Question
26 Oct 2014
- Italian
-
English (US)
-
Japanese
Question about English (US)
Why the Beyoncè song's title is 'If I were a boy'? I think 'If I was a boy' is right!
Why the Beyoncè song's title is 'If I were a boy'? I think 'If I was a boy' is right!
Answers
When you "disagree" with an answer
The owner of it will not be notified.
Only the user who asked this question will see who disagreed with this answer.
Read more comments
Deleted user
in the song she explains how she is mistreated but if she was a boy things would be different.
- German
Slang? Dunno, lol. I learned that "was" would be correct here, but well, whatever. Ain't nobody got time for grammar :p
- English (US)
"Were" in this case is proper English. It is definitely not slang. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subjunctive
- German
- English (US) Near fluent
In if clauses you have to replace was with were. If you speak other European languages you know that if clauses, for hypothetical conditions, use the conjunctive or subjunctive mood/mode. English lost most of it, the only case in which you still notice it is for to be, exactly this was/were switch. In German this is "wäre".
- English (US)
I don't see a problem with the title. "Were" is used with hypothetical ideas. Such as "if I were a bird," etc.
- English (US)
"Were" is used when you are talking about something that is not the case.
"If I were a rich man..." but I am not. "If I were a boy..." Implies that I am not.
[News] Hey you! The one learning a language!
Do you know how to improve your language skills❓ All you have to do is have your writing corrected by a native speaker!
With HiNative, you can have your writing corrected by native speakers for free ✍️✨.
With HiNative, you can have your writing corrected by native speakers for free ✍️✨.
Sign up
Related questions
- Why does Justin Bieber sing the song titled 'She Don't Like The Lights'? Why not "Doesn't"? Wha...
- why does Beyoncé sing 'If I were a boy' instead of 'If I was a boy'?
- Why is the song called “you IS my women”? By the way it’s about two african americans falling in ...
- Has anyone of you already heard “She” by Hayley Kiyoko? If you have, could you help me understand...
- This is the name of a video I found on Youtube: Ed Sheeran on His Girl Friend and Working with B...
Similar questions
- Can you recognize what they say? I want to know this song lyrics. Could you tell me what the...
- There's a song named Gettin' Some and its first sentence is " I was gettin' some head". What does...
- I've heard of this song but never really listened to it. Does this sound natural?
Newest Questions
- Hi guys. What would be the correct form for the following sentence using the word "University". ...
- If I want to refer to a single photograph in the video, which word should I use? picture vs photo...
- "I'm grateful for my dad because he always drops me off and pick me up at the station on school d...
- For Mike, the price is _____ important thing when he shops for jeans. He cares even more about th...
- A: "First, walk through the ticket gate, and ..." B: "First, go through the ticket gate, and ......
Topic Questions
- Is “compose yourself!”, which means “calm down”, common in the states?
- Which is the better of the following? 1.I had lived in Tokyo when I was a child. 2.I lived in T...
- Does this make sense ? 52 years ago my abuelo was visiting a friend in Spain while there he met ...
- How to use “tho” in conversation and text I wanna know situation:)
- Does “Game on” mean “the game started” or “the game is going on”?
Recommended Questions
- How to respond to "I hope you are doing well"?
- what should I answer with "How's your day?" "How's It going?" example plz can I say "pretty good"?
- which one is correct? 1. let's go for a walk across the river 2. let's go for a walk by the riv...
- If you are not the correct person, please direct me the correct one. Does this sentence sound nat...
- Which one is correct ? "thank you for checking up on me" or "checking in on me"? And is it a pro...
Previous question/ Next question
What’s this symbol?
The Language Level symbol shows a user's proficiency in the languages they're interested in. Setting your Language Level helps other users provide you with answers that aren't too complex or too simple.
-
Beginner
Has difficulty understanding even short answers in this language.
-
Beginner-Intermediate
Can ask simple questions and can understand simple answers.
-
Intermediate
Can ask all types of general questions and can understand longer answers.
-
Advanced
Can understand long, complex answers.
Sign up for premium, and you can play other user's audio/video answers.
Tired of searching? HiNative can help you find that answer you're looking for.
