Just about time you retired

[5jj]

Yes, he was telling George he needed to go to bed.

 

[jutfrank]

*It's time he were in bed' is not possible in BrE.

Yes, agreed. I wonder whether such a sentence was possible at some point in the past, but with the gradual replacement of subjunctive with indicative, has come to sound ungrammatical.

 

[5jj]

It could be. I don't know how to track that down.

 

[emsr2d2]

Do you mean Dr. Gibbs was telling George he needed to go to bed? I thought he was saying Mrs. Gibbs needed to retire from singing in the choir.

That's not possible. Mrs Gibbs isn't even there. We know she's at choir practice so Mr Gibbs can't be addressing her as "you". Mr Gibbs has already referred to it being 8.30 and said he's surprised Mrs Gibbs is "out so late". George is young enough to still get an allowance and to say "Yes, pa" when told to do something so it's entirely reasonable to assume that 8.30 is an acceptable bedtime for him.

 

[Barque]

so Mr Gibbs can't be addressing her as "you".

I thought it was the general "you". But yes, I suppose you're right.