Subjunctive mood - were/was

Orion101

Hello,

Looking for some opinions on the use of the subjunctive mood. It's used for describing something which is unlikely or hypothetical. If we take this sentence:

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]It was as if the tip of his pipe was the final ingredient in a highly unstable compound.[/FONT]

Since this is highly unlikely (not enough context, but take my word) it seems like it should be written either like this:

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]It were as if the tip of his pipe was the final ingredient in a highly unstable compound.[/FONT]

this:

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]It were as if the tip of his pipe were the final ingredient in a highly unstable compound.[/FONT]
or this:

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]It was as if the tip of his pipe were the final ingredient in a highly unstable compound.[/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Can anyone tell me the correct usage in this case? Thanks!
[/FONT]

pickarooney

The third one. The subjunctive mood doesn't extend to the clause preceding the conditional.

If you want to discuss this further, I'll move it into the English forum.