![]() ![]() They have the name they do only because the subjunctive forms look like ordinary past and present forms. A note is necessary here, though, about the terms present subjunctive and past subjunctive: the present subjunctive in truth refers mostly to the future ("I request that the fabulous cat be available during my visit"), while the past subjunctive can refer to the present or the past ("I wish that the fabulous cat were more cooperative"). And the past subjunctive form of be is consistently were, even when was would otherwise be the form. In the present subjunctive, be staunchly remains be instead of changing to am, are, or is according to its subject. The subjunctive is most noticeable with the common but grammatically complicated verb be. For example, the verb visit in the indicative "I visit that fabulous cat" has the same form as in the subjunctive "They suggested that I visit that fabulous cat." But if we replace I with she, the subjunctive form of the verb visit is noticeably different: in the indicative we have "She visits that fabulous cat" in the subjunctive it's "They suggested that she visit that fabulous cat." The Subjunctive Mood with "Be" and "Were" The subjunctive is so grammatically unobtrusive as to be hard to notice: in most verbs it calls for a lack of inflection, so it's only noticeable in a context that otherwise calls for inflection. Others include ask, demand, recommend, require, insist, urge, and wish. "That I visit that fabulous cat" is a proposal being made with the stated assertion of "they suggested." Suggest is one of a number of verbs that frequently play indicative partner to another verb's subjunctive use. (Reminder: a clause is a group of words that forms a part of a sentence and has its own subject and verb.) For example, in "They suggested that I visit that fabulous cat," "they suggested" is in the indicative mood with suggest as an indicative verb, while "that I visit that fabulous cat" is in the subjunctive with visit as a subjunctive verb. ![]() A subjunctive verb usually appears in a sentence with two clauses: in one clause there's the subjunctive verb, and in the other is an indicative verb. The indicative mood is for stating facts and opinions like "That cat is fabulous." The imperative mood is for giving orders and instructions (usually with an understood subject, you), as in "Look at that fabulous cat." The subjunctive mood is for expressing wishes, proposals, suggestions, or imagined situations, as in "I wish I could look at that fabulous cat all day." What Does the Subjunctive Mood Look Like?Īs we said above, grammatical moods are about verbs. Pictured: a fabulous cat What is the Subjunctive Mood?Įnglish has three moods. ![]()
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