I learned the usage of the subjunctive from my fifth-form English teacher. He was one of the few inspirational teachers I ever had, and was possessed of amazing powers of persuasion and explanation. Of course, he was one of Father Steve's confreres as well as being a teacher, except that I think he had been trained by the Jesuits before jumping the fence.

He was also absolutely scathing about "children" who didn't take the opportunity the school offered to learn Latin because he considered that unless they learned it they had effectively dismissed any chance of understanding about 40% of the English language.


The idiot also known as Capfka ...