On 02/05/2011 02:48 AM, Warp wrote:
>    While I were at it

I know you try to get this kind of thing right, so I'll share a little 
about 'was' and 'were'. The ONLY time 'were' is used to describe the 
state of a singular noun like 'I' is in a present-tense statement 
contrary to fact.

"If I were a rich man ..." => I don't have a lot of money now, but if I 
did ...

"If I was a rich man ..." => If I had a lot of money in the past ...

"If we were rich men ..." => Ambiguous, but correct. Usually understood 
as relating to the present. In cases where you want to talk about the 
past, adding "at that time" would clear up the ambiguity.

  -Shay

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