Would you mind if I + past tense / infinitive

[mokozilee]

Hi

Ive been doing some search on the above and it seems that the past tense is more grammatically correct:
Would you mind if I opened the window?

However, I'd like to check if this rule applies to this example:
Would you mind if I finished this report next week?

1)How does one explain the use of past tense for some future action?
2) is the sense of the above question similar to : If I finish the report next week, would you mind?

thanks

 

[MikeNewYork]

Those are really not past tenses; they are subjunctives. We use the past form in the subjunctive mood, but there is no clear marker of the subjunctive in anything other than the third person singular. The subjunctive is often used with "if" statements.