WERE vs. WAS

[barb]

My pet peeve is the use of the word WAS in place of WERE. I was taught that WERE was used in a hypothetical situation. whereas in an actual situation WAS was correct.

It seems to be universally used now, even to national newscasters using the word incorrectly. All of the 'popular' TV shows use WAS in place of WERE, and the only television shows where the word is used correctly seems to be PBS. Commemts?

[Tdol]

I was taught the same way and still follow the pattern, but it's so common that I don't even notice it any more.