> I agree and disagree with you. The non-contracted form of the negation ought to be "If Dave were not a babe...." But if it's a *contraction*, it seems to be slightly better syntax to state, "If Dave wasn't a babe...," rather than "If Dave weren't a babe...." See what I mean? Let's work it through. To paraphrase Sam, "'If Dave was not a babe...' implies that you are talking about a past point in time and you are/were not sure if Dave actually WAS a babe or not. 'If Dave were not a babe...' is a speculation about how something would be if Dave WERE, or WEREN'T, a babe at the present time." Ptharghh. That sounds terrible.

I don't think the presence or absence of a contraction has any bearing on the correctness of the verb form.

"If Dave was not/wasn't a babe" says to me that you aren't sure if he was a babe or not. "If Dave were not/weren't a babe" says to me that you know he IS a babe but are speculating on how things would be if he were not. Since Dave is not a babe, it does not make sense to use this sentence format.