In Modals^x, Regards^x, Dialects^x

MrPedantic wrote: Hello Jussive I would say that the subjunctive is incorrect after in this instance, since "whether" presents one option of two: 1. She phoned to ascertain whether he was dining at the club (or not). MrP Well, I would have thought that the simple fact that she called to...

MrP: It wouldn't surprise me if there were something in what you say about dialect variation. JTT: Since this is expressing of a fair possibility, why would you have chosen the subjunctive form 'were', Mr P, Especially with ? I thought the indicative is used for reality/good possibility and the...

Thanks for the links, Casi. Very interesting. It wouldn't surprise me if there were something in what you say about dialect variation. Previous threads have shown that different people hear conditional and modal verbs slightly differently. And it's no advantage to MrX to feel 'pastness' in...