By Simple past, Subjunctives

Hiin my opinion, it can be either subjunctive or indicative (simple past).She's swiping at Rusty as though he's a fly. (indicative, simple present - He is not a fly - general statement)She swiped at Rusty as though he was a fly. (indicative, simple past - He was not a fly - statement that refers...

Kooyeen, you defined what are the issues here! It's very helpful!He looked at me as if I was crazy. (simple past tense. Maybe "were" is ok too here, but I don't like it)He looked at me as if I had been crazy. (this is not subjunctive, this is real past perfect. If you used this, you would be...

Teleostomi wrote:Hi native speakers of English, could you tell me whether my "hypothesis" is right or not?My hypothesis: the subjunctive usage of "as if" takes effect only if the main verb is in the present tense.Hi Teleostomi,I'm not a native speaker, but here's my opinion. I think you are...

Teleostomi wrote:But why isn't the sentence done with "agreement of tense"?He looks at me as if I were crazy. -->( He looked at me as if I was / were crazy.You are not crazy. That's why you've to use a simple past tense verb.I wish I were a king. I am not a king and I can't possibly be....

Hi Bokeh, 1. Imperfect subjunctive is OK with me if you want to use that term. Indefinite preterite is fine, too. Whatever the terminology, it seems to me that the question was whether saw in that sentence was acceptable to a traditionalist. 2. If I understand you correctly, you are...

CalifJim wrote: The past subjunctive of to see is saw, just as the past subjunctive of to be is were.CJ Hello CJ,First there is no such thing as a past subjunctive although some people use that phrase to describe the imperfect subjunctive. The subjunctive is the subjunctive and has nothing to...

He thought his mother would understand why he was living in Japan only if she saw his life there with her own eyes. This sentence is considered acceptable to the majority (including many highly-educated people) although it may not be seen as correct by traditionalists.I can't imagine anyone,...

Let's go back to the original sentence: 1. He thought his mother would understand why he was living in Japan only if she saw his life there with her own eyes. If we take this as a literal report, there are two possible "originals": 2. "My mother will understand why I am living in Japan...

Kathy456 wrote:Hi everybody, I know that the following are the correct ways to express our preferences (by using subjunctive):- 1. I'd rather you stayed home. (use of simple past tense after "would rather" for future actions) 2. I'd rather you hadn't gone to the party (use of past perfect...

Hi everybody, I know that the following are the correct ways to express our preferences (by using subjunctive):- 1. I'd rather you stayed home. (use of simple past tense after "would rather" for future actions) 2. I'd rather you hadn't gone to the party (use of past perfect tense after "would...