"Was" v. "Were" question

[Alniter]

Hi all,

.....I am drawing a mental blank and hope someone here can help me out. I'm working on a song lyric and one of the lines is "I'd give the world to see your face / if it were smiling". For some reason the word "were" feels out-of-place there, but so does "was" if I substitute it. Which is grammatically correct? I'm sure the right one will sound good once I know it's the right one!

Thanks,
Steve in Florida

[Huda-M]

I was told that 'were' is used if we are predicting/imagining or thinking some thing.

Like in: If I were in a palace etc.

So, 'if it were smiling' would mean that the person is thinking that the face is smiling or if the face smiles.


Hopefully a teacher would help you in a better way.

[emsr2d2]

Hi all,

.....I am drawing a mental blank and hope someone here can help me out. I'm working on a song lyric and one of the lines is "I'd give the world to see your face / if it were smiling". For some reason the word "were" feels out-of-place there, but so does "was" if I substitute it. Which is grammatically correct? I'm sure the right one will sound good once I know it's the right one!

Thanks,
Steve in Florida

After "if", we use "were" in all cases (if I were rich, if you were thin, if he were president).

My only thought here would be that it is not so much the face that is smiling, but the person. A smile appears on the face, and you can describe "a smiling face", but we wouldn't normally say that a face actually "smiles". How about "I'd give the world to see your face / If you were smiling"?

[Raymott]

Hi all,

.....I am drawing a mental blank and hope someone here can help me out. I'm working on a song lyric and one of the lines is "I'd give the world to see your face / if it were smiling". For some reason the word "were" feels out-of-place there, but so does "was" if I substitute it. Which is grammatically correct? I'm sure the right one will sound good once I know it's the right one!

Thanks,
Steve in Florida

In fact, you're wrong. The grammatically correct "were" sounds out of place. This is a pop song, and you should use the ungrammatical "was".
Your song will have absolutely no street cred if you insist on correct grammar.
Besides, "was smiling" sounds better to sing.

[Abstract Idea]

Hi all,

.....I am drawing a mental blank and hope someone here can help me out. I'm working on a song lyric and one of the lines is "I'd give the world to see your face / if it were smiling". For some reason the word "were" feels out-of-place there, but so does "was" if I substitute it. Which is grammatically correct? I'm sure the right one will sound good once I know it's the right one!

Thanks,
Steve in Florida

Why don't you try something along the line
"I'd give the world to see your face/ were it smiling" ?