3 ms·

You can say "I wish she was not so informal", but that's a perfectly reasonable use of the word Surely it should be "I wish she were not so informal"?

• gte910h 15y ago
  No, "were" would only be used if you were supposing a condition different than reality. When used in the first person, it's the past subjunctive. So a valid sentence with "were" might be: "If she were a man." As the writer is in informal in the judgement of the commenter, the commenter therefore should use "was".
  • walterr 15y ago
    But the wished-for condition is exactly that, or else it wouldn't have to be wished for. Yes, the writer is informal -- but the condition wished for is "not so informal".
    • gte910h 15y ago
      Good point.