One common use of the Past Subjunctive is to put it with the Conditional. The part of the statement that has the ify word is the part of the sentence that gets the Past Subjunctive. For many, anything that has to do with the Subjunctive is ify.
When the Past Subjunctive is combined with the Conditional tense, you create a power house that can help you weasel out of anything.
For example:
weasel out of social conflicts
I would kiss you if you had more hair |
I would work if I wasn't sick |
...weasel out of picking up the check
If I made more money, I would pay for the meal. |