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It's time; present subjunctive

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Xinfu
May 31, 2015, 12:21 AM
15/5/30 James

-It's time that commercial ties and communications be opened between the two countries, says this man.

is the above just the same as

-It's time that commercial ties and communications are opened between the two countries, says this man.
-It's time that commercial ties and communications should be opened between the two countries, says this man.
-It's time that commercial ties and communications were opened between the two countries, says this man.

The man responding to the journalist is probably from Cuba who has learned the news that the US has dropped Cuba from the blacklist.

Rusty
May 31, 2015, 05:21 AM
Using the subjunctive mood has, at least in American English, fallen out of colloquial use, so the first sentence, although correctly constructed, would sound strange to most native speakers.
The sentence that contains 'were' would be a close second choice, and would sound more tolerable to speakers of American English.

However, I would think that most AmE speakers would choose the sentences that contain 'are' and 'should be'.

The sentence that contains 'should be' is not equivalent to the others, as it suggests 'perhaps', which is not the same as the other statements.

Xinfu
June 02, 2015, 03:33 AM
Thank you.