Irrealis mood

Counterfactual ( or unreal ) is a term used in grammar, which describes a Konditionalgefüge ( set of conditions ) as impossible, as it is not in either the speaker or writer for really holds ( Irrealis the present) or the event in the past and therefore no longer can be met ( Irrealis the past).

In German, you press the Irrealis the presence of the subjunctive ( past tense Conjunctivus ) and the past with the subjunctive II of the perfect ( Conjunctivus Plusquamperfecti ). Examples:

Irrealis the present and the past can in conditional ( protasis ) and in the conditional sentence ( apodosis ) alternate well:

Other examples of this type exist in common statements such as in the hunter Language:

A seemingly individually conditional standing may be a desiring Minimum Bid:

In other languages ​​you press the subjunctive sometimes similar to the Germans, for example, in Latin. The English differs (after the pattern of the Romance languages ​​) in the conditional sentence on the "present conditional " ( would infinitive ) and "past conditional " ( would have past participle ) from ( appropriate description with the subjunctive of will is also in German often, today also in the conditional sentence ).