If we want to dig deep into the conditionals and subjunctives, they can get confusing and messy. But focusing on the 3 types of conditional alone, both sentences do not have the right mixes in their elements to be qualified as conditionals as they

Here's how it should be: Jackson would have celebrated his fiftieth birthday this August if he were alive . Jackson would have celebrated his fiftieth birthday this August if he had not died earlier this year . There are a

I'm still somewhat confused regarding the subjunctive mood. Suppose we are talking about two different people, two "hes", is this correct? (1) He is rich, and he wishes he were rich. (2) He was rich, and he wishes he

Hi. Could you please show the example of infinitive that you refer to? In #1, I take "come" as subjunctive, referring to the future. I take "came" as a suggestion about what might have happened in the past. It sounds a bit

"It's great already, just seeing it in three-dee and talking with you just as if you're real." I'm not sure of the context here, but to me it's simply bad language. People today are quite sophisticated, and unlikely to

Hi Tim I have to agree with GG. That doesn't sound like any version of English I've ever heard. She's can mean either she is or she has (depending on the context). However, she's does not mean she was -- not in written and also not

Not my area of expertise, but my instinct says that "ability" is all they carry. I read two possible scenarios: two days ago he tried and failed, and, two days ago he was unable for other reasons to attempt the lift. The portion after

Hello again,  Again I have a question of course . I am interested in the difference in the usage of the mandative subjunctive and the simple present tense  in dependent "that" clauses after the verbs of demand as "insist" ,

---------- After a past indicative tense form the distinction of meaning between present and past tense forms usually disappears entirely: She desired that he might come at once. We demanded that the burden should be removed.

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":