Question
Updated on
2 Dec 2022
- Japanese
-
English (US)
Question about English (US)
Which one is correct and natural?
1) Sometimes I wish I was a girl.
2) Sometimes I wish I were a girl.
Which one is correct and natural?
1) Sometimes I wish I was a girl.
2) Sometimes I wish I were a girl.
1) Sometimes I wish I was a girl.
2) Sometimes I wish I were a girl.
Answers
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- English (US)
- Japanese
@tekmansam Thanks a lot as always. I think #2 is gramatically correct but it's not commonly heard todays, right?
- English (US)
@nomadatlatl No, 2 is incorrect.
In the past, it is:
I was
You were
She/He/It was
We were
You guys were
They were
- Japanese
@NoobCube Thanks a lot for the feedback.
Let's say "if I were a bird, I could fly to you," does it sound weird? Or grammatically incorrect?
Let's say "if I were a bird, I could fly to you," does it sound weird? Or grammatically incorrect?
- English (US)
- English (US)
- English (US)
- Japanese
- Japanese
- English (US)
@nomadatlatl 動詞が仮定法で使われ、不可能または事実上不可能な願い、提案、要求などの仮定的な状況を表す場合は、"were "を使用する必要があります。
I wish I were a cat and could sleep all day. 😹
仮定の状況が可能であれば、"was "を使用する。
If she was honest, she’d admit that she missed him too.
参考になれば幸いです。😊
Highly-rated answerer
- Japanese
@Cathy_Z Thanks a lot as always. So according to your explanation, #2 sentence (Sometimes I wish I were a girl) should be correct and natural. But all the other commenters claim #1 is correct and natural. What could I think of this difference?🤷
- English (US)
@nomadatlatl いえいえ。だから難しいって言ったんです。🤔 みんなから反応があった後ではよくわからなかったのですが、調べてみるとほとんどの記事が私の説明と同じでした。感想をお聞かせください。🙇🏻♀️
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/conditional-sent...
https://languagetool.org/insights/post/grammar-...
https://www.grammarbook.com/blog/verbs/if-i-was...
https://commonenglisherrors.com/if-i-was-vs-if-...
https://www.cliffsnotes.com/cliffsnotes/subject...
Highly-rated answerer
- Japanese
@Cathy_Z Thanks a lot again for the links. All of them show the English rules saying you should use “If I were” when you use a subjunctive mood in a hypothetical situation. This applies to my understanding. So #2 (Sometimes I wish I were a girl) seems to be gramatically correct and completely natural to me, because being a girl is a hypothetical situation. Can you please be a bit more specific about the reason the other commenters insist on #1 ? Your thoughts?
Your Japanese is very good but I'm not sure about "だから難しいって言ったんです." What do you mean by that?
Your Japanese is very good but I'm not sure about "だから難しいって言ったんです." What do you mean by that?
- English (US)
@nomadatlatl ①みんなが1番を選ぶ理由は、よくある間違いだということ以外には、あまり言えません。仮定の状況でなければ「If I was」なのです。
ある人が両方の答えを教えてくれました。最初は2番が不正解だと言っていたのに、あなたの例の「もし私が鳥だったら」が正しいと言ったのです。
②だから難しいって言ったんです。
ごめんなさい、何度か回答を修正したのですが、最初の回答から「難しい問題だ」を外していたことに気がつきませんでした。
こういう議論がないのは寂しいですね。😜😆🙃
Highly-rated answerer
- Japanese
@Cathy_Z Thanks a lot again.
It’s good to hear how native speakers feel about this issue even though their feedback isn't always correct. I had a great lesson from you, thank you!
It’s good to hear how native speakers feel about this issue even though their feedback isn't always correct. I had a great lesson from you, thank you!

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