Were -ing (past continuous of be) is used to situations which were happening at a special time in the past and none hypothetical, it is more direct, not imaginative. Technically, you should use 'were'. You are correct that the sentence is subjunctive because of the indefiniteness introduced by 'as though'.

But i cannot rule out the possibility that indian englishâ€and specifically indian political englishâ€has evolved this usage of were to precisely in order to express firmness and caution in the same … The usage of something like were you vs. Weren't you for an example: You were going to talk to michael, (were you/weren't you)? In the sentence above, which makes sense grammatically? What is the difference between were and have been, and are these sentences gramatically correct? 1) some of the best known writers of detective fiction in the twentieth century were women.

In the sentence above, which makes sense grammatically? What is the difference between were and have been, and are these sentences gramatically correct? 1) some of the best known writers of detective fiction in the twentieth century were women.