4 ms·

Subjunctives aren't rare. They arise whenever we speculate or wish for something. "I don't think he'd appreciate you stealing his spotlight on grammatical minu

• Asraelite 6y ago
  Again, both of those examples you have given are the conditional, not the subjunctive. If the clause uses "would" with its main verb, it's not the subjunctive mood. You can read more about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_subjunctive https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_subjunctive Also note that I'm specifically referring to the plain subjunctive. There is also something sometimes referred to as the "past/imperfect subjunctive" which is something different entirely.
  • exo-pla-net 6y ago
    I think "subjunctive" is used loosely. I think that I'm right in terms of descriptive diction; anything irrealis and non-imperative is often (typically?) called subjunctive in English, since we only use distinct verbs for indicative, imperative, and subjunctive moods. I think, however, that I prefer your rigorous distinctions. Moods seem to be important to human language, even if they're atrophied in English. So keeping the gate on the subjunctive vs conditional distinction points people toward a deeper understanding of how language works.