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In the sentence

I pretended that I understood, lest he think I am stupid or deaf.

the "he think" part is definitely present subjunctive, but I'm not sure how the "I am" part should be conjugated. I'm thinking it might also be present subjunctive:

I pretended that I understood, lest he think I be stupid or deaf.

or past subjunctive:

I pretended that I understood, lest he think I were stupid or deaf.

All three sound all right to me. Is there one correct conjugation to use in this case?

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  • This is archaic syntax, not found in modern English speech. Since people have used all sorts of constructions and called them "subjunctive" over the centuries, that means you can write practically anything and get away with it, provided you don't mind people thinking your writing is vaguely nineteenth-century. P.S. All those "sequence of tense" rules about "subjunctive" don't really predict what native speakers say, as you've found. More zombie rules, for the most part.
    – John Lawler
    Commented Apr 15, 2014 at 18:37
  • The only word that zips us back in time here is 'lest' replace that with 'in case' and change 'think' to 'thought' and it's something you might hear everyday. 'I pretended that I understood in case he thought I was stupid or deaf'
    – Frank
    Commented Apr 15, 2014 at 19:30
  • I don't think "in case" is quite the right phrase to use, since it doesn't imply the same sort of causality that "lest" does.
    – Patricia Li
    Commented Apr 15, 2014 at 21:34
  • The third example is the correct one.
    – Anonym
    Commented Apr 15, 2014 at 23:40
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    I don't think that lest implies to modern English speakers the causality you attribute to it. If you had to use one of these constructs, I suggest your verb tenses agree entirely or within the clause at least. I pretended that I understood, so that he would not think I was stupid or deaf seems more natural and imbued with causality to me.
    – Mike
    Commented Apr 16, 2014 at 3:48

3 Answers 3

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None of those sound right to me. I would write:

I pretended that I understood, lest he think me stupid or deaf.

Reference

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1

I think if you studied clauses with lest in literature you would find all three possibilities. Even "should" can be used.

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"I were" is the correct subjunctive form here. However, "lest + subjunctive" marks the sentence as an archaic construction. Even "lest he think me", which is probably better, is subjunctive and feels old-fashioned.

If that's not what you intend, various modern alternatives are possible. How about, "I pretended that I understood, so he would not think I was stupid or deaf."

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