When the concession is stated as an admitted fact, the indicative is regular.
- Although he is a foreigner, he speaks good English.
- Though he sometimes sings, he is not now in good voice.
280. After if and unless, expressing condition, the subjunctive may be used in a variety of ways.
- 1. If this be gold, our fortune is made. [It may or may not be gold.]
- 2. If he confess, I shall overlook the offence. [He may or may not confess.]
- 3. Unless he confess, he cannot be convicted. [He may or may not confess.]
- 4. If this were gold, our fortune would be made. [It is not gold; hence our fortune is not made.]
- 5. If he stood before me at this moment, I should tell him my opinion. [He does not stand before me; hence I do not tell him.]
- 6. If he had confessed, I should have overlooked his fault. [He did not confess; hence I did not overlook it.]
- 7. Unless he had confessed, he could not have been convicted. [He did confess; hence he was convicted.]
In conditional clauses, the present subjunctive denotes either present or future time. It puts the supposed case doubtfully, but not necessarily as improbable. (See examples 1–3.)
The past subjunctive refers to present time. It implies that the supposed case is not now a fact. (See examples 4 and 5.)
The pluperfect (or past perfect) subjunctive refers to past time. It implies that the supposed case was not a fact. (See 6 and 7.)
For details of conditional sentences, see [pp. 167–172].
281. Concession or condition may be expressed by the subjunctive without though or if, the verb preceding the subject, which is sometimes omitted.
I. Concession