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.

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

"If you knew what I had gone through, you would surely pity me." Don't listen to these people. You can change it to "have" because only the first verb has to be in the subjunctive mood. The verb "knew" is

I wish... happened now is not correct. You can say It would be nice if ... happened now or I hope ... happens now or I wish ... would happen now. However, I wish... happened refers to something in the past, not "now" or in the

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

Because you need the past subjunctive after "I wish". Whereas the present subjunctive is identical in appearance to the bare infinitive, the past subjunctive is identical in appearance to the simple past.* CJ *except for the verb to

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

I profess that I am a thief. Okay, but "confess" would be more common. To acknowledge I profess like a father. My American Heritage gives this meaning (intransitive), but I've never heard it. There are common religious meanings,

As simple past, Usually "was" is for a singular item/person Was is for I and he/she/it/other 3rd person singular "were" is for plural. Were is for you, we, and they . For example: Yesterday, I was at work

Both are considered correct. The subjunctive "were" is used in many special cases, but is losing popularity and may optionally be replaced by the simple past.