I want to write a gentle respond to someone who wrote to my college alumni magazine in great dismay over this sentence in its last issue: "You wouldn't be reading this magazine if Kenyon wasn't special to you." She asserts, "The word 'if' always takes the subjunctive.. . . I would expect no less than proper grammar in our alumni magazine!" Does somebody have a good feel for where things stand on this now? In the latest edition of Martha Kolln's book that I have (7th; 2006), Martha says that "was" is "fairly common" in certain "If" sentences --"If Joe was here, he'd agree with me" -- but that, in writing,"the subjunctive *were* is the standard form." Edith Wollin says pretty much the same thing in the latest edition of the textbook she and I co-authored. I'd like to know how others are seeing it. Edith tells me that Dick Veit sent a very interesting message to this list about the subjunctive. I missed it. Dick, if you see this and can find your email, would you mind re-sending? Thanks! To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/