The subjunctive in English
There seems to be a lot of confusion about the use of the subjunctive mood in English, even among native speakers, so I'm going to give a few examples where it is and is not required. I'm going to restrict myself to the cases of statements contrary to fact and sentences with if clauses.
Before Columbus, many people thought the Earth was flat.
Even though the Earth is not flat, many people did think that it was, so the use of the subjunctive would be incorrect here.
If the Earth were flat, the oceans would drain over the edges.
This sentence has an if clause with a contrary to fact statement, so it uses the subjunctive, and the conditional is used in the consequent clause. This is an example of a "conditional 2" sentence. As you might guess from the "2", there are other conditionals with if clauses that don't use the subjunctive.
If you don't eat, you get hungry.--conditional 0 (corrected)
If she left at 10:15, she'll be here by 1:30.--conditional 1
Now consider the following counterfactual sentence:
If I bought a new car, people would think I was rich.
I didn't buy a new car, so bought is in the subjunctive. In the consequent clause, would makes think conditional and was is conjugated according to the normal sequence of tenses "would. . .was"/"will. . .am". Even though I am not rich, the subjunctive is not used here.
In the flow of a conversation, some clauses are implied by context and so omitted from the sentence. In a conversation where me buying a new car had just been raised, the if clause could be omitted and the sentence shortened to:
People would think I was rich.
It is still a conditional and uses the sequence of tenses accordingly, just as if the if clause had been spoken. Even though I am not rich, the subjunctive is still not used.
11 Answers
This is not my work but if it were I would be proud of it.
The present subjunctive has three uses in modern English.
First, it follows verbs, nouns or adjectives that express the idea of command, suggestion or possibility: I suggested that he leave; It is my recommendation that she not be appointed; It is fitting that she resign. This use of the present subjunctive is common in American English. In British English it is more usual to use should: I suggested that he should leave, but it seems that the present subjunctive may be on the increase.
Second, it is used in formal English in clauses beginning with words such as if; although; whether and lest: If that be the case, there is little more we can do; Tie her up securely, lest she escape. This use of the present subjunctive tends to sound stilted and old-fashioned, and in everyday speech and writing the indicative is usually used instead: If that is the case..., but again American English uses it more readily than British English.
Third, it is used in certain fixed phrases, such as far be it from me; be that as it may; God save the Queen; come what may; suffice it to say; heaven forbid; perish the thought.
The past subjunctive effectively relates only to the verb to be, where it takes the form were. It is used to express hypothetical states, and comes after the verbs wish and suppose, conjunctions such as if; if only; as; though; whether, and the phrases would rather and would that: I wish she were here; If I were you, I'd resign; Would that he were still alive. It is widely used in everyday English, but in non-formal contexts it is often replaced by was in the first and third person singular: I wish she was here. In formal or literary English, the order of if-clauses can be reversed and the if omitted: Were I you, I'd resign.
Whatever - it is much simpler than the Spanish subjunctive.
The past subjunctive effectively relates only to the verb to be, where it takes the form were.
It might have been more accurate (at least in my opinion), had the author simply suggested instead that the past subjunctive and past indicative were morphologically identical in all cases (with the exception of the verb "to be").
This assertion should not be interpreted to mean, however, that the past indicative and the past subjunctive perform identical semantic roles within a sentence. Despite the morphological overlap, each plays its distinct role within a sentence.
To state a condition or wish that is contrary to present requires the use of the past subjunctive—for any verb. For example, the following set of sentences contrasts the differences in usage between the past subjunctive, present indicative and past indicative, respectively. In each of the following instances both the past subjunctive and the present indicative are used for present conditions; meanwhile, the past indicative is used to describe factual events that occurred in the past:
| Subjunctive | Present Indicative | Past Indicative |
| Used to state a condition or event that is contrary to fact that occurs in the present | Used to make a declaration or statement of actuality that occurs in the present | Used to make a declaration or statement of actuality about an event that occurs in the past |
| I would be an A student if only I studied hard/had study habits like my brother. | I am an A student because I study hard like my brother | I was/used to be an A student when I studied hard like my brother |
| I would be really cool, if only I had a car | I am really cool because I have a car. | I was really cool when I had a car. |
| I wish I owned a car, then I would be cool | I own a car, so I am cool. | I owned a car, and that made me cool. |
| I wish that I lived in Florida so that I might be able to go to the beach. | I live in Florida, so I go to the beach everyday. | When I lived in Florida I went to the beach every day. |
| I wish that I had a million dollars so that I could buy anything that I pleased. | I have a million dollars, so I buy anything that I please. | When I had a million dollars, I bought anything that I pleased. |
| If I had a million dollars I would buy anything that I wanted. | I have a million dollars, and/so I buy anything that I want. | When I had a million dollars, I bought anything that I wanted. |
| - | - | - |
There seems to be a lot of confusion about the use of the subjunctive mood in English, even among native speakers,
Can't argue with that.
If I bought a new car, people would think I was rich.
Large numbers of people would use that exact phrasing. I (since am not rich) I would uses "were".
In my view, this "dumbing down " of the language only means that nuances of language can no longer be expressed. When the differences no longer "make a difference" we are reduced to the level of sitcom dialogue.
The past subjunctive effectively relates only to the verb to be, where it takes the form were. It is used to express hypothetical states, and comes after the verbs wish and suppose, conjunctions such as if; if only; as; though; whether, and the phrases would rather and would that: I wish she were here;
This is the case in my thread :
you would think ...is a hypothetical state , equal to : as if I were.....
You would think I were rich....as though, as if I were rich.
Lorenzo said in that thread it was not correct, I don't agree.
Suppose that one were to start a thread on the subjunctive . . .
If I bought a new car, people would think I was rich.
This is the type of structure that makes learning English as a second language very difficult.
There are two past-tense words here that at one time would have been considered incorrect conjugation while today they are unfortunately considered "accepted usage" - even by Oxford..
The sentence should be in Conditional #2: If I were to buy a new car, people would think I am rich.
(Because Conditional #2 reflects hypothetical in the present, I am is correct with would showing hypothesis in the second phrase).
Hola Julian:
Conditional #2 (hypothetical in present)
If it were to rain, the children would sing.
There is nothing wrong with this statement. I just want to tag something on to avoid any confusion. In the protasis (condition clause) of a second conditional, the proposition often refers to a current state known to be false/improbable or is presented as extremely unlikely. However, the second conditional can be used to refer to future states as well.
There seems to be a difference in nomenclature of grammar between the UK and the Americas - about which we can all argue and never get anywhere as we place phrases under a microscope and examine them - so here is a very simple example of the usages of all 3 conditionals used, at least, in the Americas.
Conditional #1 (real occurances in present or future)
If it rains, the children sing.
When it rains, the children will sing.
If it rains, the children will sing.
Conditional #2 (hypothetical in present)
If it were to rain, the children would sing.
Conditional #3 (hypothetical in past)
If it had rained, the children would have sung.
Ok one more time.
Zero conditionals DO exist.
As do Mixed conditionals.
If I were King of the Forest , not queen, not duke, not prince,
my regal robes of the forest would be satin, not cotton, not chintz. 
This is very interesting, as subjunctive in English is not exactly one of the things that are easier to identify for a non native, and I'm sure I use it wrong at times.
Speaking of which, am I correct in believing that in these sentences subjunctive is not the correct case, or am I wrong here?
- If I was too strict with you before, I apologize
- If I was successful in the past, I don't see why I shouldn't be successful this time
