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Originally Posted by Mittelwaechter
I don't know if the writer is English or American, but there seems to be some slang confusing "was" and "were", like "We was hiding in the conning tower..."
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Not slang, but bad usage (or grammar if you like). I was. He was. She was. You were. We were. They were.
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In this context - is it possible (or maybe even common in dialects and slangs) to get a "was" instead of a "would have been"?
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Normally no. "He was" means that he actually was there. "He would have been" means that was his destination but he didn't make it, or that he wanted to be there. "He would have been hiding, but he didn't get there in time."
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Like "He was speeding down the road or he would have been late" to be transformed into "He was speeding down the road or he was late"?
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No, neither one of those is considered good English. "He was speeding down the road because he didn't want to be late" works. The use of "or" always means there's an "either" as well, even if it's not stated. "He was speeding down the road" says what he was doing. "Or" would be used if he was doing something else: "He was speeding down the road or he was sitting in his car." "or he was late" would be a contrast to something similar "He was early or he was late."
"Or" always compares two similar things. "He is or he isn't." Your "speeding down the road" question would be like saying "He is or the cat is hungry."
I'm sorry if that's even more confusing. I'm not sure how to show it without using a lot more examples.