APRIL 3, 2008 | I would rather you come/came: Subjunctive tenses in English
Both forms are correct, and many native speakers of English use them interchangeably. Some would say that using the past tense "came" makes the sentence refer to an "unreal" condition, something that is not likely to happen. Others (including us) would say that the difference is one of politeness - using the past tense "came" makes the sentence a little more polite, technically speaking. Using the subjunctive can be tricky - the verb tense you use (or whether or not to use the subjunctive at all) often depends on the situation, so there's no one answer to cover all situations. (Don't worry, the subjunctive is NOT used very often in English :)
A couple of things to remember - Most forms of the PAST subjunctive are the same as the simple past (Except the verb TO BE, - "I wish I were rich" is more correct than "I wish I was rich", although the latter is widely used). ALL forms of the PRESENT subjunctive are the same as the infinitive of the verb used (ex: I prefer that you call me tomorrow).
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