By Subjunctives, Constructions

Hela wrote:1) If "would rather" is used with a single pronoun, is the form of the verb that follows it a bare infinitive or a present subjunctive ? e.g. He would rather BE alone.The constructs like "would rather", "had rather/better", would/had sooner" have their origin in the Old English's...

1. Jenny talks as if she knows everything = Jenny talks like a person who knows everything ( but you aren't saying whether Jenny really knows everything or not) I agree. 2. Jenny talks as if she knew everything = Jenny talks like a person who knows everything, but she doesn't really know...

CalifJim wrote:If a student points to some construction and asks me if it's the subjunctive or not, I can't reply, 'No, it's a monkey!'Now there you are wrong! You are the teacher and can say any dang thing you want! In fact a smart retort like that might go a long way toward making your...

Thanks for your reply, MrP. 1. I would call it an exclamatory conditional. The main clause is left unspoken, but we can usually infer it, e.g. "if only she would contact me, I would be very happy". Ok, it’s a conditional with an unexpressed result but still a ‘conditional’ right? In this case,...

If a student points to some construction and asks me if it's the subjunctive or not, I can't reply, 'No, it's a monkey!' Now there you are wrong! You are the teacher and can say any dang thing you want! In fact a smart retort like that might go a long way toward making your students realize...

CalifJim wrote: I avoid answering ... You just did " src="../emoticons/emotion-2.gif">Avoid or answer? I tried responding to the phrasal verb thread and got into some technical difficulties. For some reason, it wouldn't let me post. And then I just forgot about it and never tried again as I...

I avoid answering ... You just did "> Avoid or answer? I tried responding to the phrasal verb thread and got into some technical difficulties. For some reason, it wouldn't let me post. And then I just forgot about it and never tried again as I got involved in some other...

1. 'If only she would contact me'. This sentence uses 'if' but there's only one clause so what type of sentence is this? You wouldn't call it a conditional, would you? 2. The above sentence is about a wish and therefore we don't use 'will'. Also, in other such sentences we use the simple past to...

When we talk about a subjunctive construction, I think it is easier to understand it without the 'inserted clause, I would think' becasue that way one can clearly see the cause-and-effect relationship beteween the conditional clause and the main clasue. 1. If someone tells you that you may...

Hmm...very interesting, but mysterious at the same time. This may be a tough question, but tell me, MrP, what is the decisive factor for the differentiation between the 'subjunctive' air and the 'non-subjunctive' air in those 'with X, S would/could do' constructions? Another question is,...