In informal speech I'm more likely to say, "Howard felt like he was
entering..."

In formal writing I would definitely say, "Howard felt as if he were
entering..."

The "as if" triggers the "were" for me naturally. I've noticed that the
subjunctive form continues to drop out of favor and many well-educated
teens/young adults don't find the subjunctive "natural" -- it "feels" like a
S/V agreement error to them. I wonder if the age of the copyeditor in this
case affected the results.

John

On Fri, Sep 9, 2011 at 9:54 AM, Jane Saral <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> A friend is nearing the end of writing a book and writes me:
>
> I have been going over my manuscript with a fine-toothed comb.  I paid a
> copy editor to correct the punctuation and usage, and today I  subscribed to
> the "Chicago Manual of Style" on line, for a 30 day trial.  But I have been
> finding inconsistencies in the copy editor's changes that the style manual
> doesn't exactly answer.  Right now I stuck on the use of "was" or "were"
> after an "if."  I always thought that it was the subjunctive and should be
> "if I were," etc.  However, the copy editor has changed my "were" every
> time.  Here's an example of his change: "Every time he drove up the winding
> driveway, Howard felt as if he was entering a baronial fiefdom."  Do you
> have any idea what the current usage is?  I'm very confused so if you have a
> clue, let me know.
>
> I too would use the subjunctive (when it's contrary-to-fact).  What
> should I tell my friend?
>
> Jane
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