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Imagine...

 
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dyak



Joined: 25 Jun 2003
Posts: 630

PostPosted: Wed Nov 03, 2004 7:53 pm    Post subject: Imagine... Reply with quote

Are one or both of the following correct English?

Imagine I'm there and act accordingly.

or

Imagine I were there and act accordingly.

I have a feeling they're both correct and it's just a stylistic choice but you know how the English language starts to sound wrong and doubt-ridden when you teach it...

Cheers.
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valley_girl



Joined: 22 Sep 2004
Posts: 272
Location: Somewhere in Canada

PostPosted: Wed Nov 03, 2004 8:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The first one sounds good. The second one doesn't seem grammatically sound. I'll have to do a search to back up my claim, however. I'm just going by gut instinct right now. I don't think you can use 'I were' except in a conditional phrase (If I were with you now...). With the imperative 'imagine', I'd always use I am/was. Example: Imagine that I am Queen of the World... Wink



I'll be back after I check some grammar references. Razz
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Chris_Crossley



Joined: 26 Jun 2004
Posts: 1797
Location: Still in the centre of Furnace City, PRC, after eight years!!!

PostPosted: Thu Nov 04, 2004 8:29 am    Post subject: Imagine I am/were there ... Reply with quote

When I was at primary school (very!) many moons ago, my English teacher would always use the present simple tense of "be" when coupled with the imperative, "imagine", as in "Imagine I'm a cat!" The unspoken idea was that the teacher was a "cat" there and then, that is, "Imagine I'm a cat NOW."

Even though the situation being imagined is purely hypothetical and has no basis in fact, there is little choice but to the present simple indicative of "be". Unlike French and German, for example, there is no present simple subjunctive alternative to "am", "are" and "is" in English.

On the other hand, I think that "Imagine I were there" might also be acceptable. It could pertain to an imaginary or hypothetical situation that could have happened in the past. For example, "Imagine I were there three days ago when the accident happened..."

I think it depends upon the hypothetical situation being described and at what point in time the situation is taking place. That's my take on the situation as I understand it (without referring to any grammar book!).
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valley_girl



Joined: 22 Sep 2004
Posts: 272
Location: Somewhere in Canada

PostPosted: Thu Nov 04, 2004 1:46 pm    Post subject: Re: Imagine I am/were there ... Reply with quote

Chris_Crossley wrote:


On the other hand, I think that "Imagine I were there" might also be acceptable. It could pertain to an imaginary or hypothetical situation that could have happened in the past. For example, "Imagine I were there three days ago when the accident happened..."



This doesn't sound right to me. "Imagine I was there three days ago when the accident happened..." sounds more grammatically sound in my view. I wouldn't use "I were" unless using the "if" conditional. "If I were there, I'd ...." In the example used above, I'd change it to "Had I been there three days ago..." or "If I had been there three days ago..."

I've yet to find a reliable resource to go on in regards to this query, however.
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leeroy



Joined: 30 Jan 2003
Posts: 777
Location: London UK

PostPosted: Fri Nov 05, 2004 12:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

My scum-ridden estuary English would probably produce

"Imagine I was there and I acted accordingly"

in pub-speech, though I'm not sure what I'd teach my students.

It seems weird to have "Imagine I were.." (thus implying hypotheticality) being followed by "act" - conjunction or no if the first verb is in the past form then I feel that the second verb should be in the past form too.

I'm probably just talking rubbish though...
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