ACT I. SCENE 2
See preceding note and, for historical details, any biographical dictionary.
The use of the imperfect subjunctive is far more restricted in French conversation than our school grammars would imply. Persons of little education hardly use it at all, and persons of refined culture avoid its ill-sounding forms; while even such classical authors as Voltaire sometimes substitute the present for it. Cp. my note to "Le Gendre de monsieur Poirier," p.29, note 2.
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