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[hela]

Dear teachers,

A/ Would you please tell me which modal should be chosen in the following sentences?

1) I arrived early so that I should / would / could / might get a good view of the procession.

2) I arrived early so that I should / would / might not miss anything.

What would be the difference in meaning between them all?


B/ Is "were" a subjunctive here?

3) He arranged the timetable so that the afternoons were free.

Many thanks,

Hela

[helen1]

Hi Hela

The modal you choose depends on the meaning you want to convery.

'should' was used 1st person version of would but is less used these days.

'would' 'could' and 'might' convey different degrees of certainty/possibility.

I think you can work out the answer to your first and second questions now.

Question 3 - the subjunctive is the form of the verb to be that conveys wishes desires etc -
To answer your question, ask yourself 'How definite is it that his time is free in the afternoons?' The first part of the statements says he arranged the timetable, what tense is this and is the action complete or continuing?

Next look at 'so that' - what is another way of saying this? - a good English dictionary will give you the definition.

Finally look at 'the afternoons were free' - in the context of the other two parts how definite is this - is it more a desire/wish or past tense of to be.

Remember in trying to understand the form of a verb you need to look at the context.

Hope this helps.

Helen.