writerly whinge of the day

[queenlua]

why is the subjunctive mood so horrible and awkward in English

"he wished he hadn't had to do this" is so interesting/beautiful in theory but sounds like such a clunker in practice

romance languages don't have this problem

UGH

Comments

[arlie]

I missed out on being taught the subtleties of English grammar, so I can't e.g. label a subjunctive when I see it, but your phrase above seems natural enough to me.