ABSTRACT
Is if the most powerful word we have? It is the word of logic and deduction, of computer programming and algorithms, of dreams and hopes, of fears. We use language to describe what is, what has been, what we feel, truth, lies, facts, fictions and the kind of universal truth buried in poetry. But, somewhere in the gap between truth and falsehood lies a world of what might be, or what would be true if things were different. This ability to imagine ourselves into the gap between fact and fiction is unique to humans, and vital to being a person. In this chapter we look at how the subjunctive mood fits in that gap.
