The Subjunctive Mood

While the "subjunctive mood" has almost disappeared from English, yet it still remains in the "conditional statement." That is, if you express a wish, then you should use the plural verb with the singular subject. This Latinate oddity looks like this:

I felt as if I were experiencing the same trauma.

See that "were" as the predicate? That's the "subjunctive mood." You will be tempted to write...

I felt as if I was experiencing the same trauma.

But, no, the word you want is "were," not "was." This usage is rather strange, but it's one of our language's archaic leftovers from old Latin days. Let's use the subjunctive mood form in our writing, not only for its correctness, but also for the delightful flavor it adds to English. You don't have to say it, just write it.

PS: Is the "was" in the above sample wrong? Not any more. Remember, the subjunctive mood has almost vanished from English usage; however, the subjunctive is fun to use and shows "people in the know" that you're "in the know" as well.

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