If I were him (A) / I would have taught (B) / those cheats a lesson. (...
The first part of the sentence is incorrect; it should be ‘If I had been him’ as we are referring to a past action-one that has been completed
View all questions of this test
If I were him (A) / I would have taught (B) / those cheats a lesson. (...
The correct sentence should be "If I were he, I would have taught those cheats a lesson." Here, the error is in the use of the objective case pronoun "him" instead of the subjective case pronoun "he".
Explanation:
- Subjective case pronouns are used as the subject of a sentence or clause, while objective case pronouns are used as the object of a verb or preposition.
- In the given sentence, the phrase "If I were he" is in the subjunctive mood, which means it expresses a hypothetical or unreal condition. It is followed by the conditional phrase "I would have taught those cheats a lesson", which expresses a possible outcome.
- In the phrase "If I were he", "he" is the subject of the verb "were". Therefore, the correct pronoun to use is the subjective case "he", not the objective case "him".
- Using "him" instead of "he" is a common mistake, but it is grammatically incorrect.
In summary, the correct sentence should be:
- If I were he, I would have taught those cheats a lesson.