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Ivanhr Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Subjunctive/indicative

In the present

He sounds as if he's a Brit. (indicative: he may or may not be a Brit)

He sounds as if he were a Brit. (subjunctive; he's not a Brit, he just sounds like one)

In the past

He sounded as if he was a Brit. (indicative)

He sounded as if he were a Brit. (subjunctive)

But what if I said

You sounded as if you were a Brit. (indicative/subjunctive ??)

How can you tell which form is meant?

If we can't ,does it mean that sentences like that are inherently ambiguous (without further context that is)?
  

Top answer

In your question it is subjunctive. You are not a Brit but sound like one. I can't explain why.

— Dave Phillips

  • In your question it is subjunctive.
  • You are not a Brit but sound like one.
  • I can't explain why.
  • Sorry, I do wonder if in you examples it is because if when used as a conditional you can use were, (he were rather than was).
  • See if somebody can enlighten us otherwise I'll go and check my grammar books.
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4 Answers
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In your question it is subjunctive. You are not a Brit but sound like one. I can't explain why. Sorry, I do wonder if in you examples it is because if when used as a conditional you can use were, (he were rather than was). See if somebody can enlighten us otherwise I'll go and check my grammar books.
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IvanhrHow can you tell which form is meant?
You can't.
IvanhrIf we can't ,does it mean that sentences like that are inherently ambiguous
You could say that. Most native speakers don't sense a great deal of difference between the two after "as if". There is no grammatical requirement for one form or the other. were
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