
> I've tried to sound more like an English person, so this is my translation. Ciao,Caro


"If you had been...", olte ad essere corretto, è normalissimo, di solito in forma contratta: "If you'd been...". Non sa di troppa erudizione.
Nota anche che il discorso stesso è stato rivisto nei post precedenti; ci è voluto coraggio per *non* cedere il posto.

Ciao


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## Caroline35

Einstein said:


> "If you had been...", olte ad essere corretto, è normalissimo, di solito in forma contratta: "If you'd been...". Non sa di troppa erudizione.
> Nota anche che il discorso stesso è stato rivisto nei post precedenti; ci è voluto coraggio per *non* cedere il posto.
> 
> Ciao


 
IN questo caso Io preferisco  if I were ( periodo ipotetico della irrealtà) In italiano usiamo se fossi stato, però in inglese non sempre si  usano gli stessi tempi che si usano in italiano. Io preferisco If I were.  Sentiamo altri pareri. Ciao e grazie.Caro


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## Katejo

Caroline35 said:


> IN questo caso Io preferisco if I were ( periodo ipotetico della irrealtà) In italiano usiamo se fossi stato, però in inglese non sempre si usano gli stessi tempi che si usano in italiano. Io preferisco If I were. Sentiamo altri pareri. Ciao e grazie.Caro


 
I recommend that you go for "If I had been..." not If I were. It is true that many English speakers now say "If I were" or "If I was" but this grates on me and I want to correct them! To me this seems to be a failure to understand the correct use of tenses.

If you were on that bus, would you stand up...
If you had been on that bus, would you have stood up... 
  In this case, the 2nd one is needed. The first sounds wrong


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## johngiovanni

Quote: "If you had been on that bus, would you have stood up... 
In this case, the 2nd one is needed. The first sounds wrong" .  Just to say I agree:  "If you had been..." gets my vote.


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## Katejo

johngiovanni said:


> Quote: "If you had been on that bus, would you have stood up...
> In this case, the 2nd one is needed. The first sounds wrong" . Just to say I agree: "If you had been..." gets my vote.


 
I am glad that you agree with me. Just lately I have heard more and more examples similar to the "if I were/was"


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## johngiovanni

It's not that I think "If you were on that bus..." is "wrong", it's just that -as I said - I prefer "If you had been / If you'd been..." and that is what I personally would say.


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## Enigmista

John please correct and enlighten me on this...but how can "if I was/were" be correct in this situation ?? 

I'm well aware of "mixed conditionals"...but I just don't see the point in this particular context 

I'm more inclined to use only "if you Had been"


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## johngiovanni

I am also more inclined to say "If you had been", it's just that "If you were on that bus, would you have stood up?" makes perfect sense and would not sound at all strange in English. Outside of a forum like this, I probably would not even notice. (But "If I / you *were*" - not "was"). Hey - it's like that congiuntivo imperfetto, "fossi", don't you think?) But tell me about "mixed conditionals" another time! I have never seen the expression before. Caroline's version is very natural and gets over the meaning very clearly. (In fact, the more I think of it, I probably prefer her version over mine, in the sense that I think we are both right, but probably, nowadays, "If I/ you had been" would be less used than "If I / you were".) (No evidence for this - just a hunch).


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## cecil

johngiovanni said:


> I am also more inclined to say"If you had been", it's just that "If you were on that bus, would you have stood up?" makes perfect sense and would not sound at all strange in English. Outside of a forum like this, I probably would not even notice. (But "If I / you *were*" - not "was"). Hey - it's like that congiuntivo imperfetto, "fossi", don't you think?) But tell me about "mixed conditionals" another time! I have never seen the expression before. Caroline's version is very natural and gets over the meaning very clearly.


 
Sounds strange to me in American English.


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## Alxmrphi

> "If you were on that bus, would you have stood up?" makes perfect sense and would not sound at all strange in English


 
_*Completely*_ natural English for me.


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## johngiovanni

Ciao, Cecil!  Quote: "Sounds strange to me in American English." I find that very interesting.  Do you think that would be the case across the States?


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## Caroline35

Katejo said:


> I recommend that you go for "If I had been..." not If I were. It is true that many English speakers now say "If I were" or "If I was" but this grates on me and I want to correct them! To me this seems to be a failure to understand the correct use of tenses.
> 
> If you were on that bus, would you stand up...
> If you had been on that bus, would you have stood up...
> In this case, the 2nd one is needed. The first sounds wrong


 
Thanks Kate, you've convinced me. Actually I wanted to write if I had been , but then I remembered a discussion I had several days ago  with two English friends.They told me that the if I were form was quite acceptable nowdays, so, I  went against my better judgment.Thanks to everyone.Caro


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## johngiovanni

Quote: "If you were on that bus, would you stand up...
If you had been on that bus, would you have stood up... 
In this case, the 2nd one is needed. The first sounds wrong".
I agree, but I am not sure where that "would you stand up" came in.  (It's getting late). I think "If you were on that bus, *would you have stood up*?" (Caroline's version) is fine, and - probably - more used in the UK -even though personally I would probably say "If you had been on that bus..." (Not, though, "was"). This could be one for the English Only forum!
Buona notte!


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## cecil

johngiovanni said:


> Ciao, Cecil! Quote: "Sounds strange to me in American English." I find that very interesting. Do you think that would be the case across the States?


 
I can't recall ever hearing the "were" construction in the South, Northeast, Midwest, or in the Rocky Mountain States.


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## NewYorktoLA

_If you had been on that bus, would you have stood up..._

Let's see if my grammar brain is working this late....

The "if clause" is in the past, and is addressing something that has already happened and for which there is no possibility of changing the outcome  (impossible - third condition).

I'm sure many people would say:  "If I were on that bus, I would have....." but it isn't correct usage when discussing past hypotheticals.  You can use it to talk about a present possibility:   If I were on that bus (right now) , I would 
give my seat to an elderly person, etc.


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## Giorgio Spizzi

Scusa ancora, Caro. 

Rispetto le preferenze personali ma mi resta un dubbio:
Se "if you were... " traduce il nostro "Se (tu) fossi stato...", quale diventerebbe l'inglese "corrispondente" a "Se (tu) fossi..." ?

Cordialmente.

GS


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## Einstein

"If you were" can refer to a hypothetical present - _If you were on the bus, would you stand up?_ (se tu fossi) - or a real past -_ If you were on the bus, why didn't you say something?_ (se tu eri).

I can imagine people saying "If you were on the bus, would you have stood up?", but I don't think it's become so normal that "If you'd been..." sounds bizarre, or pedantic, and needs to be "corrected". It's not like colloquial Italian which simplifies the Third Conditional by substituting both verbs with an imperfect indicative (_se tu eri sull'autobus, ti alzavi?_).

To *johngiovanni*: here's an example of a mixed conditional: If you _had accepted_ the invitation (hypothetical past), you _wouldn't be_ here alone this evening (result in the present).


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## johngiovanni

In the light of a new day, I would simply like to reiterate that - as others have said- the "correct", "standard" tense in the "if" clause of this type of hypothetical sentence (described by NewYorktoLA in post 31) is the pluperfect or pluperfect continuous. For that reason, I personally would use "If you had been..." It does seem, however, that in some parts of the world the use of "If you were...." in this type of sentence is perceived as less "unacceptable" than it is in others.

Edit: Thanks for the example, Einstein.


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## Caroline35

Giorgio Spizzi said:


> Scusa ancora, Caro.
> 
> Rispetto le preferenze personali ma mi resta un dubbio:
> Se "if you were... " traduce il nostro "Se (tu) fossi stato...", quale diventerebbe l'inglese "corrispondente" a "Se (tu) fossi..." ?
> 
> Cordialmente.
> 
> GS


 
Ciao Giorgio

*se tu fossi sull' autobus daresti il tuo posto?* *If you were on .... would* *you give your seat* ...  Queata è la frase ipotetica di 2 grado nel presente

*se tu fossi stato sull'autobus, avresti dato il tuo posto.... if you had been .... would you have given your seat  ( frase ipotetica della irrealtà* di terzo grado  nel passato.
Nel caso in discussione la forma grammaticalmente corretta è la seconda ,anche se molti inglesi preferiscono usare la prima. In inglese c'è quello che noi in latino chiamiamo consecutio temporum.
*se tu fossi = if you were*
*se tu fossi stato= if you had been*
Spero di avere chiarito i tuoi dubbi. Buona giornata.Caro


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## infinite sadness

Caroline35 said:


> Ciao Giorgio
> 
> *se tu fossi sull' autobus daresti il tuo posto?* *If you were on .... would* *you give your seat* ...  Queata è la frase ipotetica di 2 grado nel presente
> 
> *se tu fossi stato sull'autobus, avresti dato il tuo posto.... if you had been .... would you have given your seat  ( frase ipotetica della irrealtà* di terzo grado  nel passato.
> Nel caso in discussione la forma grammaticalmente corretta è la seconda ,anche se molti inglesi preferiscono usare la prima. In inglese c'è quello che noi in latino chiamiamo consecutio temporum.
> *se tu fossi = if you were*
> *se tu fossi stato= if you had been*
> Spero di avere chiarito i tuoi dubbi. Buona giornata.Caro



Secondo me l'uso di "if you were" al posto di "if you had been" corrisponde all'uso italiano di "se tu eri" al posto di "se tu fossi stato". Infatti, se usiamo la prima persona, ci accorgiamo che anche "if I was" è comunemente accettato al posto di "If I had been".


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## Einstein

Qui però confondiamo due cose. Ora nel post #35 Caroline suggerisce che molti inglesi, anche parlando del passato, preferiscono _per intero_ la frase di 2° grado. Non credo! Al massimo sostituiscono il verbo della proposizione secondaria, ma non l'altro. È quello che dice Alxmrphi - *"If you were on that bus, would you have stood up?"* - ed è anche quello che aveva detto Caroline nel post #15 (traduzione letterale: Se tu eri/fossi su quell'autobus, ti saresti alzato?).

Infinite sadness dice:


> Secondo me l'uso di "if you were" al posto di "if you had been" corrisponde all'uso italiano di "se tu eri" al posto di "se tu fossi stato".


Però, come ho detto nel post #33,


> It's not like colloquial Italian which simplifies the Third Conditional by substituting both verbs with an imperfect indicative (_se tu eri sull'autobus, ti alzavi?_).


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## Caroline35

infinite sadness said:


> Secondo me l'uso di "if you were" al posto di "if you had been" corrisponde all'uso italiano di "se tu eri" al posto di "se tu fossi stato". Infatti, se usiamo la prima persona, ci accorgiamo che anche "if I was" è comunemente accettato al posto di "If I had been".


 
In italiano *non è grammaticalmente corretto dire se tu eri* sull'autobus, ma è più corretto usare il congiuntivo se tu fossi= if you were
se tu fossi stato= if you had been. Purtroppo molti italiani non sanno usare il congiuntivo e mi dà fastidio sentire se tu eri sull'autobus invece di se tu fossi o fossi stato dipende dalla frase

If I was or if I were( questa forma è preferibile) è sbagliata quando c'è un tempo passato nella frase principale.; quando c'è il periodo ipotetico 3 Che poi molti inglesi facciano errori di grammatica, come succed per gli italiani con la forma congiuntiva, non significa che abbiano ragione.  if you had been on that bus... would you have given your seat..?
If you were/was on a bus... would you give.... qui è corretto usare if you were/ was perchè la frase principlae è stata cambiata dal passato al presente. 
Ribadisco che è sbagliato dire if I/ you were on .. , would I/ you have given your seat..?  I agree with Einstein that the if I had been ...  would I have given my seat to a white? is the only correct form.Ciao a tutti.Caro


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## Murphy

Caroline35 said:


> If you were/was on a bus... would you give.... qui è corretto usare if you were/ was perchè la frase principlae è stata cambiata dal passato al presente.


Mi dispiace ma "if *you was*" non è mai corretto, anche se si sente troppo spesso, visto che "you were" è l'unica forma corretta sia per _il simple past indicative_ sia per il congiuntivo . Non facciamo confusione con l'uso di "if *I* *was*" (simple past) invece di "if I were" (congiuntivo) nelle frasi ipotetiche, che è diventato accettabile nella lingua informale.


Spero che non arrivi mai il giorno quando "if you was" viene considerato un inglese corretto.


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## Alxmrphi

> Mi dispiace ma "if *you was*" non è mai corretto
> [..]
> Spero che non arrivi mai il giorno quando "if you was" viene considerato un inglese corretto.


In svariati dialetti in Inghilterra si parla così e nessuno dovrebbe arrivare alla comprensione che queste persone sono ignoranti. Nel mio dialetto si parla spesso così, e queste persone sanno MOLTO BENE quando si cambia alla lingua formale/standard. Lo fanno anche senza accorgersene per la maggior parte. È un argomento molto ricercato negli studi linguistici nel Regno Unito. Anche questo modo di pensare viene considerato un po' 'datato' dalla communità linguistica.

Tanto per citarne uno, ecco un esempio. Va anche precisato che nella storia la forma invariable era tanto comune quanto l'altra forma variabile.


> The verb 'to be' on the other hand has two simple past forms in  Standard English - I/he/she/it was and you/we/they were. Apart from the  special case of you, the distinction is, therefore, between singular _was_ and plural _were_.  In some regional dialects, however, this pattern is not observed. In  some parts of the country, speakers use was throughout, while speakers  elsewhere use were exclusively. There are also dialects where the two  different forms are used for the opposite function - singular _were_ and plural _was_.Click on a location on the map to hear how our formation of the past tense of 'to be' varies across England.


Motli esempi (con registrazione audio dalla conversazione naturale) può essere trovato qui.
Preciso che le cose dette finora valgono per il STANDARD ENGLISH.


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## Caroline35

Murphy said:


> Mi dispiace ma "if *you was*" non è mai corretto, anche se si sente troppo spesso, visto che "you were" è l'unica forma corretta sia per _il simple past indicative_ sia per il congiuntivo . Non facciamo confusione con l'uso di "if *I* *was*" (simple past) invece di "if I were" (congiuntivo) nelle frasi ipotetiche, che è diventato accettabile nella lingua informale.
> 
> 
> Spero che non arrivi mai il giorno quando "if you was" viene considerato un inglese corretto.


 Ciao Murphy,
la penso come te. " Se io ero" mi dà lo stesso fastidio che dà a te " If I was," che è incorretto, per la stessa ragione, anche se spesso la si sente usare ed i politici non sono un'eccezione. Spesso sento persone giovani, di madre lingua inglese usare " if I was" e ogni qualvolta ho cercato  di correggerle, mi hanno risposto che ora è accettabile, che io mi devo adeguare con i tempi se non voglio essere considerata una matusa Ciao. Caro


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## Einstein

Hi Alxmrphi!
Alex, I think we'm* getting into a tight corner here. The fact that we can't be categorical about language is now well understood and local variations are not looked down upon as they were in the past. Cockneys (if they still exist) would tend to say "was" in all persons, while there are other areas where you'll find people saying "were" in all persons. Language is a fluid phenomenon, full of subtle variations, so that you'll even find two people from the same town and age group speaking differently. You can't pronounce moral judgements on this. Fine.
*And I've heard this one too.

*However*, foreigners trying to learn a language want to learn the mainstream standard found in written texts, and not only in speech, and are looking for guidance on this.  From this point of view it's right to say that "you was" is never correct; a business person visiting Britain would not be expected to say it in an official context and you wouldn't expect to hear all the regional variations from someone who is still learning the language. For this reason I don't think we need to rise up in arms every time we hear the word "incorrect": you have to understand how it's meant. What do you think?


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## Alxmrphi

> For this reason I don't think we need to rise up in arms every time we  hear the word "incorrect": you have to understand how it's meant. What  do you think?


Yeah, I know the vast majority of people know next to nothing about the full range of communication systems, only knowing the written standard. I don't (or really try not) to rise up in arms when I hear 'incorrect' used in this way, it's something I am used to.
What got me this time was the categorical nature of "I hope nobody ever talks like this" / (i.e. it's disgusting, only uneducated people do it).
The idea of a foreigner correcting native speakers in what could be their own natural regional dialect angers me, through pure lack of understanding and naivity on behalf of said foreigner. It's a battle I can't help but fight, but I know I will never win unfortunately.

I see your point, and it's very wise and in the middle, as always.
Linguistic snobbery just rubs me up the wrong way like nothing else. I often give unofficial lessons to foreigners at my university, and I'm perfectly aware of the nature of what WR aims to do and the things that should be taught, but 'wrong/incorrect' has too much of a stigma I disagree with so I opt for non-standard.

I'm training to be a dialectologist and I am aiming to mix it with computational linguistics for recognising regional variation in speech-input devices, so my take on things is obviously *very* heavily tilted to one 'camp', while a typical English teacher would not have so many problems, naturally being in a prescriptive camp.


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## Paulfromitaly

*Note: Please notice that the topic "were vs. was" has already been discussed numerous times*

I wish I was/were
If I was/were you
was/were

if + I was/were and if + it was/were
If I <was, were> a jerk last night, (then) I <?> sorry.
If I told someone that I < was/were >
if I was / if I were
if I was / if I were
If I was & were
if I was/were
If I were / was in your position
If I were/ was
If I were/If I was
if I were/was born in
If it was/were/had been..., he would tell/have ...
If it wasn't/weren't ... If I was/were ...
If it were up your ass you'd know where it was
if only that were/was possible
If there <was, were> any trace of Pan-Turkism left in him, ...
If there were to be/ If there was to be
If there were/was a...
if-clauses, "were" vs. "was"
initial quantity and varieties was/were determined
It was/there were
It was/were my parents who brought me up.
was - were
was - were
was a thousand vs. were a thousand
was or were
was or were?
was or were?
was or were?
was or were?
was to, vs were to
was to/were to
Was vs. Were
was vs. were
Was vs. Were
was wondering if you were/would be/are....tomorrow
was, were
was/ were
was/ were complicated??
was/were
was/were
was/were
was/were
Was/Were
was/were
was/were
was/were + infinitive = something not happened?
Was/Were going to future with the time expression tomorrow??
was/were happy with her/their seating arrangement/s
was/were meaning to go/visit
was/were scientific
was/were with either, neither, each.
was/were?
We was/We were
Were alive OR was alive
were approved /was approved
were in change of was with first person, someone
Were or was
Were or was


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## infinite sadness

Caroline35 said:


> Ciao Murphy,
> la penso come te. " Se io ero" mi dà lo stesso fastidio che dà a te " If I was," che è incorretto, per la stessa ragione, anche se spesso la si sente usare ed i politici non sono un'eccezione. Spesso sento persone giovani, di madre lingua inglese usare " if I was" e ogni qualvolta ho cercato  di correggerle, mi hanno risposto che ora è accettabile, che io mi devo adeguare con i tempi se non voglio essere considerata una matusa Ciao. Caro


Ciao, io penso che non sia una questione di età anagrafica, si può essere indulgenti anche a 80 anni.


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## cecil

[QUOTE=johngiovanni

>>It does seem, however, that in some parts of the world the use of "If you were...." in this type of sentence is perceived as less "unacceptable" than it is in others.

Damn mysterious regions, too.


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## Einstein

It seems to be more digestible in BE than AE.


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## Murphy

Murphy said:


> Mi dispiace ma "if *you was*" non è mai corretto, anche se si sente troppo spesso, visto che "you were" è l'unica forma corretta sia per _il simple past indicative_ sia per il congiuntivo . Non facciamo confusione con l'uso di "if *I* *was*" (simple past) invece di "if I were" (congiuntivo) nelle frasi ipotetiche, che è diventato accettabile nella lingua informale.
> 
> 
> Spero che non arrivi mai il giorno quando "if you was" viene considerato un inglese corretto.


 Let's be clear.  These comments apply to "standard English" only.  No references to dialects (about which I know next to nothing), regional variations, standards of education or offence was intended.  And more fool me for trying to make a joke.


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