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Ultimate Style. The Rules of Writing. Real Writers Need Rules.
Parts of Speech

 
Conditional
The conditional might trip you up or give you pause, but it’s actually a wonderfully simple verb form to get right.
The formula always goes: If . . . were . . . would. That’s it! There’s nothing else to memorize.
• If I were principal, I would let everyone leave at eleven a.m.
Note that it’s never correct to say if . . . was . . . were.

The title of the song “If I Were a Rich Man” is an excellent way to remember the use of were with the conditional.


 
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Ultimate Style. The Rules of Writing. Real Writers Need Rules.
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Parts of Speech