Learn English – Meaning using “was to” and “were to” in sentence

conditional-constructionssubjunctives

Please help me with my below questions.

A) "Below the bridge, the fishermen started shouting that if Chaudhary were to jump, they would catch him and foil his attempt to end his life."

My questions are:

  1. What is the meaning of above sentence using "were to"?

  2. Why "were to" has been used in above sentence instead of "was to"?

  3. What would be the meaning if I only used: "… If Chaudhary jumped they would catch him …"?

Need meaning of some more examples:

B) He was to become boss but he retired early.

C) He was to come at 5:00 am but the train arrived late.

Best Answer

"Were to" is used instead of "was to" because it's an example of the subjunctive: it's explaining a situation that is either hypothetical (as in the case you mentioned) or imaginary, rather than something that is definite.

I am not sure if the phrase "if I was to" is ever grammatically correct. I don't think it is.

If you remove "to", there are some distinctions between the forms "if I were" and "if I was".

If I were stronger than you, then I would win at arm-wrestling.

This is also an example of the subjunctive, and describes a situation that is not currently true, but either could be, or could not but expresses a wish to be.

If I was stronger than you, then I never took advantage of it.

This is not subjunctive, and it indicates an uncertain past: something that might have happened in the past, or it might not.

What would be the meaning if I only used: "… If Chaudhary jumped they would catch him …"?

That has about the same meaning. I would say either is acceptable usage.

He was to become boss but he retired early.

He retired before people expected him to. If he had not retired, he would have become the boss.

He was to come at 5:00 am but the train arrived late.

He was supposed to be there at 5:00am when the train arrived. But the train did not arrive on time, so he got there sometime after 5:00am.

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