1. What if I ran for Congress?
2. What if I run for Congress?
3. What if you were very rich?
4. What if you are very rich?
5. What if you had been very rich?
(Which one is grammatical? Are #1 and #2 in subjunctive mood? Are they talking about the past or the present/ the future?)
1 is not in subjunctive.
2 is in subjunctive.
3 is in subjunctive.
4 is just plain incorrect!
5 is in subjunctive, in the past perfect.
All are sentence fragments.
1. "What if I ran for Congress?" - This sentence is grammatically correct and is in the subjunctive mood. The verb "ran" is in the past subjunctive form. It is hypothetical and refers to a possible action in the present or future. It suggests the idea of you considering the possibility of running for Congress.
2. "What if I run for Congress?" - This sentence is also grammatically correct and is in the subjunctive mood. The verb "run" is in the base form or simple present tense. It is still a hypothetical question but refers to a possible action in the present or future. It suggests the idea of you considering the possibility of running for Congress.
To summarize, both sentences (#1 and #2) are in the subjunctive mood and they express hypothetical situations regarding your potential candidacy for Congress. Both options can be used interchangeably, with a slight difference in tense.