She has one foot in the grave but still behaves as if she were 20.

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

You know this old lady that lives on second floor? She has one foot in the grave but still behaves as if she were 20.

why not: if she was 20?

why is ,were’’ admissible for ,she’’?

thanx !

2

Hi Saneta,

‘Were’ in that sentence is an ‘unreal tense’ because she is not 20 but an old lady. This is an example of the subjunctive of the verb ‘be’. You still find it in this expression: If I were you, i would … In the indicative form. this would be ‘was’ but the past subjunctive form of ‘be’ changes to ‘were’ in all three persons. singular and plural.

Alan

3

Are you all talking about me?

Claudia

4

Hi Claudia,

Perish the very thought!

Alan

5

Phew! Lucky me. And I thought for a moment that I was found out!

Claudia

6

Mr Alan,

perish the very thought = destroy your thought/the very thought?

thanks ;-]

7

Hi Saneta,

This means that the exact thought (the thought itself) is impossible to imagine.

Alan