Hi Nitin,

You've asked a lot of BIG questions, my friend! Let me tackle one of them, understanding the subjunctive mood.

First, we need to talk about mood. In the context of verbs, mood refers to the form a verb takes to show how the reader should consider the verb, for example as a fact, an uncertainty, a command, a wish, etc.).

The English language has three major verb moods:

Imperative Mood (commands like, "Eat your vegetables!")

Indicative Mood (states facts or asks questions like, "The newspaper is here" or "Is the newspaper here?")

Subjunctive Mood (shows a wish like, "I wish top hats were still in fashion" and "The board recommended that the chairman be removed from office."

As suggested above, the subjunctive mood is the form of a verb used to express a wish, a suggestion, a command, etc. that is contrary to fact.

An important thing to keep in mind is that you can write a sentence with the same verb expressed in the subjunctive mood or NOT in the subjunctive mood. Here is an example:

I was about to write the GMAT last September, and I studied very hard. (NOT in the subjunctive mood)

If I were about to write the GMAT, I would study very hard. (subjunctive mood)

Is and was are common verbs to attract the subjunctive mood, and so are wish, suggest, ask, command, recommend, demand, etc. They are verbs often used to express something that is contrary to fact, i.e. not the way things are in the present.

I hope this helps.