After our reacquaintance with the mood or attitude of English verbs in the preceding essay
(EPS, 2247th of a series), we are now in a good position to fully grasp how the subjunctive works. To put our subsequent discussions in better perspective, however, let’s first make a quick summary of what we have already learned about the subjunctive by far.
We already know that
the subjunctive mood denotes acts or states that are contingent on possible outcomes of the speaker’s wish, desire, or doubt, as opposed to denoting acts and states in real-world situations, which is what
the indicative mood does, or to expressing direct commands, which is what
the imperative mood does in turn. We are now also familiar with the baffling behavior of verbs in the subjunctive third-person singular, which drop the expected “-s” (or “-es”) at their tail end and take their base form instead, as the verb “heed” does in this sentence: “It is essential that she heed the people’s clamor.” We found out that simply knowing this behavior could eliminate much of the confusion in using the subjunctive.
IMAGE CREDIT RIGHT ILLUSTRATION: WOODWARDENGLISH.COMTo completely understand the subjunctive, however, we also need to be keenly aware that it exhibits two other baffling grammar behaviors that figure so prominently in subjunctive sentence constructions. Both of these behaviors have to do with the verb “be,” which as we know is a very important but highly irregular English verb.
One of those deviant behaviors is exhibited by “be” in the present-tense subjunctive. 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, of course, 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 clarified all three of the subjunctive’s baffling grammar behaviors, we can now discuss with confidence how the subjunctive performs the following 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 condition. 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.
To demand that a particular action be taken. As we have already seen in the preceding two essays, sentences with subjunctive “that”-clauses can be used to express the speaker’s insistence that a particular action be taken. This is the
parliamentary motion or
jussive form of the subjunctive, and it can denote an indirect demand, a strong suggestion, or a pointed request: “We
ask that the committee defer the matter to a much later date.” “It
is imperative that we regain market leadership.” “It
is important that we take action now.” The seemingly impersonal tone of the jussive form makes the speaker’s personal preference sound imperative and stately as well as more convincing.
A sentence can likewise take the subjunctive form if its main clause uses certain verbs that convey effort on the part of the speaker to impose his will on other people. Among such verbs are “move,” “ask,” “insist,” “propose,” “prefer,” and “recommend.” To get a much better feel of this subjunctive form, try each of those verbs as a substitute for “demanded” in the this subjunctive sentence: “We demanded
[moved, asked, insisted, proposed, preferred, recommended] that
our company stop giving business to that bank.” In all cases, the verb “stop” in the “that”-clause takes the present-tense subjunctive form (the verb’s infinitive form without the “to”) as opposed to the indicative “stops.”
There are two other noteworthy instances when verbs in subordinate “that”-clauses can take the subjunctive:
(1) When they come after such state-of-mind adjectives in the main clause as “decided,” “eager,” “anxious,” and “determined”: “The school board
is decided that Mr. Cruz vacate his post immediately.” “She
is eager that the nation adopt the federal system of government.” “The president
is anxious that the recalcitrant managers be fired.” “The furious customer
is determined that she see the store manager.”
(2) When they come after such “concept expectation” nouns in the main clause as “advice,” “condition,” “demand,” “directive,” “intention,” “order,” “proposal,” “recommendation,” “request,” “suggestion,” and “wish”: “Their
advice is
that the plaintiffs drop their complaint for lack of evidence.” “Our
suggestion is
that she sell her shares of stock now.” “His
wish is
that the company recover from its disastrous sales performance.”
Now we can proceed to the three other functions of the subjective:
]Describe the outcome of an unreal situation or idea contrary to fact. The subjunctive can be used to denote a hypothetical state or outcome given a certain condition that is unreal or contrary to fact. Such conditions will often be indicated by the word “if” or “wish”: “
If the Earth were flat, Magellan’s naval expedition
wouldn’t have circumnavigated the globe.” “
How I wish (that) I were here when she said that! I
would have told her that she was a liar.” Without “if,” such constructions can sometimes take an inverted syntax: “
Were she the CEO, our management
wouldn’t be pursuing this erroneous course.”
We must be aware, however, that there’s one traditional rule for such “if” constructions:
when such verbs as “wonder” or “ask” are used to express indirect questions, the subjunctive is uncalled for even if the act or state described in the question is evidently contrary to fact. Thus, the following constructions are correct in using the indicative: “We
wondered if the quotation he gave us was [not
“were”] inclusive of the withholding tax.” “I
found it so incredible that the European tourist asked me if Cebu was [not
“were”] a separate island-republic.”
Express doubt about certain appearances or raise a question about an outcome. Statements that cast doubt on observed behavior or raise a question about a presumed outcome often take the subjunctive form: “He
talked as if he were the only educated person in the group, but we knew better.” “That would be an intelligent alternative if the situation were really as you describe.” “She wouldn’t behave that way if she were already a doctor.” “How would the chairman react if everybody were to boycott the committee hearing?” “If he were that rich, would your friend be driving that terribly battered car?”
Express a request or suggestion. The subjunctive can be used to formally express a request or suggestion by a speaker of lower rank or social station than the one being addressed: “We respectfully request that our lunch break be extended.” “I suggest that the chairman take the evening flight.” These subjunctive constructions are obviously very formal and officious, reflecting varying degrees of deference to organizational authority or higher social rank.
This essay, which first appeared in my weekly column “English Plain and Simple” in The Manila Times
, subsequently became Chapter 78 of my book Giving Your English the Winning Edge
, ©2009 by the Manila Times Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.Next week:
Simpler alternatives for the subjunctive (April 3, 2025)
Visit Jose Carillo’s English Forum, http://josecarilloforum.com. You can follow me on Facebook and X (Twitter) and e-mail me at j8carillo@yahoo.com.
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