Profound thoughts of the day: In general, beware the subjunctive tense--especially the past subjunctive of the verb "to be." It represents a wistfulness for a condition that probably never really existed. And when restrictive clauses are involved--I wish that, I hope that, I suggest that--frequently the speaker is an armchair quarterback, or powerless but not particularly regretfully so. A wise optimist may speak indicatively while expressing earnest dissatisfaction with reality; but only a fool speaks subjunctively out of a preference for the unreal.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Jun 2013 23:31:22 +0000
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