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Subjunctive (german) - 11-04-2008, 06:27 PM

What does the subjunctive form of a verb mean?
So if I was to say: "If there was no TV, we would...."
Would the 'was' be subjunctive, imperfect or perfect past tense? Would the 'would' in the sentence be in the conditional tense?
If there isn't any subjunctive tense in my example, can someone please give me an example of where it would be used?
thanks x



Toshio

Last edited by chibibecci : 11-04-2008 at 07:19 PM.
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11-16-2008, 05:54 PM

I think wikipedia explains it better than me.

Subjunctive mood - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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11-29-2008, 09:29 PM

Yeah, I would say wikipedia too...


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12-23-2008, 11:02 PM

Yes, the "was" there is a use of the subjunctive mood. Technically, your sentence is grammatically incorrect. "Were" is the correct word, as "were" is the subjunctive mood of the "to be" verb. Most American English speakers make that mistake on a regular basis.

Since I'm from the US, I don't know if other anglophonic countries make that mistake as well, but it's rampant in the US.

"If there WERE no TV, ..."
"If I were to study, ..."

The subjunctive mood also implies the hypothetical is merely hypothetical and not reality.
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