By Subjunctives, Clauses

-------if clauses—the traditional rules. According to traditional rules, you use the subjunctive to describe an occurrence that you have presupposed to be contrary to fact if I were ten years younger, if America were still a British Colony. http://www.bartleby.com/64/C001/061.html---------...

Analysing subjunctives is not my greatest strength, so I HOPE that the following explanation is roughly correct! (I edited just after posting to correct a typo) Same reason as above: subjunctive.

Definitely old. Definitely subjunctive.It's from the days when if clauses took the subjunctive:(If the) truth be toldModern: If the truth is toldCJ

I think you have encountered a grammar "expert" who has very strong opinions about correct usage and little understanding of anything or anyone who disagrees with him. I once met a British teacher of English, an Oxford University graduate, who thought this is the only way to do it...

I was concentrating on the choice between were and was (subjunctive vs. indicative), and I neglected to address the choice between was/were and is (past vs. present). You're referring to the use of past throughout once the main clause introduces the past tense. Hmmm. Defend it? That's...

The subjunctive mood forms: should selland sellare the formal ones. Sells is informal.

I'm not familiar with the site; but the writer may well be of BrE origin. (In BrE, you could use "sells", "should sell", or the subjunctive "sell". The last option has become more popular in the last two decades, in BrE, in contexts where "should sell"...

Oh my, I'm so surprised! I would never have thought you said it yourself! By the way, you said "If I'd have known", and not "If I'd known" (which can't mean "If I would have known", because you would be leaving out a syllable...).Anyway, I'll tell...

Hello Rotter,I would call the verb in the if-clause of your second sentence ("If he were...") subjunctive too. It would probably be more usual to say "he would be.." in the main clause.Best wishes,MrP

Thank you, Mr M. I have seen the kind of structure like the one below with the 'did' or 'did not' in the 'if' clause as an example of the second conditional? Can it be the subjunctive too -- that is, a counterfactual or hypothetical? I think the subjunctive is the one...