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I guess I understand the rules in subjunctive mood.

I am aware that this expression is giving some advice.

If I were you, I would....

I'd just like to get some double confirm about the usage.

I also learned an ELL post

The only context where were is appropriate after I is when the sentence is in the subjunctive mood

Some friend told me:

in American English, people use "I wish I was" to form a subjunctive mood sentence.

"I wish I was rich."

in British English, people use "I wish I were" to form a subjunctive mood sentence.

"I wish I were rich."

Is it that true?

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    "I wish I were" is the proper way to form the subjunctive mood in English. It has almost completely disappeared in informal American English, but knowing how to use it correctly (at least in formal writing) is a sign of a good education, at least to those who care about such things. – SarahT Apr 19 '20 at 06:18
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    Yes, but despite what you may have read, "I wish I were rich" is not a subjunctive clause. The subjunctive is a clause type that uses the plain form of the verb, as in "It is vital that I be kept informed". The "were" in your example is best called 'irrealis', a special mood form instanced solely by "were" with 1st or 3rd person singular subjects. Many speakers prefer to use the preterite "was" instead. – BillJ Apr 19 '20 at 06:18
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    Does this answer your question? Why is it "If I were you" and not "If I was you"? – James K Apr 19 '20 at 07:26
  • Wow, never knew about this before. Quoting Wikipedia: "[The subjunctive mood] occurs in 'that' clauses following the main-clause verb "wish" ("I wish that she were here now"; "I wish that she had been here yesterday") and in if clauses expressing a condition that does not or did not hold ("If she were here right now, ..."; "If she had been here yesterday, ..."). " –  Apr 19 '20 at 13:30
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    @WeavingBird1917 Those examples are not of the subjunctive. Wiki is wrong about this. – BillJ Apr 19 '20 at 14:57
  • @BillJ Interesting, there are lots of similar examples here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_subjunctive#Use_of_the_past_subjunctive, and also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uses_of_English_verb_forms#Expressions_of_wish

    The quoted text was from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subjunctive_mood#English

    Seems like they are placing it under "past subjunctive". Perhaps a linguist would correct the page. I would cross check the references for those sections first though.

     –  Apr 19 '20 at 15:01
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    @WeavingBird1917 Briefly, mood is applied to inflectional system of the verb as in such languages as Latin, French and German. As far as English is concerned, historical change has more or less eliminated mood from the inflectional system, the main mood system, therefore, is analytic rather than inflectional, marked by the presence or absence of the modal auxiliary verbs like "can", "may", "will","shall" etc. – BillJ Apr 19 '20 at 15:15
  • Does this answer your question? "If something was" vs "If something were" –  May 02 '20 at 15:16

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