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Anonymous Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
subjunctive mood
"We'll compare these two. "They suggested he rent". Meaning now in American English, compared to: "They suggested he rented a car". meaning now also, with the implication of now."
(https://youtu.be/QLWBwsRp9Pk?t=12m19s)
Question : In English English, how the past tense 'rented' means the implication of now? Then, 'should rent a car' and 'rented a car' are the same things in subjunctive mood sentences with the implication of now?
Thank you for reading.
(https://youtu.be/QLWBwsRp9Pk?t=12m19s)
Question : In English English, how the past tense 'rented' means the implication of now? Then, 'should rent a car' and 'rented a car' are the same things in subjunctive mood sentences with the implication of now?
Thank you for reading.
Top answer
1. They suggested he rent a car. 2.
- 1.
- They suggested he rent a car.
- 2.
- They suggested he rented a car.
- The two sentences mean the same thing.
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5 Answers
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1. They suggested he rent a car.
2. They suggested he rented a car.
The two sentences mean the same thing. While we can be certain that the suggestion made was in the past, the actual car rental (if there was a car rented at all) may have been in the past or perhaps it hasn't taken place yet. There is absolutely nothing in either sentence to suggest 'an implication of now'.
2. They suggested he rented a car.
The two sentences mean the same thing. While we can be certain that the suggestion made was in the past, the actual car rental (if there was a car rented at all) may have been in the past or perhaps it hasn't taken place yet. There is absolutely nothing in either sentence to suggest 'an implication of now'.
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AnonymousThey suggested he rentIt's in the subjunctive mood.
AnonymousThey suggested he rented a carIt's in the indicative mood.
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Anonymous"We'll compare these two. "They suggested he rent". Meaning now in American English, compared to: "They suggested he rented a car". meaning now also, with the implication of now."They suggested, in the past, that he should rent a car. So, in my opinion, the renting itself might have been done in the past (i.e., done between the time point of the sugg
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Anonymous AnonymousThey suggested he rentIt's in the subjunctive mood.AnonymousThey suggested he rented a carIt's in the indicative mood.The OP is suggesting that the first is indeed in the subjunctive mood, but only for American speakers. Further, the OP is suggesting that the second is also in the subjunctive mood, with the same meaning as the first, but f
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Many speakers of BrE would indeed use the second sentence with the meaning of the first. I wouldn't, but I am of a dying generation.
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