•September 16, 2020•
“I have a problem with the words ‘were’ and ‘was,’” writes reader Linda Cohen. “‘If I was rich’ or ‘If I were rich.’ Please help with that.”
Let me understand the question, Linda. Would you like me to help you get rich or help you with this common usage issue?
I’m ill-equipped to assist you with the former, given that I’ve spent a career in journalism.
However, there is an easy way to remember the latter.
Who doesn’t know the opening line to the signature song in “Fiddler on the Roof”?
“If I were a rich man ...”
See how easy that is to remember?     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.