BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem
TTP OnDemand GMAT Video Course
Featured Course

Target Test Prep GMAT OnDemand

Scott Woodbury-Stewart’s private virtual classroom — 400 hours of master-class video lessons for the GMAT Focus Edition.

  • 715+ score guarantee — highest in the industry (99th percentile)
  • 52 chapters · 1,500+ lessons · 4,000+ practice questions
  • 400 hours of video · 1,500+ instructor-led HD smartboard lessons
  • 300,000+ students accepted to Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Booth & Sloan & more
  • 24/7 live support + weekly Zoom office hours with GMAT instructors
  • TTP AI Assist — 24/7 AI-powered virtual tutor for instant help
  • 1,200+ flashcards + AI-powered study assistant & daily calendar
  • OnDemand, LiveTeach & GMAT Bootcamp formats available
  • Also: GRE, SAT Math & Executive Assessment courses
  • MBA Admissions Consulting now available
  • 🏆 2025 EdTech Breakthrough Award: Test Prep Solution Provider of the Year
  • 200,000+ students served
  • 5-day free trial — $0 to start, no auto-billing, cancel anytime
★★★★★ 5.0 (559 reviews)
130-pt guarantee
$0 to start then $127/mo
Start Free 5-Day Trial Read 559 Reviews →

Hypothetical Subjunctive

Expert replies
Post new topic Locked
Previous Topic Next Topic
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 184
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2010 9:57 pmFollowed by: 5 members
Thanked: 1 times
GMAT Score:700
by chaitanya.mehrotra » Fri Jul 08, 2011 1:35 pm
The concept of Hypothetical Subjunctive is very confusing to me . Can somebody explain same ?
Tried reading the Man SC book but it is still not clear .
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Source: — Sentence Correction |
User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 1255
Joined: Fri Nov 07, 2008 2:08 pmFollowed by: 90 members
Location: St. Louis
Thanked: 312 times

by Tani » Fri Jul 08, 2011 2:06 pm
If the sentence refers to something that is hypothetical (e.g. "if I were on a sunny beach right now instead of at my computer", then subjunctive "were" is used, rather than "was".
Tani Wolff
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 42
Joined: Sun Jun 19, 2011 3:19 pm
Thanked: 15 times

by MM_Ed » Fri Jul 08, 2011 5:37 pm
The hypothetical subjunctive is the mood of the verb used when something hypothetical is being proposed.
"It would be interesting if President Obama were to announce a new running mate for the 2012 election."
"I suggest you look into this business proposal carefully before investing in it."

Each situation describes something that isn't happening, hasn't happened, and isn't guaranteed to happen - just the speaker's imagination or desire.

Side note: I honestly had no idea what 'hypothetical subjunctive' meant until I read your post, and then I looked it up on Wikipedia. Grammar's a very interesting topic, but I'd suggest going by your guts instead of getting entangled in terminology. Sure, we should know what a verb is, but in this case the 'feel' of a sentence is more important than worrying about jargon. It's also faster!
If you found one of my answers useful, hit the shiny Thanks button! : )
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2013 9:57 pm
Thanked: 1 times

by [email protected] » Mon Apr 22, 2013 10:23 pm
Hi,

Please check the attached PDF. It will make Subjunctive clear.
Attachments
Subjunctive.pdf
Subjunctive - in detail.
(79.14 KiB) Downloaded 108 times
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Post new topic Locked
• Page 1 of 1