Subjunctive mood referring to present?
Excerpt from
The Opium War
Julia Lovell
Hi. The Heavenly Court refers to China in Qing dynasty. I know this sentence equals “Our Heavenly Court would not have won the allegiance of innumerable lands if it did not wield superhuman power.”,
So does the if clause refers to present while the main clause refers to the past? Namely, it’s a mixed (counterfactual) conditional, which implies the Heavenly Court wields superhuman power, so it won the allegiance of innumerable lands?
Thank you.
Top answer
zuotengdazuo So does the if clause refers refer to the present while the main clause refers to the past? Yes. The hypothetical present and past, of course, where the hypothetical present (in this specific example) is taken as the 'eternal present'.
- zuotengdazuo So does the if clause refers refer to the present while the main clause refers to the past?
- Yes.
- The hypothetical present and past, of course, where the hypothetical present (in this specific example) is taken as the 'eternal present'.
- zuotengdazuo Namely, it’s a mixed (counterfactual) conditional, which implies the Heavenly Court wields superhuman power, so it won the allegiance of innumerable lands?
- Yes, that's right.
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zuotengdazuoSo does the if clauserefersrefer to the present while the main clause refers to the past?
Yes. The hypothetical present and past, of course, where the hypothetical present (in this specific example) is taken as the 'eternal present'.
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