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SillyMe Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

what kind of a grammar subject is this?

Hello,

Please consider the following sentence: It's time you HAD a holiday. I can understand the meaning of this sentence (it's a piece of advice to take a vacation, isn't it?). What is a grammar rule, which this sentence obeys? Particularly I am interested in the role of the "HAD" word.

Thanks
  

Top answer

Hi, it's commonly used that way. In Italian it would be translated into a subjunctive, so it makes sense to me to use a past tense there. It's just that this doesn't happen very often in English.

— Kooyeen

  • Hi, it's commonly used that way.
  • In Italian it would be translated into a subjunctive, so it makes sense to me to use a past tense there.
  • It's just that this doesn't happen very often in English.
  • I think the structure follows the same pattern as "I wish".
  • You use a past tense after "wish" too: It's time you went to visit your aunt.
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2 Answers
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Hi,
it's commonly used that way. In Italian it would be translated into a subjunctive, so it makes sense to me to use a past tense there. It's just that this doesn't happen very often in English. I think the structure follows the same pattern as "I wish". You use a past tense after "wish" too:
It's time you went to visit your aunt.
I wish I had some bottles of beer.

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Kooyeen is right.

The verb wish (that) ... and the expression It's time (that) ... both take the past form with present meaning. (The past form was is very often changed to were after wish, very rarely after It's time ... )

It's time he had a vacation. It's time he was told the truth.
I wish he had time to take a vacation.
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