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Given the 2 examples below:

  1. I wish you were here now

  2. If he were in the situation that you've been 2 weeks ago, we wouldn't have bothered about it now

The word 'were' is used as a subjunctive and my question is: To me, because of the signaling words now and 2 weeks ago, the first example is a thinking and a usage of the word 'were' in the present, though a hypothetical situation and the second example shows 'were' for a past thinking and again a hypothetical situation. Is it so? I also found the article on Wikipedia (English subjunctive - were) but I didn't find the section entitled 'Use of the past subjunctive' to be clarifying. Despite having the name of PAST SUBJUNCTIVE , the first example to me is very present. So to summarize and ask it in a more comprised way:

What are the tenses of the were subjunctive? Does a native speaker think on the tense of this verb 'were' when used as a subjunctive?

Thank you

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    Historically were is " past subjunctive" (which for every other verb in the language is identical with the simple past). This does not mean that it has any hint of past meaning at all: it is simply a name given to this form, which is used for counter-factuals. – Colin Fine Mar 22 '20 at 18:10
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Both of your example sentences are using were to refer to a present (but nonfactual) condition.

I wish you were here now.

This means that you aren't actually here now.

The second sentence is the same, but I need to rephrase it slightly for it to be grammatical (and, perhaps, to make it understandably in the present):

If he were in the same situation now that you had been 2 weeks ago, we wouldn't be bothered about it.

You will note that I added a word, move now closer to the start of the sentence, and changed a couple of tenses.

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I wish you were here now.

But you are not. That sentence is said in a present time about what one wishes in the present.

1) If he had been in the situation you were in 2 weeks ago, we we wouldn't have bothered about it now.

The second sentence is about one thing preceding another in the past: you were in a situation two weeks ago, and if he had been in it, x would have happened. had been is present perfect and precedes the situation you were in.

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2) If he were in the situation you were in 2 weeks ago, etc.

Again, "if he were" would be said at a present time. It is not past tense. It is like the first example.

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