“If they ___ me this job, I’d turn it down.” a) would offer b) were to offer I had this question in my test lately. The latter is the right answer, but I don’t really get the difference between these two. Could someone explain it? Answer If they were to offer me this job, I … Read more
I was wondering how somebody in the 19th century would have said or written If you are/were my girl/boyfriend, you must never cheat on me I thought it might be something like this If you be my love, you shall never be untrue Halt! Before anyone objects and says that “shall” is reserved for the … Read more
Yo, is this sentence correct? It’s hard to find a guide that speaks directly to this use of the subjunctive: I realized that this issue needed more active contemplation, were I to find any closure. More simply it’d be: I realized that, were I to find any closure, active contemplation was needed. Answer Only backshifting, … Read more
I will try to keep it short and simple. How do you answer the question if this was asked as a question in person – “What is your favorite song?” I want to say I have many but if I had to select one, it will be Numb by Linkin Park. So what is the … Read more
Wikipedia says about English subjunctive mood: In Modern English, the subjunctive is realised as a finite but tenseless clause where the main verb occurs in the bare form. Since the bare form is also used in a variety of other constructions, the English subjunctive is reflected by a clause type rather than a distinct inflectional … Read more
Living my whole life in Arkansas in the United States, I’m certain that if I were is never used by locals. Instead, phrases like if I was and you was and they was have all replaced their equivalents in other regions. I’ve heard these so often that I think it’s necessary to ask if they … Read more
Hi literary community! I’m writing a book and I’m stuck on this part of a sentence: Leo DiCaprio pretended he was a doctor.. Or Leo DiCaprio pretended he were a doctor? I know that we are supposed to use “were” if used in hypothetical, but in this case it’s all tricky to me. He wasn’t … Read more
I stared at him to see if he were just a cartoon character. or I stared at him to see if he was just a cartoon character. The intended meaning of the two sentences above are that due to him (his behavior) that the writer is (I am) staring at, that is, in the writer’s … Read more
Is the subjunctive “were” in the sentence, “He seems as if he were spell-bound,” construed as counterfactual? Does it always preclude truth, or does it only here suggest that it was highly improbable that the subject, “he,” was spell-bound? If I exchanged a past-conditional “was” for the “were” would it open possibilities in the sentence? … Read more
I am reading a economics book and the following sentence confuses me: Were such individuals to gain a lot of money, they would stop buying insurance. It seems strange to me. What is the meaning of this sentence? What sentence pattern does it belong to? Answer Normally an unreal if-clause has the form if + … Read more
