How do we use a subjunctive verbs?
A grammatical form of verbs implying hypothetical action or condition. Subjunctives are italicized in these sentences: “If Mr. Stafford were [not “was”] fluent in French, he could communicate with his employees more effectively”; “If Sheila had been here, she would have helped us with our math.” The terms present subjunctive and past subjunctive can be misunderstood, as they describe forms rather than meanings. The past and present subjunctives are so called because they resemble the past and present indicatives (respectively), but the difference between them is a difference in modality, not temporality. For example, in “I asked that it be done yesterday,” be done (a present subjunctive) has no present-tense sense. Likewise, in “If that were true, I would know it,” were (a past subjunctive) has no past-tense sense and instead describes a counterfactual condition. When used in such counterfactual sentences with “if”, the past subjunctive form is usually called the “present conditional”
If you mean in English: “Be he poor or be he rich, I will not marry him!” “We insist that he do it himself” are examples of the present subjunctive. Examples of the past subjunctive:- “If I were rich I would buy a castle” or “Were I rich, I would buy a castle” “If I had a lot of money I would buy a castle”. In this particular case, as in the majority of English verbs, the past subjunctive is identical with the indicative past form. This explains why the vast majority of English-speaking people have absolutely no idea what the subjunctive is or how to use it correctly with the few verbs that do have a separate form.
