The subjunctive and its functions - 1

[Joe Carillo]

This 6-part series on the subjunctive mood was first run in the Forum from January 29 - February 9, 2018. For its general overview, read “The moods and attitude of English verbs.” Links to the rest of the 6-part series are provided at the tail end of this posting.)

The subjunctive and its functions - 1
(Second of a 6-part series on the subjunctive form)

This is the second of a six-part series on the subjunctive form, decidedly the most deviant and most intimidating of the three moods of the English language.  Started last January 29, 2018, it will run every other day (except Sunday) until February 9.

After getting reacquainted with the moods or attitude of English verbs in the first part of this series, we’re 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 so 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.

To 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. (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.)

To demand that a particular action be taken. 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 is actually meant to make the speaker’s personal preference sound imperative, stately, and 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.”

Keep in mind that unlike in the use of the subjunctive to express a wishful attitude or desire, the conjunction “that” in such imposition statements is absolutely necessary and cannot be dropped. Otherwise, as we can see in the two examples that follow, not only is the sense of imposition lost but the statement becomes almost nonsensical as well: “We insisted our company stop giving business to that bank.” “We recommended our company stop giving business to that bank.”

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.”

We will take up the three other functions of the subjective in the third part of this series.

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*The term "person" here is used to refer to the way pronouns in English inflect or change form depending on which the verb in the discourse refers to, whether to the speaker, to the one spoken to, or to the one spoken about. In English, of course, there are three persons, namely first person, second person, and third person.

(Next: The subjunctive and its functions - 2)   February 2, 2018

This discussion first appeared as part of a weekly series in Jose A. Carillo’s “English Plain and Simple” column in The Manila Times from 2004 to 2007 and it subsequently formed Chapter 77 of his book Give Your English the Winning Edge, © 2009 by Jose A. Carillo. All rights reserved.

Read the rest of the series by clicking these links:
The subjunctive and its functions - 2
Simpler alternatives for the subjunctive
Options for avoiding officious subjunctive sentences
Distinguishing second conditional sentences from subjunctives