Subjunctive Mood: Wish, If Only, As If, Would Rather and the 'Were' for 'Was' Rule

Subjunctive Mood: The Verb Form for Things That Are Not Real

Most sentences state facts: 'She is here.' The subjunctive mood is used when the speaker is not stating a fact but a wish, an imagined situation, or a demand: 'I wish she were here.' The verb then shifts away from its normal form, usually one step back in time. The idea is simple: unreal present uses the past form, unreal past uses the past perfect, and a demand or suggestion uses the plain base verb. Because it looks like an error to the ear, many students 'correct' it wrongly. English grammar items in SSC, Railway and teacher-recruitment exams test it in fill-in-the-blanks, error spotting and sentence improvement. These cards give five patterns: wish and if only, as if and as though, would rather and it is time, the demand verbs like insist and suggest, and the famous 'were' for all persons.

1. Fill in the blank: I wish I ______ taller.

2. Fill in the blank: If only I ______ harder last year, I would have passed.

3. Fill in the blank: The teacher insisted that he ______ present at the meeting.

4. Choose the correct option: She talks as if she ______ the owner of the school.

5. Fill in the blank: I would rather you ______ now; it is getting late.

6. Fill in the blank: I wish it ______ raining; I want to go out.

7. Which sentence is grammatically correct?

8. Fill in the blank: It is high time we ______ the meeting.