umble) _should stumble_;" "If
he (come) _should come_, he will find me at home;" "It (were) _would be_
better if he (went) _should go_ alone;" "If my sister had seen this mouse,
she (had been) _would have been_ frightened." In these sentences either
the form in parenthesis or the italicized form is correct, though the
latter is more common.

NOTE.--It does not follow that the verbs "may," "would," and "should"
always express the subjunctive idea. In the following sentences, for
instance, they express the indicative idea: "You _may_ (_i.e_., are
permitted to) stay an hour;" "You _should_ (_i.e_., ought to) be
punctual;" "Edith _would_ not (_i.e_., was unwilling to) come." In such
sentences "may," "should," and "would" make simple statements of fact.

USES of the SUBJUNCTIVE.--The indicative form is used in
expressing a fact or what is assumed to be a fact: as "He _thinks_ he _is_
ill;" the subjunctive form indicates some uncertainty or doubt in the
speaker's mind: as, "Whether it _rain_ or not, I will go."

The subjunctive idea occurs most frequently, perhaps, in _conditional
sentences_. A conditional sentence is one that contains a condition or
supposition. A supposition may refer to present, past, or future time. If
it refers to present or past time, it may be viewed by the speaker as
true, untrue, or as a mere supposition with nothing implied as to its
truth; if it refers to the future, it may be viewed as either likely or
unlikely. A supposition which is assumed to be true, or which is made
without any hint as to its correctness, is expressed by the indicative. A
supposition which is viewed by the speaker as untrue or unlikely is
expressed by the subjunctive or a periphrase[87] for the subjunctive. When
the character of the supposition makes the conclusion untrue or unlikely,
the conclusion also is expressed by the subjunctive or a periphrase[87] for
the subjunctive. The use of tenses is peculiar, as will be seen from the
following table of a few common forms of conditional sentences. The tenses
should be carefully noted:--

PRESENT:
If it _rains_ (_is raining_) now, I am sorry.
_Present indicative_: A simple supposition without any hint as to its
correctness.

If it _rained_ (_were raining_), I _should be_ sorry.
_Past subjunctive, both clauses_: The speaker implies that it is
not raining.

PAST:
If it _rained_ (_was raining_), I was sorry.
_Past indicative_: No sug