In Subjunctives^x, Grammar^x

CalifJim, And I know you're not supposed to start sentences with "and" or "but" or "however". No, no, no CalifJim. It is perfectly acceptable to start sentences with "And". If you look at the beginning of most dictionaries, you will often find sentences that begin with "And." And even...

I need to know if the subjunctive ‘though’ creates a dependant clause. Is the clause, “Though the car always starts for her,” a sentence or is it a fragment? In other words, which of the following are correct? a. Most people consider Jill’s car unreliable. Though the car always starts for...

I had never really understood the subjunctive until I read this. Great post, Miriam. By the way, some people seem to refer to the subjunctive as being "rarely used" in English. Yet from reading the above, it is clearly used all the time. I also remember reading somewhere (I can't remember...

Miriam, It is posts like this one that make this forum really worthwhile for users like myself. Thank you. Fascinating information and all new to me. Incidentally, I'd noticed you using the term "marked subjunctive" somewhere else and at the time didn't think to ask what it meant. In future...

taiwandave, I would be happy to dance with you. (I think that is a subjunctive sentence.) I think Miriam is correct in that it is not a subjunctive. But if we use your sentence, If I were you I would be happy to dance with him. then I believe it is a subjunctive. Looking at...

Hi, thanks to Learner for making the difference clear to me too. May I simply add general information that I read just now? In grammar, a modal (short for modal auxiliary) is a verb such as can, could, may, might, must, ought, shall, should, will, or would. A modal is used with another verb...

Your way of rewriting makes some sense. It seems people just toss the words without any reagard to the basic grammar. I can't think of making any sensible sentence by starting words '' His were .. However,I admit the fact that English is not my first language. My first language is Polish. ...

I have had to think hard about this one. I think there is a slight difference. My experience is that most speakers (including myself) use "might". The word "may" seems to be dying out. But compare: "We may as well go shopping" with: "I might as well be dead". The first example is present...

Hi! Visit this site. It mentions about this thing. http://grammar.englishclub.com/verbs-subjunctive.htm It would appear that 'wasn't is used informally, and for formal writing, if...weren't or if...were is to be used. Hope this clears up your doubts. WJTW

This one is driving me nuts. I have studied the rules of the past subjunctive, so I (Think I) know about counterfactual conditions and the proper use of was/were. I also know that many native english speakers ignore the rules of the subjunctive altogether. Yet I am puzzled because sometimes,...