有一读者问： 有这样一个句子：
(1)If I were not busy, I would have come.
语法书上讲，过去虚拟式只能表与现在事实相反或与将来事实可能相反，但这里的 were 却表与过去事实相反，如何解释呢？
上述语法规则一般说是成立的，但过去虚拟式 were 是个例外，尤其在 if I were 等结构中。但也不限于这种结构，如：
(2)If you were in my position, you would have done the same thing.
(3)It was pointed out that if they were to meet the delegation, they would have obtained a totally different impression.
(4)He told her...he was going East...and hopefully she'd sign the settlement papers then, if they were drawn up in time.
另外，在一些应用 was 的情况中，有人也喜欢用 were， 如：
(5)If it were so, it was a grievous fault.
(6)If every poet were a master of phrasing, he was so.
(7)Better one spring into the broad blue river beneath him, were it not for little pale-faced Adèle who had none but him to look to.
were 的这种用法，有的语法家认为是 a hypercorrect pseudo-subjunctive 即一种矫枉过正的伪虚拟语气；有的语法家则认为它只用于 choice language 即精美文字之中，往往并不与事实相反。
与上述情况相似的还有下面句中的间接疑问句：
(8)He despatched his favourite courtier to see if she were really as charming as fame reports.
(9)It was difficult to tell whether the language were Semitic or Indo-European.
下面句中的 were 则用在让步状语从句中：
(10)Stewart was, perhaps, the most beloved member of Trinity, whether he were feeding rugger blues on plovers eggs or keeping an early chapel with the expression of an earth-born seraph.
最后，应该指出，上述 were 的用法都是比较少见的，有些甚至是不规范的。
