If I _____ a politician, I would never tell lies ?

The correct answer to the sentence "If I _____ a politician, I would never tell lies" is "B) were." This choice is appropriate because it utilizes the subjunctive mood, which is commonly used in hypothetical or contrary-to-fact statements. When we construct sentences that describe situations that are not real or are unlikely, we often use "were" instead of "was," regardless of the subject.

In this case, the speaker is expressing a hypothetical situationwhat they would do if they were a politician. Since the speaker is not a politician, the use of "were" indicates that we are exploring an imagined scenario. This grammatical structure is often referred to as the "second conditional," which typically follows the pattern: "If [subject] + were, [subject] + would."

The other options do not fit this context. "A) was" would be incorrect for hypothetical situations since it does not follow the subjunctive mood practice. "C) am" cannot be used here because it implies a current reality, and "D) cooked" is not relevant to the sentence. Therefore, "B) were" is the grammatically correct choice that aligns with the hypothetical nature of the statement.