Use of the word "Suggested"

[mlngvt]

Dear teacher,
I think this is the subjunctive mood but the right answer is (b). Please give me your ideas about this problem:

"Rosa suggested............a suit and tie when he went for the interview."

a. him to wear
b. he wore
c. he must wear
d. that he wears

I think all these answers are not correct. It should be " he wear".
Thanks for your help.

[Alan]

Hi Mlngvt,

An interesting point. As you probably know the subjunctive form (mood) in English is not a very common form mainly because the construction of it is very similar to that of the indicative mood or non-subjunctive. You might be interested to read a piece I've written on it for the site. You'll find this under the heading esl lessons and if you look in the index, you'll come across the title Subjunctive. But to come back to the question you ask - I would choose option B, which in effect means that he should wear. You have suggested that he wear, which is also acceptable. The difference in form between wore and wear is that the first is past subjunctive and the second is present subjunctive. The difference in meaning is that the past is a little more remote and indirect and the present is more immediate and direct.

Alan
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story A day in the life of a stately home owner

[mlngvt]

How convincing your explanation is!
Thank you very much.