By American English, Subjunctives

Hi, I think I'm more clear now, and I have to learn subjunctive just as it is, without the informal 'noise' for the 3º person, thanks a lot for this explanation. By the way I asked a question because in a book of Cambridge University Press, the author gives these examples: They recommended that...

Hi Happy, This area is a very contentious one, so it is not surprising that you find different pronouncements within and between grammar books. Here is my opinion on the examples you present: (1) 'Who did it ?' Not I.' The pronoun stands in parallel to the subject 'who', and is a shortened...

Hello Latin Those sentences are quite formal in structure. This means they sound incongruous when you insert an 'informal' zone in the middle. It's like wearing jeans with a tuxedo. An easier way of avoiding the subjunctive is to change the idiom. For instance, native BrE speakers seldom use...

Without getting into this discussion myself (my Spanish is limited to 'buenos dias'), I will tell you that your 'informal' sentences are too wrong to teach; you will hear some of them, but their use even in spoken English is nonstandard at best.

Hi Miriam (I hope any moderator can answer this question if Miriam is not available). Great thread, it's very useful. I guess even teachers and linguistics and native speakers have huge problems understanding the subjunctive. Well my question is: at the beginning of the teaching of english is it...

Miriam, I see that your last post on this thread wasn't so long ago, so I thought I'd throw in one more question. Are there any cases where one uses the conditional tense without the subjunctive mood? Or are all uses of the conditional considered subjunctive, because the nature of the...

Hi, Jim. You may no longer remember this thread, but I will still post a response. I haven't been around lately, that's why I haven't answered so far. 1. I have no comments about this point. And then, I tend to agree with grammar books! 2. There IS a difference between the imperative and the...

1,2,3. Your formulation is fine. It depends on the student's level, of course. I wouldn't burden a beginner with the fine points of tense usage in dependent clauses. Your formulation does leave out, however, the parallel formulation for the past tenses, including the conditional (with "would"...

Hi, Miriam! Thanks so much for your reply. Of course I'm still interested! 1. Sometimes when examples are given, certain forms begin to sound more acceptable. Strangely enough, only your example with "wish" still seems weird to me! The other two don't really sound that formal to me. I can...

Hello, Jim I've been away from the boards lately. I'm not sure you're still interested in my response, but here it goes: 1. I'm afraid I can't tell how often verbs like "wish" are used in the mandative subjunctive. It seems they are used, though, according to my books. Here are a few...