In Conditionals^x, Subjunctives^x, Pronouns^x

Mister Micawber wrote:In all indicative mood sentences, it is a singular pronoun taking the singular verb. The example that you have exhumed, however, is a use of the subjunctive were used in conditional sentences stating a present condition contrary to fact (the trophy is not in fact the...

In all indicative mood sentences, it is a singular pronoun taking the singular verb. The example that you have exhumed, however, is a use of the subjunctive were used in conditional sentences stating a present condition contrary to fact (the trophy is not in fact the speaker's). Were appears...

Calif Jim I used past tense in the 'posing' example because I was imagining a press article describing the event. When we say "Manchester United are (or is) posing for photos", we are doing so in the belief that the listener or reader will infer we mean the players - or at least those players...

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...