This one trips up a lot of people – including me on occasion. We hear “I was” and “I were” used interchangeably (and incorrectly) so often, it’s easy to get confused.

The problem is that verbs are moody. We mostly use the “indicative mood,” which deals with facts (e.g., I was working). But what if you’re making a conditional or hypothetical statement? That calls for the “subjunctive mood,” and “was” becomes “were” (e.g., If I were independently wealthy, I could work less).

The same rule applies to the pronouns “he,” “she,” and “it.” Luckily, the words “if” and “wish” are generally good tip-offs for when to use “were” instead of “was.”