1

What is the difference between the following two sentences

I would die before I lied

I would die before I lie

Is the first one in subjunctive mood?

Improve this question
0

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

I would die before I lied.

I would die before I lie.

No: subjunctive clauses are headed by a plain form of the verb, e.g. "I insisted [that he meet her]". But "lied" is past tense so it can't be subjunctive.

In any case, only a very few prepositions, like "if", "unless", "lest" etc. license subjunctives, so neither of your examples qualify.

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.