ABSTRACT
In wishes and conditions the unreality or impossibility was not originally denoted by the tense-shifting in itself, but required also the shifting from the indicative to the subjunctive, as still in German. But in Danish there is now in the preterit (and antepreterit) no formal distinction between the two moods, and the modification of meaning is thus made contingent on the tense only. It is the same in English in more than 99 per cent. of the cases, as the old preterit subjunctive is identical with the indicative, except in the singular of the one verb be, where was and u"ere are still distinct. It is easy to understand, therefore, that the instinctive feeling for the difference between these two forms cannot be vivid enough to prevent the use of was, where were would have been required some centuries ago. Since abo 1700 was has been increasingly frequent in these positions: I wish he was present to hear rou (Defoe) I a murder behind the scenes will affect the audience "ith greater terror than if it was acted before their eyes (Fielding). In literary language there has recently been a reaction in favour of were, which is preferred by most teachers; but in colloquial speech were is comparatively rare, except in the phrase" if I were you," and it is worth remarking that was is
NON-TEMPORAL USE OF TENSES 267 decidedly more emphatic than were, and thus may be said to mark the impossibility better than the old subjunctive form; " I'm not rich. I wish I was" I "I am ill. If I wasn't, I should come with you "-thus often in the negative form. In this way we get a distinction between "If he were to call" with weak were, denoting vaguely a future possibility, and "If he was to call" with strong was, denying that he i8 to call (now), with the use of is to which is nearly synonymous with has to, is bound to; "If I was to open my heart to you, I could show you strange sights" (Cowper) I "If I was to be shot for it I couldn't" (Shaw).
