Part 2 - A MUCH BETTER GRASP OF THE ENGLISH SUBJUNCTIVEThe first part of this series reacquainted us with the three moods or attitudes of English verbs, namely the indicative mood, the imperative mood, and the subjunctive mood.
The indicative mood denotes acts and states in real-world situations, while
the imperative mood expresses direct commands. In contrast to the two,
the subjunctive mood denotes acts or states that are contingent on possible outcomes of the speaker’s wish, desire, or doubt.
A familiar distinguishing feature of the subjunctive form is the baffling behavior of verbs in the subjunctive third-person singular. The verbs drop the expected “-s” (or “-es”) at their tail end and take the base form instead, as the verb “heed” does in this sentence: “It is essential
that she heed the people’s clamor.” We will see from now on that simply knowing this behavior will eliminate much of the confusion in using the subjunctive.
Two other baffling grammar behaviors, both having to do with the verb “be,” figure so prominently in subjunctive sentence constructions. In subjunctive “that”-clauses, in particular,
“be” doesn’t change form at all no matter what person or number is taken by its subject: “She
demanded that I be here by noon.” “We
ask that you be at the party tonight.” “The judge
ruled that he be held indefinitely.” “She
recommended that they be suspended for a week.” To the modern ear, these sentences obviously sound too formal, and this is why many people would rather avoid such constructions if they can help it.
The other deviant behavior is that of “be” in subjunctive “if”-clauses. While both regular and irregular verbs in the subjunctive take the same form as their indicative past-tense forms (“worked,” “found,” “caught,” “saw,” and so on),
“be” exhibits totally maverick behavior. It sticks to
the past-tense subjunctive form “were” all throughout, regardless of the person and number of its subject: “She acts
as if she were a member of royalty.” “They avoided the man
as if he were a leper.” “The people behaved
as if their future were a big joke.” In such constructions, “were” deceptively looks and behaves as if it were consistently plural and in the past tense.
Having made clear all three of the subjunctive’s baffling grammar behaviors, we can now discuss with confidence how the subjunctive performs these six tasks: (1) indicate a possibility given a hypothetical situation (2) express a wishful attitude or desire, (3) demand that a particular action be taken, (4) describe the outcome of an unreal situation or idea contrary to fact, (5) raise a question about a hypothetical outcome, or (6) express a request or suggestion.
To indicate a possibility given a hypothetical situation. A subjunctive “if” subordinate clause can be used with a conditional main clause to indicate a possibility, as in this construction: “I
would tour Europe if I had the money.” Here, “I would tour Europe” is the main clause, one that uses the auxiliary verb “would” to denote conditionality, and “if I had the money” is the subjunctive subordinate clause, which is the speaker’s condition for touring Europe. The verb “had” in this construction is in the subjunctive past tense, as opposed to the indicative future tense usage in this sentence: “I
will tour Europe
if I can get the money this week.”
To express a wishful attitude or desire. Verbs consistently take the subjunctive past tense in “that”-clauses that follow main clauses expressing a wish: “I
wish (that) she were more intelligent.” “I
wish (that) I were the committee chairman.” “How
I wish (that) you were here right now!” Such subjunctive constructions indicate that the wish or desired outcome is neither a present reality nor a future certainty. (Note that for easier, more fluid articulation in actual usage, the conjunction “that” can be comfortably dropped from such subjunctive statements expressing a wishful attitude or desire.)
We will take up the four other functions of the subjunctive next week.
This essay, 2,139th of the series, appears in the column “English Plain and Simple” by Jose A. Carillo in the Campus Press section of the February 23, 2023 digital edition of The Manila Times
, ©2023 by the Manila Times Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.Read this essay in
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Using the subjunctive more confidently - 2(Next:
Using the subjunctive more confidently - 3) March 2, 2023
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