Questions tagged [subjunctive-mood]
Questions regarding the subjunctive verb mood
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the form of conditional sentence in the indicative mood when expressing future in the past
Any bridge over the river would need to be a very high suspension bridge. Considering the limited technology in those days, building such a bridge seemed impossible. That is, people thought it was ...
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Weren’t or wasn’t usage [duplicate]
Which is correct to say,
If (singular something) wasn’t or weren’t bad enough,…?
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He had to yield to the demand that he faces/face the local media?
He made the best use of the opportunity that presented itself, even if he had to yield to the demand that he faces the local media. He, of course, deftly skirted the issues raised.
— The Indian ...
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after movement have ceased (Steinbeck)
John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley (1962):
"That discussion, however, did not go into the life span of journeys. This seems to be variable and unpredictable. Who has not known a journey to be ...
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What is the difference between "That'd be me" and "That be me"? [closed]
I heard this dialog in a Western film:
Ruffian: Are you Josey Wales?
Josey: That['d] be me.
Methinks Josey responded That be me and not That'd be me. Is the former even correct? Is That be me. also ...
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The verb beware in a subjunctive clause
I know that nowadays in English the verb "beware" can be used only in imperative clauses and in bare infinitival constructions to warn or to guide. I've understood that nowadays "beware&...
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Why is there a subject-verb agreement exception with "rent" in "Hannah recommended that Sasha rent"? [duplicate]
My student wrote:
Hannah recommended that Sasha rents first before buying a house or an apartment because it is important to know the area.
I corrected him and said it should be:
Hannah recommended ...
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Does 'insisted' take indicative in the following sentence?
However the fleet eventually departed without warning after the Zamorin insisted that they left all their assets as collateral.
What is the grammar explanation for the above sentence? This sentence ...
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Using "would" instead of "would have" with a past perfect subjunctive clause
I came across this youtube video with the following grammar question.
Choose the correct sentence.
a. If you had learned the lyrics, you would be singing in the choir.
b. ...
c. If you learned the ...
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"What I want is that X do(es) something" vs. "What I want is for X to do something"
Example
Alice: What do you want?
Bob: Do you know what I want? What I want is ...
that Peter makes the phone call (that + present simple)
that Peter make the phone call (that + present subjunctive)
...
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I would have to have been listening outside the door to have heard what was being said
The above (question) is perfectly good English grammar, and its meaning is clear. (At least to me).
It seems to express a possible condition. (It doesn't really say whether or not I was listening ...
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Subjunctive: [the audience] demanded that we start the game vs. demanded that we started the game [duplicate]
I am writing a novel, the narrative is generally in the first person, past tense.
I am trying to figure out the correct way to use the subjunctive in the example given in the title. While there is a ...
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A weird sentence with subjunctive-mood [closed]
I saw a weird sentence, which goes below:
Even though you wouldn't be looking for employment right now, it still wouldn't hurt for you to prepare much like you would if you were looking for a job.
I ...
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"... we should have got to Paris" vs. "... we should be in Paris"
I'm confused by the two sentences below. Are they both subjunctive mood?
Both of them use "by now", but one uses "should be" and another uses "should have done" to ...
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The subjunctive in a hypothetical scenario of a historical event
To the prompt "What historical moment would you like to have participated in?", my ESL student chose a Queen Live Aid concert, saying:
I’m a huge fan of Queen and Freddie Mercury so I think ...
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Saying "I could have been on time" when still you have some time before the appointment
On a different website I asked which sentence is more proper:
The game starts in 5 minutes. If I had taken that train, I could have been on time.
The game starts in 5 minutes. If I had taken that ...
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Would rather they WENT by bus than WALK
I would rather you washed it yourself than see your mom do it for you.
I would rather you washed the dishes than watched TV.
The mom would rather the kids went by bus than walk.
I can understand, ...
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Why isn't it "I will have been running, lest they have been catching me"?
The phrase in the title is obviously incorrect; however, I'm having difficulties figuring out how it could actually be grammatically constructed. To be clear, I'm aware this is a ridiculous ...
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Why use subjunctive mood in 'all the force would be transferred back to the ship'?
When reading a discussion about whether the Titanic could have avoided sinking, I saw a sentence that puzzled me a lot, as following:
– it would probably have survived. [When a ship hits an iceberg ...
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How to use the subjunctive mood here, where it seems like it might mix subjunctive and not subjunctive?
In the following sentence, how should the "to be" verbs be conjugated since the sentence is in the subjunctive mood?
If it went over their heads once, then they’d soon forget what it was ...
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Do you use the past tense when talking about hypothetical situations?
Do you use the past tense when using the subjunctive mood to talk about hypothetical situations?
So if I were to write the following sentences, which wordings should I choose?
"If the car were to ...
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it is not inappropriate that risks be taken
Many outdoor experiences involve risk but that does not mean it is inappropriate that risks be taken, the report says.
(Source: Stuff, a New Zealand news media website)
I'm curious about the use of ...
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How do American speakers use the present subjunctive in a less formal way on American-English?
Although we don't use present subjunctive often, there are some kind of times you practically need to use it. For example, in British-English you usually use "should" in the present ...
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Reason for subjunctive in "If God be for us, who can be against us?" [closed]
Romans 8:31 (KJV): "If God be for us, who can be against us?"
This sounds natural but old-fashioned to my ear as an English speaker, but I can't explain intellectually the reason for the ...
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Subjunctive "be" inversion [closed]
Can i invert the protasis bellow :
If you not be, ...
Into :
Be you not, ...
Will it not —in an archaic sense— be mistaken for imperative and will it convey the same conditional notion?
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“suggested I just ate/eat a banana” [duplicate]
The following is an extract from a passage, the emboldened sentence being the phrase of interest:
Coming in a minimalistic white pouch, the meal-replacement powder blends things like rice, peas and ...
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How to know when it is subjunctive or not [duplicate]
In this line: God save the earth! … and the Queen too if God so chooses. Was the word “chooses” correctly used?
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Is "I wish I would have <done something>..." ever correct? (vs. "I wish I had <done it>...")
I often hear (or read) a construct along the lines of "I wish I would have ". Here is a recent example:
I wish I would have written a post guessing at Facebook’s new name [...]
This wish-I-...
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Combination of past subjunctive and past perfect [duplicate]
I know that the following sentence is valid.
•If I had known about the matter, I would have told you.
This means that at a point in the past, I did not know about the matter and I didn't/couldn't tell ...
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Subjunctive "inevitable that" vs. indicative/infinitive "inevitable for"
Why does this require the subjunctive (because of the use of "that"):
"It was always inevitable that this virus become endemic"
whereas the following requires the indicative or the ...
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Subjunctive sentence by A. Einstein "The astonishing thing is that those discoveries were made at all." [closed]
About the development of Science and Technology in China, there was a famous question as "Needham's Grand Question" by Joseph Needham, also known as "The Needham Question" which is:...
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What is the number of the verb in "We require that"? [duplicate]
I am writing a paper in which I need an object to satisfy a condition. (I can give the specifics here, but it seems to be irrelevant to the question.) The object is singular, so I originally wrote (...
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Subjunctive mood and bare infinitive in past
In present tense I would say:
"It is imperative that everyone stay home."
How would that sentence be in past tense?
For example:
"In 2020, it was imperative that everyone stay home.&...
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Use of conditional and subjunctive in past tense narration [duplicate]
I am helping my friend with a story that is written in the past tense, and I've hit a snag with their uses of conditional and subjunctive. I could have sworn that I learned that you use "was"...
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Why is it grammatically correct to say “It’s time she went”? [duplicate]
Consider these possibilities:
It is now time for her to leave home.
It is now time for her to be told.
It is now time (that) she left home.
It is now time (that) she were told.
It is now time (that) ...
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Do verbs following relative pronouns need to be in the past tense if the sentence begins in the subjunctive?
"I would prefer someone who was a bit more sincere about their beliefs."
vs.
"I would prefer someone who's a bit more sincere about their beliefs."
The second sounds more correct ...
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Tense in subjunctive sentence
The divorce won’t affect the money that has already been given to the
foundation trust, but the couple may devote less money to it over time
than they would have if they had stayed together.
The tail ...
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Subjunctive in English. Is it used for politeness?
The usual explanation I get for expressions such as "How much did you want to spend, sir?" is that the use of the past tense produces a distance between the present reality and the question, ...
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The probability that it "be" or "is" -- subjunctive?
I am writing a scientific paper, and would like my diction to be as precise as possible. Regarding the subjunctive mood, I know the following is correct:
"It is important that she be at home by ...
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Indicative vs subjunctive in terms of conveying meaning
In A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language (page 156), the book gives these examples for WERE-SUBJUNCTIVE (for showing the structural differences between indicative vs subjunctive ...
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Varying modal verbs in counterfactual ("subjunctive") conditionals
There are some situations in which one would like to vary the modal verb in counterfactual conditionals, but it seems to be incorrect.
"If things were otherwise, she would keep her promise."...
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Should I use subjunctive or indicative mood after "makes it possible that"?
I am editing a text in analytical philosophy, and I came across the following sentence:
Such a mechanism for a term’s designation makes it possible that the idea designated by the term be distinct ...
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Subjunctive vs. indicative with conditionals
I was reading this topic from March 2014 and thought Charles’s answer was great until I got to the following part:
The letter claimed exactly the same as the first, namely that if his letter wasn't ...
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Other than “to be”, what verbs in English change in the subjunctive past tense?
I recently found out that the reason we say ”if I were...” and not “if I was...” (though some argue both are correct) is because “to be” is irregular in the subjunctive past. Are there any other verbs ...
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To know vs Would know [closed]
Mary: "Does he have any enemies here?"
Bill: "Not that I know of."
or
Bill: "Not that I would know of."
Is there a difference in meaning between the two answers Bill ...
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The meaning of the sentence "Fortunately/Wisely, she consults her lawyer regularly."
In Quirk's A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language Section 8.128 (page 624): it says
Fortunately/Wisely, she consults her lawyer regularly. [1]
= It is fortunate/wise that she consult(s)/...
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could have done it [closed]
I really could have done it, if you had come earlier.
I could really have done it, if you had come earlier.
I could have really done it, if you had come earlier.
I could have done it really, if you ...
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Does the main clause determine everything?
If the clause is If I disturbed you:
If I disturbed you, I am sorry.
If I disturbed you, I would give you money.
Both of them use the past tense of disturb in the 'if-clause'
According to the ...
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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.&...
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subjunctive followed by indicative
I have a question about the use of the subjunctive in this sentence: If all the schools were to implement this program, which now exists only in the lower grades, then five years from now we will not ...
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