A preposition is something that you should not end a sentence in. And you should not start a sentence with a conjunction. However, some words may only start a sentence under certain conditions. I notice all of these tiny grammatical errors, and sometimes make the same errors myself knowingly, but I usually don’t worry about it because in the words of one of my favorite podcasters, “This is the kind of pedantry up with which we shall not put!”
One of the finer points of grammar that I notice being violated most often is the use of were and was. I think that most people just don’t really know the difference. All the time, I hear people say “If I was… I would…”
Here’s a chart of correct uses.
| Were vs. Was | Possible | Contrary to the fact (correct grammatically) |
| Present | If I am a rich man, I don’t have to work hard. | If I WERE a rich man, I wouldn’t have to work hard. |
| Past | If I WAS a rich man, I didn’t have to work hard. | If I WERE a rich man, I wouldn’t have had to work hard. If I had been a rich man, I wouldn’t have had to work hard. |
Sorry to those of you who got a ton of tweets about this post because I keep editing it.
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