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Anonymous Posted 9 years ago
Grammar

Confusing Subjunctive mood

Hello,

The subjunctive mood is known to indicate contrary-to-fact statements or unreal statements. When the sentence is is the past tense, it is easy to apply the subjunctive. For ex: He swung his stick as if it were a sword. But when the sentence is set in the present tense, does the subjunctive mood remain "were"?

That is, She loves him as if he were her own child. (but he is not).

1. The creature's ears keep sliding over its head, as if they are licking its head. (should this take "as if they were licking" to indicate that they are not; they only appear to be?)
2. As she opens her eyes, it still feels dark, as if her eyes are shut. (should this be "as if her eyes were shut" to indicate that they are not shut; they appear to be shut?)

  

Top answer

' as if' doesn't follow the same rules as just 'if'. After 'as if' you'll find just about any tense known to the English language. You can use the subjunctive; you can use the indicative; you can use the present, the future, the past; you can use perfect tenses; you can use continuous tenses.

  • ' as if' doesn't follow the same rules as just 'if'.
  • After 'as if' you'll find just about any tense known to the English language.
  • You can use the subjunctive; you can use the indicative; you can use the present, the future, the past; you can use perfect tenses; you can use continuous tenses.
  • Say and write these in whatever way they make the time relationships the most logical to you.
  • CJ
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1 Answers
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'as if' doesn't follow the same rules as just 'if'.

After 'as if' you'll find just about any tense known to the English language. You can use the subjunctive; you can use the indicative; you can use the present, the future, the past; you can use perfect tenses; you can use continuous tenses.

Say and write these in whatever way they make the time relationships the mos

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