Want, have and were

[FalaGringo]

Have and want do not work well with "were", correct?

For example
If I were to want to talk to him, I would.
If I were to have to choose a car, I would choose this one.

Examples without "were"
If I wanted to talk to him, I would.
If I had to choose a car, i would choose this one.

I assume that there are plenty of other verbs which also do not sound too natural with the use of "were",however, I've yet to identify them.

 

[probus]

"If I were to want to ..." implies that you don't want to. This is an example of the subjunctive mood. Speakers of BrE have told us that the subjunctive is no longer used in the UK, but it's still alive and well in America. For example we would say "If I were interested in politics I would vote for Mr X, but I usually don't bother to vote", while you would say 'If I was interested in politics."