I recently watch two films from northern Britain, The English Game, and The Bank of Dave. The dialect consistently replaces past tense "was" with a more conditional "were." E.g., "He were a good lad." I don't have any more analysis of that.
Yes! And my partner learned that while studying Latin! Must have an "If"? I mean, "I were down in the barn mucking out the horses". Not the same horses as the wishes might become, surely!?
So, what are your thoughts: should it be subjunctive given that we ended up in a reality poem rather than a fantasy?
"If it were yesterday..." means, I think, "if today were yesterday" which is clearly subjunctive mood since it cannot be indicative mood. "If today is or was yesterday..." doesn't work in this universe. However, yesterday's reality together with today's edited version of yesterday define a vector into a future yet to be determined. Which reminds me of a verse by Kalidasa displayed on Mother's wall seventy years ago. If she were here, she could recite it.
I recently watch two films from northern Britain, The English Game, and The Bank of Dave. The dialect consistently replaces past tense "was" with a more conditional "were." E.g., "He were a good lad." I don't have any more analysis of that.
"If I were" is subjunctive. Most English speaking people don't learn about this tense or mode; I learned it by studying French.
Yes! And my partner learned that while studying Latin! Must have an "If"? I mean, "I were down in the barn mucking out the horses". Not the same horses as the wishes might become, surely!?
So, what are your thoughts: should it be subjunctive given that we ended up in a reality poem rather than a fantasy?
If and were are usually partners. As to today and tomorrow, I guess you should ask Bill Murray.
Tomorrow doesn't usually bother me. It stands alone as the only day of the week without a "y".
Himself
Groundhog Day. One of the great Murray films. And wouldn't we love to have all that time to become all we'd ever dreamt of becoming!
"If it were yesterday..." means, I think, "if today were yesterday" which is clearly subjunctive mood since it cannot be indicative mood. "If today is or was yesterday..." doesn't work in this universe. However, yesterday's reality together with today's edited version of yesterday define a vector into a future yet to be determined. Which reminds me of a verse by Kalidasa displayed on Mother's wall seventy years ago. If she were here, she could recite it.
Yesterday I made decisions based on all I had learned in my life so far; today I look forward to learning more.
Barbara Robinson