Second, in all the cases I could find where EI might be followed by a
subjunctive, the subjunctive could be a future instead. Are there any cases
where EI is clearly followed by a subjunctive rather than a future? (I did
find EI followed by the optative, but that apparently fits into class four
conditions.)
A final question concerns Robertson's reference to indirect discourse.
Would I be correct in assuming that in indirect discourse the tense and mood
of a verb in the protasis would remain the same as in direct discourse? And
if so, and assuming that EI is used in indirect discourse, could this be a
third class condition even though the protasis starts with EI ?
I don't know if my questions make any sense, but I am trying to understand
how someone could justify calling the verbs in this clause subjunctives.
Right now, Wallace's explanation seems the simplest.
David R. Mills
ESL Instructor
Creighton University