Every time I hear someone say, “If I were you” or “I wish I were going,” it always surprises me. When I hear people say things like, “It’s crucial you be there,” I’m even more surprised. Chances are, ...

Stephanie was here. I wish Stephanie were here. Tim picks up the dry cleaning. It’s imperative that Tim pick up the dry cleaning. You are on time. It’s crucial you be on time. Have you ever noticed ...

Grammatically, the subjunctive is a verb mood, not a verb tense. Most sentences use the indicative mood; the subjunctive in English has fairly restricted uses. Often, subjunctive forms don't look any ...

The New York Times' After Deadline blog contains a fantastic letter to the paper's editor from March of 1924 that reminds us that the more things change, the more they stay the same, copy-wise and ...

@tanehisi Only a mood in English, but it is used with dreams, doubts, wants and possibilties. It's why ppl say "if I were" instead of "was." -- Erin (Q.) Hinson (@myriare) March 1, 2013 To help with ...

I begin this lesson on a difficult grammatical concept called the “subjunctive mood” with a memory of one of the first pornographic films I ever saw. It was called “The Secret Lives of Romeo and ...

Why is Christian Science in our name? Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and we’ve always been transparent about that. The church publishes the ...

This is a preview. Log in through your library . Cambridge University Press (www.cambridge.org) is the publishing division of the University of Cambridge, one of the world’s leading research ...

Today’s column describes the subjunctive mood. Some readers may be tempted to respond, “What in the world is that?” and “Why do I need to know about it?” Those questions, I submit, would probably ...

The Classical Outlook is the leading publication for classroom teachers of Latin, Greek, and Classical Humanities in the schools (elementary, middle, secondary), colleges, and universities. It is the ...