(Reposted from old newsgroup on 2/13/03)

Is there a list of verbs which take the "were" form (I used to call it the subjunctive when I first learned grammar so long ago)instead of the "was"?

Lisa Blauvelt-Weil

(Reposted from old newsgroup on 2/13/03)

Lisa Blauvelt-Weil asks: "Is there a list of verbs which
take the "were" form (I used to call it the subjunctive
when I first learned grammar so long ago)instead of the
"was"?"

The only verb besides wish that takes the were
-subjunctive seems to be suppose, and then only in
the imperative (command) form, and in formal style:

Suppose he were not so sympathetic

Suppose she were to elope with him

In informal style, the same ideas would be expressed thus:

Suppose he wasn't so sympathetic

Suppose she was to elope with him

The were-subjunctive is used for hypothetical ideas,
ideas that are not true, or only imaginary. Its use depends
on the level of formality required. Here is a synopsis of
the various uses of the were- subjunctive, from
Quirk et al.*:

"The past (or were-) subjunctive...is used in
formal **style in hypothetical conditional clauses and
in other constructions with hypothetical meaning...:

I wish she were not married

If only I were not so nervous

If she were here, she would speak on my behalf

The stuffed dog barked as if it were a real one

Suppose he were lost

I'd rather I were in bed

In nonformal** styles, hypothetical past or
indicative forms replace subjunctive were:

I wish she was not married

If only I was not so nervous

If she was here, she would speak on my behalf

The stuffed dog barked as if it was a real one

Suppose he was/is lost, what would you do?

I'd rather I was in bed"

To these examples I would add the were to
construction:

Suppose she were to elope with him

Speakers of American English may disagree with some of
these examples, since the description is largely based on a
corpus of British English. At any rate, the only verb per
se besides wish that "takes" the were-
subjunctive seems to be suppose, and then only in
the imperative (command) form, and in formal style.

Marilyn Martin

_______

*A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language
(Longman, 1985), Section 14.24, p. 1013



**Italics added

Hi
I hope you can get more here through this link too
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subjunctive_mood