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":

Uh-oh! This is a difficult question! I lost a lot of time trying to understand how to use conditional sentences in reported speech, and in the end I didn't even understand completely! However, let's see if I can explain what I think: He

Jackson6612 wrote: I don't think so. Base is form of verb is also called simple Present tense form. Now check the definition again. The definition of be on my dictionary is: be verb past 1st & 3rd sing was ; 2nd sing were ; pl were

I don't think so. Base is form of verb is also called simple Present tense form. Now check the definition again. The definition of be on my dictionary is: be verb past 1st & 3rd sing was ; 2nd sing were ; pl were ; past subjunctive were

CalifJim wrote: I don't know of any special name for the expressions It's time and wish . CJ Well I did some work on the internet and got some useful links. You said that you don't know any specific name for the expression but I've found

I can see that point of view. But then I find myself doubting the present subjunctive, too: 1. The simple present is found in the same environments as the simple past. 2. The present subjunctive is not found in the same environments as the

Is your reasoning something like this, AV: 1. The simple present is found in the same environments as the simple past (e.g. "he is fat", "he was fat"). 2. The present subjunctive is not found in the same environments as the past subjunctive

"It doesn't function like the subjunctive." Interesting. Perhaps "to be" is an irregular verb... ...Cf. "I cook, he cooks, they cook"; "I am, he is, they are." It's formed differently from other verbs in the simple present; so why

Hi again, In good English, do I have to use the subjunctive in the following sentence? Look at those clouds, it looks as if there is / were (?) going to be a thunderstorm. 'Is' is acceptable, and of course is more common here in ordinary

Hi Hela, In good English, do I have to use the subjunctive in the following sentence? Where's the sentence? Clive