If I were atau If I was yang Benar?

Conditional Sentence: If I Were atau If I was yang Benar?

“if I were” merupakan kata-kata yang umum digunakan pada conditional sentence type 2 (present unreal conditional). Lalu apakah “If I was” dapat pula digunakan pada conditional sentence type 2?

Baik “if I were” maupun “if I was” semuanya grammatically correct, namun tergantung konteksnya. “If I were” digunakan pada unreal situation, sedangkan “if I was” statusnya acceptable bagi Cambridge University di English learning test-nya, namun tidak bagi ETS (English Testing Service).

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).

(Kenneth Beare. “If I was or If I were?” About English as 2nd Language. http://esl.about.com/od/common_mistakes/a/If-I-Was-Or-If-I-Were.htm. Date Accessed: June 18, 2014.)

Meskipun dalam percakapan banyak orang Inggris menggunakan “If I was”, namun tetap “If I were” lah yang berstatus grammatically correct. Were merupakan verb di dalam subjunctive mood (kata kerjanya untuk menyatakan pengandaian).

In speech, many English people say If I was…, but If I were… is held to be grammatically correct.

(http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv6.shtml)

“If I was” yang Benar

“If I was” yang grammatically correct adalah ketika digunakan semakna subordinate conjunction “when” untuk menyatakan waktu.  Was disini merupakan verb di dalam indicative mood (kata kerjanya untuk menyatakan fakta atau opini).

Contoh:

1. If I was embarrassed, my face often turned red.
   (Ketika saya malu, wajah saya sering memerah.) <– suatu fakta yang sering terjadi di masa lampau)
2. If I were her, my face would turn red.
   (Jika saya ini dia, wajah saya akan memerah.) <– tapi saya bukan dia, hanya pengandaian)

Soal Conditional Sentence type 2

Soal Subjunctive

Related Posts:

• Conditional Sentence type 3
• If dan Whether
• Subjunctive Mood
• Indicative Mood

References:

1. If I was or If I were? http://esl.about.com/od/common_mistakes/a/If-I-Was-Or-If-I-Were.htm. Accessed on June 18, 2014.
2. Which is correct: “if I was” or “if I were”? And why?http://www.cliffsnotes.com/cliffsnotes/writing/which-is-correct-if-i-was-or-if-i-were-and-why. Accessed on June 18, 2014.