Does "it is entirely possible that" require the subjunctive form of the verb following "that"?


For instance, take the following sentence (from a real email exchange):


it is entirely possible that one WebEx is not enough

Is it correct? Should it be


it is entirely possible that one WebEx be not enough

?


My reasoning is as follows:


(1) it is necessary that you be here -->
(2) it is necessary that one WebEx be here --> 
(3) it is necessary that one WebEx be enough --> 
(4) it is necessary that one WebEx be not enough --> 
(5) it is entirely possible that one WebEx be not enough -->

Is it true that the grammatical context is preserved throughout the entire transformation, starting with a sentence known to require the subjunctive (1) and ending with my example (5) ?


I have performed a few simple Google searches and the results are quite confusing:



  • "it is necessary that he be" yields 170,000 results

  • "it is necessary that he is" yields 342,000 results

  • "it is possible that he be" yields 985,000 results

  • "it is possible that he is" yields 4,040,000 results


Of course, no conclusions can be drawn from these results ...



Answer



The phrase it is possible that can be followed by just about any tense you please. The adverb entirely has no bearing on the matter.


It is entirely possible that he was here yesterday.


It is entirely possible he's sitting in the library as we speak.


It is entirely possible that it will rain tomorrow.


etc.


It is necessary that is an example of an indirect command, which I got into some trouble by describing as a form that demands the subjunctive here.


It is possible that, though, is grammatically no different from it's likely that or it's unlikely that, forms which don't necessitate the plain, unconjugated verb (whether that's something you call the subjunctive or the "infinitive minus to").


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