Hi, Teachers.
I've read your posts and learnt very much, especially about the usage of subjunctive. Perhaps it's not good for me, a learner and beginner, to break in on such a professional 'argument', but I do have some questions that have been confusing me for a long time. So I need your favour, and your pardon if some of my words are very amateur, even absurd and some of my expression is poor, even impolite or hard to understand.
1
What's the mood of the speaker suggested by the use of 'it's time we went home'?
In #7, Teacher Hotmetal said the speaker 'is irritated and wants to go'. In # 9, Teacher Clark said it suggested more criticism. In #11, Teacher Riverkid said it was 'used ... to be more deferential, more polite, more unassuming, less demanding'.
I think there is something conflicting among these views, which is confusing me.
2
On some occations, I need to change the tense of the main clause into another one, and I'm really uncertain of how to adapt the tense or form of the subordinate clause.
Take the following sentences for example:
(1) He told me it was time we
went (OR
had gone?) home.
(2) It will be time we
went home (OR
go OR
were to go?) home.
What's the rule to determine the tense or form of such clause in subjunctive?
3
The construction, it is time sb did sth, seems to be used to express the speaker's subjective thought, suggestion, inclanation, etc. Can it be used to indicate some objective facts, such as something happened at the time mentioned?
In my opinion, it can not. So I will say such sentences without subjunctive as follows:
(3) Today is wonderful. It is
the time my lovely niece
is born.
(4) 2004 was great. It was
the time the Greek Olympic Games
were held.
(5) Aug. 8, 2008 will be special. It will be
the time the Olympic Games
is opened in Beijing.
Are my amateur thoughts and the sentences I invent correct?
4
In #19, Teacher Clark referred to 'knew' as a 'present subjunctive' and 'had knew' as a 'past subjunctive'. To be honest, I prefer the wikipedia's view, which refers to 'know' as a 'present subjunctive', 'knew' as a 'past subjunctive' and 'had known' as a 'pluperfect subjunctive'. (see this page:
Subjunctive mood - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) Although this is only a fomal problem, not a substantial one, I would like to hear some teachers' comments. I think it's helpful in communicating with teachers in future.
BTW
In the above webpage, there is a statement confusing me very much: if a clause is in a past tense, then a clause subordinate to it cannot be in the past subjunctive, though it might be in the pluperfect subjunctive... Is it true? Is the following sentence grammatical?
(6) I wished I knew the truth.
Looking forward to your replies.
Thanks in advance.
Enydia