"If I was..." or "If I were..."

A common question is whether 'If I was ...' or 'If I were ...' is correct. The answer is that they are both correct, but in different contexts. 

If I were = Imaginary

If I were is used to express an imaginary situation in the present.

If I were you, I would take a vacation.
I would give the test again if I were the teacher. 

If I was = when I was

If I was is used to express something that was true when or if something else happened.

If I was late for class, I got into trouble.
I had to do extra homework, If I was absent.

Unreal / Second Conditional

The second conditional, or unreal conditional is formed in the following manner:

If + Subject + Simple Past + Objects, Subject + Would + Verb + Objects

If I had more time, I would take up a new hobby.
If Jane moved to New York, she would get an apartment in Brooklyn.

Remember that it is also possible to end the sentence with an 'if' clause. In that case, do not use a comma to separate the two clauses.

Subject + Would + Verb + Objects If + Subject + Simple Past + Objects

The school would hire more teachers if the district voted for a tax increase.
The economy would improve if the people paid less for health insurance.

 Verb 'Be' - Unreal / Second Conditional

In the case of the verb 'be', the unreal conditional takes the conjunctive form of the verb 'were' for all subjects. In other words, in the 2nd conditional use 'were' for I, he, she, and it, as well as other subjects.
If Susan were the director, she would invest in new marketing strategies.
I would invest in the stock market if I were a rich man.
The conjugation of the verb 'be' as 'were' indicates that these are imaginary situations.

Reality Check

You may have often heard people use 'If I was ...' in the same sense. The fact is that native speakers use the incorrect form so frequently that it is becoming standard usage. It's interesting to note that Cambridge University accepts 'If I was ...' for the unreal conditional on their English learning test series whereas ETS (English Testing Service) does not. This is a case of descriptive grammar (how the language is used) winning out over prescriptive grammar (how the language should be used). It certainly causes many headaches for English learners!

Past Conditional: If = When

There is a case in which 'If I was ...' (or 'If she / he / it was...') is correct. This form is used to indicate an action that occurred in the past if a given situation arose. In this case, the meaning is similar to 'when'. Notice how this usage refers to a past situation that was true in a specific circumstance, rather than referring to an imaginary situation in the present.

If + Subject + Simple Past + Objects, Subject + Simple Past + Objects
OR
Subject + Simple Past + Objects If + Subject + Simple Past + Objects
I was always in a rush when I was young. If I was in a hurry, I usually forgot my lunch.
She visited Tom if she was in New York when she lived in the United States.
When I was in a hurry, I always forgot my lunch.
Jennifer used to live in the United States. She visited Tom if she was in New York.

In this case, 'if' is acting as a time clause to discuss what happened in a certain situation. Compare this usage to the first conditional, which can use the simple present in both clauses.

If he comes to town, we go out for lunch. = When he comes to town, we go out for lunch.
If I was available, we spent some time chatting. = When I was available (in the past), we spent some time chatting.

To improve your understanding of conditionals, this conditional forms page reviews each of the four forms in detail. To practice conditional form structure, this real and unreal conditional form worksheet provides a quick review and practice exercises, the past conditional worksheet focuses on using the form in the past. Teachers can use this guide on how to teach conditionals, as well as this conditional forms lesson plan to introduce and practice the first and second conditional forms in class.

Source: http://esl.about.com/od/common_mistakes/a/If-I-Was-Or-If-I-Were.htm?utm_content=20160426&utm_medium=email&utm_source=exp_nl&utm_campaign=list_esl&utm_term=list_esl

776 teaching jobs have just been posted to our job board!

776 teaching jobs have just been posted to our job board – week of April 25, 2016. A ‘v’ after a number means a ‘volunteer’ or likely unpaid job. All others are presumably salaried and contracted positions.

Afghanistan 6, Austria 1, Azerbaijan 2, Bahrain 1, Bangladesh 2,Belgium 3, Bulgaria 1, Cambodia 3, Chile 8, China 200 +, Colombia 5, Czech Republic 20, Ecuador 2, Egypt 3, France 50, Germany 5, Greece 6, Honduras 4v, Hong Kong 70, India 1v. Indonesia 10, Italy 50 +, Japan 12, Kazakhstan 6, Kenya 1, Kuwait 1, Kyrgyzstan 1, Malaysia 1, Mexico 1, Myanmar 10, Oman 4, Poland 10, Portugal 6, Qatar 1, Romania 1, Russian Federation 34, Saudi Arabia 30 +, Singapore 5, Slovakia 7, South Korea 20 +, Spain  100 + 2 v, Sudan 1, Taiwan 3, Tanzania 1, Thailand 12, Tunisia 3, Turkey 12, Ukraine 2, United Arab Emirates 3, Vietnam 34.

This is a record 776 ESL positions waiting for teachers around the world. Will there ever be a better opportunity to you to see another country and get paid for it? Doubtful! But if you don’t act quickly the best of these jobs will be snapped up by people already teaching who are ready to move on to another adventure. So what about you? Are you ready to add some excitement to your life? Make new friends? See a new country? Maybe learn a new language? Add international experience to your resume?

If you have a degree in any discipline, our TESOL or TEFL Certificate Course can be the key to many of these positions. Time to step up to the plate and hit one out of the park and into another country! Click out link NOW and get started. 4-6 weeks is all it will take to complete our course and it is only $300 USD!

Even if you don’t have a degree yet, there are still opportunities for you out there. Click our link and email us!

Dr Robert W Taylor

Dean of Studies

Sunbridge Institute of English

http://www.teachesl.org/tesol.html

Four Common Idioms from Shakespeare

What do the following examples from the Web have in common?

1. Changing my mind is not something that happens often. It’s a simple case of me stating my point and refusing to budge an inch from it. 

2. US Recovery Cold Comfort for Unemployed

3. Are your kids eating you out of house and home during the summer? .

4. I made the mistake of buying him an egg salad sandwich, even though in my heart of hearts I knew he wouldn’t like or eat it.

Each one contains a phrase from Shakespeare that is still in widespread use.

refuse to budge an inch
In the frame story of The Taming of the Shrew, drunken Christopher Sly has been thrown out of an inn. An inn employee threatens to call the law on him, but Sly refuses to be intimidated by the threat. He tells the employee to call whom he will, but that he’ll “not budge an inch.” Sly uses the expression literally: he will not physically move from the place where he immediately falls asleep. In modern usage, the idiom is usually used figuratively with the meaning, “stand firm,” “refuse to change one’s mind on a matter.” 

cold comfort
Shakespeare uses this expression in two plays: The Taming of the Shrew and King John.
In the Shrew, Grumio uses the expression in a lengthy and bawdy punning exchange with another servant. In King John, the king, dying of poison, suffers from a burning fever. When his attendants inquire how he feels, he responds hyperbolically, personifying Winter and chiding them for not asking winter:
to make his bleak winds kiss my parched lips
And comfort me with cold. I do not ask you much;
I beg cold comfort; and you are so strait
And so ingrateful you deny me that.
In modern usage, “cold comfort” is used figuratively in contexts in which something that is good in one sense is not adequate consolation for those who do not benefit from it. For example, the news of a drop in unemployment is “cold comfort” to people who remain unemployed. 

to eat one out of house and home
In Henry IV, Part 2, Hostess Quickly of the Boar’s Head tavern has called the law on Falstaff because he has run up an unpaid bill of 100 marks. When the Lord Chief Justice asks for details, she says, “He hath eaten me out of house and home; he hath put all my substance into that fat belly of his.”
In modern usage, the expression seems to be especially common in reference to teenagers.

in my heart of hearts
Shakespeare puts the expression in Hamlet’s mouth, although without a plural:
Give me that man
That is not passion’s slave, and I will wear him
In my heart’s core, ay, in my heart of heart.
Hamlet is praising Horatio for being the kind of man who can be trusted. In modern usage the phrase “heart of hearts” means, “the seat of one’s truest feelings.” The expression is especially popular on dating sites. For example:
The most important question to ask yourself is this: In your heart of hearts, do you believe that he or she is the one and only?

Happy Birthday, Shakespeare! He was not of an age, but for all time!—Ben Jonson (1572-1637)

William Shakespeare
Born: April 23, 1564
Died: April 23, 1616

Source: www.dailywritingtips.com