Question

If I ______ rich, I would travel the world.

• A. am
• B. was
• C. were
• D. be

Hint:

Whenever you see "If I..." followed by "...I would," always look for "were" in the options. It signals an imaginary scenario.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Concept: This question tests the knowledge of conditional sentences, specifically the "Second Conditional," which is used for hypothetical or unreal situations.

• Structure: If + Subject + Past Simple, Subject + would + Verb (base form).

• The Mood: This is known as the Subjunctive Mood.

Step 1: Analyzing the hypothetical nature of the sentence.
The speaker is currently

not rich. The "travelling" is an imaginary result of an imaginary situation. In formal English grammar, when we express a wish or a hypothetical condition that is contrary to the current fact, we use a specific form of the verb "to be."

Step 2: Applying the Subjunctive rule.
In the subjunctive mood,

"were" is used for all subjects. Even for "I", "He", "She", or "It", the correct form is

"were". Therefore, even though "I was" is common in casual speech, the grammatically correct answer for a competitive exam is "If I were rich."