if i was not working vs if i were not working

Both "if I was not working" and "if I were not working" are correct, but they are used in different contexts. "If I was not working" is used in informal situations, while "if I were not working" is used in formal or hypothetical situations.

Last updated: March 19, 2024 • 2092 views

if i was not working

This phrase is correct in informal contexts.

This phrase is commonly used in informal speech or writing to express a condition or situation in the past that may or may not be true.

Examples:

If I was not working yesterday, I must have been sick.
I would have gone to the party if I was not working late.
If I was not working on this project, I would have joined you for the movie.
I wonder what I would be doing now if I was not working here.
If I was not working so hard, I would have more time for myself.

Show examples from the web [+]

Jan 10, 2007 ... I would buy a Mac today if I was not working at Microsoft. If you run the equivalent of VPC on a MAC you get access to basically all Windows ...
Dec 12, 2006 ... "I would buy a Mac today if I was not working at Microsoft." Tuesday, Allchin used the Windows Vista team's blog to clarify his three-year-old ...
Aug 24, 2011 ... If I Was Not Working in the Circus. LoveYourWallaby. SubscribeSubscribed Unsubscribe 1111. Loading... Loading... Working... Add to ...
I see lots of random features and some great vision, but that doesn't translate into great products. I would buy a Mac today if I was not working at Microsoft.

Alternatives:

if I were not working
if I hadn't been working
if I didn't work
if I hadn't worked
if I weren't working

if i were not working

This phrase is correct in formal or hypothetical contexts.

This phrase is used in formal writing or in hypothetical situations to express a condition or situation that is contrary to fact or unlikely to happen.

Examples:

If I were not working on this project, I would be traveling around the world.
I would go to the concert if I were not working that night.
If I were not working so hard, I could spend more time with my family.
If I were not working for this company, I would start my own business.
I wish I were not working on weekends.

Show examples from the web [+]

... serving the upstream oilfield equipment and service industry. If I were not working for Spears & Associates, I'd be... learning about data fusion technology.
Nov 6, 2013 ... If I were not working tomorrow, I would help you. (Note that the 'were + present participle' structure is now in the 'if clause'. If I had time ...
You offer the type of activities I would do with my child, if I were not working! I think the holiday club is great value for money considering the amount of individual ...
Aug 18, 2015 ... ... have time to dive to into a variety of languages; What would I be doing if I were not working with WordPress and associated technologies?

Alternatives:

if I was not working
if I hadn't been working
if I didn't work
if I hadn't worked
if I weren't working

What Our Customers Are Saying

Our customers love us! We have an average rating of 4.79 stars based on 283,125 votes.
Also check out our 2,100+ reviews on TrustPilot (4.9).

"Thank you!"
Sachi Nakama July 2024
"I have literally been through chat, PI, claude, bard and bing and I got conflicting answers! Thank you! Human intelligence reigns!"
Retha July 2024
"Faster than AI"
CYNTHIA December 2023
"This was very helpful and I personally think this site is the best."
Kaden October 2023
"It was extremely thorough and very helpful!"
imperialelisa October 2023
"7 years without any disappointment. Always 100% satisfied. You guys are the best in the world at what you do. Thank you so much :)"
Zubair Alam October 2023
"In a world of text messages and online communication, this is great to have as a live tool. Thank you."
Selena October 2023
"Without textranch I would be stuck!"
宏祐 October 2023
"Accuracy and fast response. Personal comments from editor. Thank you."
Clh September 2023
"I wasn't aware of this service, it's fascinating and more reliable than standard IA tools available on the internet"
Arturo September 2023
"The fact that you can get reliable fast feedback on your texts."
Vinicius Antonio August 2023
"you guys are better than grammarly i'm being honest here"
ordinary July 2023
"OMG! This is really good than any other text correction tools I've used so far. Highly recommend this."
Vehan July 2023
"Very fast and accurate. thank you."
mojtaba July 2023
"I love this app because it's help to writing skills all of students ♥️"
Tarisini July 2023
"This was exactly the mistake I was looking for, the wording dind´t sound right at first. Better than grammarly!"
Ente July 2023
"The immediate help that I received was reassuring and very satisfactory. Thanks."
priiiyanshuu July 2023
"this helps A LOT for my studies."
kathnunez02 June 2023
"Woow!! I would never have expected such precision! Thank you soooo much!!"
Berta June 2023
"Real Time Editor and not AI. Many Thanks."
Priya June 2023
"The very first thing excites me about Textranch is how much your editors care."
sepideh June 2023
"The fact that texts are checked by human editors rather than by AI, etc. I appreciate this!"
Анна June 2023
"Feel welcome, immediate response, high quality feedback"
martin.roy June 2023
"This is the best app that I have ever seen"
Burulai May 2023

if i was not working vs if i were not working