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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