In Present tenses^x, Modals^x, Subjunctives^x

It's not subjunctive. It's the modal use of need. Modal need can occur in non-assertive contexts. Modals never take the s in the first person singular of the present tense the way non-modal verbs do. In that way they resemble subjunctive forms, which are also missing the s. The...

Taka wrote:Remember, just because the modal verb 'would' appears in the main clause, this doesn't mean that the verb in the if clause must be in the subjunctive if the content of that clause is not presupposed to be false.The above is related to the following example sentence: He would always...

http://www.englishforums.com/English/Pleased/hvdv/Post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/Subjunctive/gmkc/Post.htmIn both of the above posts, miriam has explained the subjunctive in detail but it's all quite confusing to me. I've studied subjuctive from American Heritage and Columbian Guide...

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...

Hello This is a garbage-like posting written by a poor English learner who has been and still now is agonized by subjunctive things which supposedly underlie English collocations. My way of understanding English grammar The English language uses two moods (indicative/subjunctive) and two...

It's neither to ask something nor to argue against anybody. It's just to summarize what I was taught in school about modals. English modals can be sorted into three groups by their tense bearingness and senses. stating facts (semantically tense bearing) will be able to/can/could ...

CJ: Got it! I thought you meant something in the past with "plain 'may'", not "may have". I'm still wondering, though, if there's an example out there using "may" (not "may have") which works for the past. (Knickers adjusted and looking good.) JT: That's the thing about modals. With only a...

- (The choice was his alone.) If he is saying, "Not that I would but if did, then this would happen". "If I open the door, a tiger will ..." is allowing that it is a more real chance. Even a mixed conditional is possible, "If I open the door, a tiger would ..."

JT: Using would have made the conditional fall somwhere on a scale of more improbable to impossible in the speaker's mind. MrP: I would be interested to hear your description of this distinct nuance. JT: allows for a greater possibility; illustrates that the speaker is saying that "the...