Dave Rogers
Bandaged ice that stampedes inexpensively through
Add it to your own list of misunderstood concepts. For one, the verb in question was not used in a dependent clause; it was not the expression of a request or wish, and it was not in reference to something that did not happen, but something that did happen.
Is there a conspiracy theorist's lying manual that you work from? You've taken a list of possible uses of the subjunctive, noted that it doesn't conform to some members of that list, completely ignored the fact that it conforms perfectly to another of them, and hence concluded that it's not a subjunctive. I even pointed out which usage of the subjunctive it was, and you've chosen to pretend to ignore that. Lying about 9/11 I can sort of understand, but I'm impressed that you're even prepared to lie about grammar.
It was simply indicative, which is the mood used for questions, not subjunctive.
You may have intended it to be indicative, but you clearly asked for a suggestion, not a statement of fact.
I didn't ask how many there could have been, or how many might there have been, I simply asked him how many he suggests were there.
Got it. You din't ask him for an estimate, you asked him to suggest an approximate number. I think we can all appreciate that distinction.
Dave