gestion of doubt.

If it _had rained_, I _should have been_ sorry.
_Past perfect subjunctive, both clauses_: The speaker implies that it
did not rain.

FUTURE:
If it _rains_, I shall be sorry.
_Present indicative_: The common, though inexact, form of a simple
future supposition.

If it _rain_, I shall be sorry.
_Present subjunctive_: Less common, but more exact. The future is
uncertain.

If it _should_ (_were to_) _rain_, I _should be_
sorry. _Subjunctive, both clauses_: The uncertainty is emphasized
by the auxiliary form; the chances of rain seem more remote.

NOTE 1.--When _if_ is equivalent to "whenever", the condition is called
"general", to distinguish it from "particular" conditions, which refer to
some particular act at some particular time. General conditions always
take the indicative: as, "If (whenever) it _rains_, I stay at home."

NOTE 2.--Sometimes there is no "if", and then the verb or a part of the
verb precedes the subject: as, "Were it raining, I should be sorry;" "Had
it been raining, I should have been sorry."

NOTE 3.--In such sentences as "If thou hadst been here, my brother had not
died," it may perhaps be questioned whether "had not died" is indicative,
as in the Greek, or subjunctive, as in the Latin, idiom.

NOTE 4.--Clauses introduced by _though_ and _unless_ take the same forms
as clauses introduced by _if_.

_Wishes_ are naturally expressed in the subjunctive. The _present_
subjunctive denotes a wish for the future: as, "Thy kingdom _come_." The
_past_ subjunctive denotes a wish for the present which is unfulfilled:
as, "I wish I _were_ a bird." The _past perfect_ subjunctive denotes a
wish contrary to a past fact: as, "I wish you _had been_ there."

[86] In such sentences the indicative would be, according to modern usage,
correct, and it is more common.
[87] See paragraph 3, page 84. The forms in "would" and "should" in
conditional sentences, though they express the subjunctive idea, can
hardly be called the "subjunctive mood". Sometimes they are called the
"conditional mood."

EXERCISE L.

_Tell the time referred to in each of the following sentences, and whether
the speaker regards the condition as true, untrue, or uncertain_:--

1. If all men did their duty, there would be less misery in the world.
2. Had I heard of the affair sooner, this misfortune would not have
happened.
3. Were it true, I would say so.
4. I woul