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1 vote
1 answer
499 views

Subjunctive Mood with the Type 3 Conditional or "could with the perfect infinitive" expressing ability, theoretical possibility, etc. in the past

From NBC news’s ‘Breakthrough finding’ reveals why certain Covid-19 patients die: "Before Covid, their condition was silent," Bastard said. "Most of them hadn't gotten sick before.&...
Eugene's user avatar
  • 235
14 votes
3 answers
90k views

"It would be better if you drink/drank all the water" [duplicate]

Which one of the following is grammatically correct? It would be better if you drink all the water. It would be better if you drank all the water. The question is, obviously, about the use of ...
Andrea Sindico's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
225 views

conditional mood, can the hypothetical entity be identified?

Does English grammar distinguish between a conditional sentence where the point of view is realistic, but the result is indeterminate; and one where the point of view is hypothetical, but the result ...
Phil Sweet's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
9k views

How to interpret “if it be” grammatically?

It looks to me a subjunctive form but not contemporary, so I would like to ask how this is properly interpreted gramatically. In the second conditional “if it were” it is clearly subjunctive, but ...
ib11's user avatar
  • 754
4 votes
6 answers
2k views

How to correctly write this conditional phrase?

I’m struggling with a conditional clause. This one is easy: If I were you, I would do xyz ... But I have these three statements: I was a student. It was my vacation. My professor gave me this ...
The English Chicken's user avatar