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Subjunctive Mood When Tevya in Fiddler on the Roof sings, "If I were a rich man . . . ," he uses the verb were to signal that he is, in fact, not a rich man. Normally, the verb was would be used with the subject I, but were serves a special purpose. This is called the subjunctive were. It indicates a condition that is contrary to fact. Examples: If I were a cat, I could sleep all day long and never have to worry about work. If he were more attentive to details, he could be a copyeditor. |
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