Spot the grammatical error, if any?
asked Apr 30, 2018 at 9:25
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1I wish he was as good as you when it comes to managing finances" / "I wish he had been as good as you when it came to managing finances".– BillJApr 30, 2018 at 9:42
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Here's the thing, this site is not about finding mistakes in people's sentences or answering quiz show type of questions. EL&U is about understanding the language better, it's about improving our knowledge and helping visitors understand better the history, the pronunciation and the writing of English. It should be about deepening one another's knowledge, therefore if someone asks "Is this sentence correct?" It will always be put on hold and closed, and then sometimes even deleted. Proofreading questions are always OFF TOPIC (cont'd)– Mari-Lou AMay 1, 2018 at 5:44
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So, writing “spot the error” sounds like a question on a quiz show. Experienced users don't like those type of questions, and they will cast their votes to close them. Experienced users don't like seeing questions with all caps (words written with capital letters) it looks like you are shouting, and that's considered rude and rather aggressive. Good questions will show a minimum of research and the asker will also attempt to explain what they did to find the answer, or why they are confused.– Mari-Lou AMay 1, 2018 at 5:50
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When I edited this other question of yours, I replaced the all caps, and I removed the catch phrase "spot the error" with "where's the error?" in the question body. It sounded more like a question from someone who wanted to understand, but it was still similar to a proofreading question, so even though it delayed closure (for a bit) I knew the question wouldn't stay open forever, which is why I posted an answer. I was right. That question is now also on hold.– Mari-Lou AMay 1, 2018 at 5:57
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1 Answer
"I wish he was as good as you when it came to managing finances."
Your question title is grammatically fine. The subjunctive mood is the verb form used when expressing a wish, demand, suggestion, or making a statement that is contrary to fact. Certain verbs (such as advise, ask, command, desire, insist, propose, recommend, suggest, and urge) and certain adjectives (such as crucial, desirable, essential, important, and vital) signal the subjunctive mood.
Consider:
I wish he were as good as you when it came to managing finances.
The verb 'was' should be in the subjunctive mood form when used with the word wish.
As in:
If was a rich man, I would live in a mansion.
Better:
If I were a rich man, I would live in a mansion.
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The 'error' is not with the matrix verb ("was" and "were" are both fine) but in the subordinate clause where it should be "comes", not "came".– BillJApr 30, 2018 at 10:24
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2@BillJ Some variants might be better for specific contexts, but I don’t think there is an intrinsic grammatical problem with the quote in the title.– LawrenceApr 30, 2018 at 10:40
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@Lawrence I wouldn't go along with that. Why would the preterite verb "came" be used here, when the matrix clause is clearly present tense?– BillJApr 30, 2018 at 10:46
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this area of grammar is not a strong point of mine ... if i have any. I tend to agree with @Lawrence– lbfApr 30, 2018 at 10:50
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1The wishing might be in the present, but the interaction with whoever he was might have been in the past. Imagine the speaker looking over his investments with his current financial advisor, lamenting the opportunities lost by his former advisor. I don’t see a problem with the grammar of the quote in the title in that scenario. In any case, the most glaring grammatical problem in this question is the use of two determiners with “doubt” (question) before Ibf changed another to other.– LawrenceApr 30, 2018 at 11:04