I just want to point out the word "could" is indicative of the subjunctive mood Modal verbs don't have tenses and moods in the way that other verbs do. could certainly acts like a past subjunctive in If I could help you, I would.

It can be put in present perfect and past perfect using "if" like this: If the train have already left , we shall/will take the next train. (formal present perfect subjunctive) If the train had already left , we should/would

Why should we use 'would' ,'could' in the subjunctive mood and in the future tense? would and could , along with several other verbs, are called modal verbs. The modal verbs don't really have tenses, so you can't really use

Thank you, CalifJim and Philip, for the interesting discussion. When I had gone to bed this night, I ruminated on the explanation through the subjunctive, like Philip, although it never occurred to me that the verb ("signify") might be

Hi, Philip, I was on the fence about it, so I avoided (I thought) any suggestion that your interpretation was wrong. The reason for my vacillation was the verb signify , which seemed to me unable to govern a subjunctive -- and yet -- ??? Had the

Thanks for chiming in, CJ. So, you think it's not a subjunctive form? I was merely speculating because it sounded like one to me.

Hidden in this great 19th-Century prose is the subjunctive form, need , the reason for which I cannot identify right now. The subjunctive was used much more commonly at the time this was written. The subjunctive is the bare form of the infinitive,

this is the breakdown: would = subjunctive modal would is never a subjunctive. Some people call it a conditional, however. CJ

It is advisable to learn the various ways of using the modal auxiliaries without thinking of grammatical moods at the same time. These auxiliaries lack forms ( must has only one form, for example) and the potential mood, as it exists in some

hello can i used the modal auxiliaries in the other grammatical moods (conditional,pottential,subjunctive,..) beside the master mood the indicative mood. thank.