THE MAVERICK BEHAVIOR OF VERBS IN THE SUBJUNCTIVE

[Joe Carillo]

The maverick behavior of verbs in the subjunctive

For a clear understanding of the perplexing behavior of verbs in the English subjunctive mood, this three-part retrospective does a quick review of the three moods of verbs in English. By mood, of course, we mean that attribute of the verb that expresses the state of mind or attitude of the speaker toward what he or she is saying. We will recall that the three moods are the indicative mood, the imperative mood, and the subjunctive mood. Both the indicative and the imperative moods deal with actions or states in factual or real-world situations, but the subjunctive deals with actions or states only as possible, contingent, or conditional outcomes of a want, wish, preference, or uncertainty expressed by the speaker.

Part I – The maverick behavior of verbs in the subjunctive

WHAT’S THE MOOD OF THE ACTION IN EACH OF THE PHOTOS ABOVE?

A telltale sign of the inadequate English grammar instruction that students might be getting in school is the disquieting note and grammar question below, which was posted in Jose Carillo’s English Forum way back in 2010 by a Forum member whom I’ll be identifying here only as Miss F.

Here’s what Miss F. wrote: “In elementary English, I was taught that the first-person personal pronoun ‘I’ should always be followed by the past form of the verb ‘be,’ which is ‘were,’ to make sense. But till now, I find it more ‘comfortable’ to follow ‘I’ with ‘was.’ Movie director Gene Fowler, Jr., did so, too, in his 1957 film, I Was a Teenage Werewolf, as well as baseball player Chris Malec of the Camden Rivershark in a recent interview with The New York Times. Frank Lloyd thought otherwise, though, in his 14th film, If I Were King, as well as Robert Mackey, a reporter in the same American daily newspaper. Which is really correct? Can I get away with using ‘I was’?”

This isn’t a very uncommon misconception about English grammar and usage, so I would like to clarify it through this open reply to Miss F.:

I’m sorry to say that you got it wrong that the first-person personal pronoun “I” should always be followed by the past tense of the verb “be,” which is “were.” Your elementary-school English teacher was misinformed and evidently confused about that usage, and the fact that you find it more comfortable to use the past-tense “was” tells me that you instinctively knew English grammar better than your teacher.

I must now hasten to add, though,  that the use of “was” in the movie title I Was a Teenage Werewolf is grammatically correct, but so is the use of “were” in the movie title If I Were King. (Since you didn’t give details, however, I can’t be certain about the grammatical correctness of the basketball player’s and the reporter’s statements).

The users of “was” and “were” whom you cited used different forms of the verb “be” not because they had a choice but because their statements are actually in two different moods. The “was” user in your example was using the verb “be” in the indicative mood, while the “were” user in your example was using the verb “be” in the subjunctive mood. Indeed, your elementary-school teacher obviously was blind to this distinction between the two usages.

To clearly understand that distinction, let’s first do a quick review of the three moods of verbs in English. By mood, of course, we mean that attribute of the verb that expresses the state of mind or attitude of the speaker toward what he or she is saying. We will recall that the three moods are the indicative mood, the imperative mood, and the subjunctive mood. As I’m sure you already know, both the indicative and the imperative moods deal with actions or states in factual or real-world situations. The subjunctive mood, on the other hand, deals with actions or states only as possible, contingent, or conditional outcomes of a want, wish, preference, or uncertainty expressed by the speaker.

Now, the subjunctive mood has a much more varied and complex grammatical repertoire than the indicative mood and imperative mood. While both regular and irregular verbs in the subjunctive take the same form as their indicative past-tense forms (“found” for “find,” “saw” for “see”), the verb “be” in the subjunctive mood exhibits totally maverick behavior. This explains the strange behavior of the verb “be”—taking the plural form “were” instead of the expected singular form “was”—in some of the examples that you found baffling.

But before we can unravel the layer of confusion that leads to this confusing behavior of “be,” we first need to thoroughly understand the differences in how verbs work in the three moods of English.

This essay, 701st in the series, first appeared in the column “English Plain and Simple” by Jose A. Carillo in the July 31, 2010 issue of The Manila Times, ©2010 by the Manila Times Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

(Continued in Part II below)

Part II - The maverick behavior of verbs in the subjunctive

In Part I, to address the bafflement of Miss F. over the inconsistent behavior of the verb “be” in certain sentences with “I” as subject, I explained that it’s because those sentences are in two different moods. In the indicative mood, the verb “be” inflects to the normal singular form “was” in the past tense; in the subjunctive mood, however, it inflects to “were.” This is why not a few teachers can’t understand the subjunctive and unwittingly pass on their confusion to their students.

To make sense of this deviant behavior of “be,” let’s first review the differences in how verbs work in the three moods of English: the indicative mood, the imperative mood, and the subjunctive mood.

The indicative mood. This, of course, is the most familiar of the three moods in English. It conveys the idea that an act or condition is (1) an objective fact, (2) an opinion, or (3) the subject of a question. Statements in the indicative seek to give the impression that the speaker is talking about real-world situations in a straightforward, truthful manner. Their operative verbs take their normal inflections in all the tenses and typically obey the subject-verb agreement rule at all times.

Examples of indicative sentences: Stating an objective fact: “The Philippines is the world’s second largest labor exporter.” Stating an opinion: “Our client seems uninterested in the survey findings.” Posing a question: “Who used my computer this morning?”

The imperative mood. This mood denotes the attitude of a speaker who (1) demands or orders a particular action, (2) makes a request or suggestion, (3) gives advice, or (4) states a prohibition. In this mood, the operative verb uses its base form (its infinitive form without the “to”), and is most often used in second-person, present-tense sentences that use an elliptical subject or the unstated second-person pronoun “you.”

Examples of imperative statements: Demanding a particular action: “Stop that car!” Making a request or suggestion: “Please take your seats.” “Join me this afternoon to review the report.” Giving advice: “Study your lessons well to pass tomorrow’s test.” Stating a prohibition: “Don’t enter this one-way street.”

The subjunctive mood. Among the three moods, the subjunctive mood has the most varied and complex grammatical repertoire. Subjunctive sentences can take several forms to perform the following tasks: (1) indicate a possibility, (2) express a desire or wishful attitude, (3) express insistence on a particular action, (4) express doubt about a certain outcome, (5) describe an unreal situation or an idea contrary to fact, or (6) express a request or suggestion.

Now let’s take a closer look at the deviant behavior of verbs in the subjunctive.

First, in the subjunctive third-person singular, the verb drops the expected “-s” (or “-es”) at its tail end and takes its base form instead, as the verb “heed” does in this sentence: “It is essential that she heed (not “that she heeds”) the people’s clamor.” As a general rule for subjunctive “that”-clauses, their operative verbs don’t change form at all regardless of what number or person the subject takes: “It is imperative that Amelia submit (not “submits”) herself to the jurisdiction of this court.”

Second, and this behavior of the subjunctive directly answers Miss F.’s question about its usage, the verb “be” exhibits maverick behavior in subjunctive “if”-clauses. Regular and irregular verbs in the subjunctive take the same form as their indicative past-tense forms (“worked,” “caught,” “saw,” and so on), but the verb “be” 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.” “The people behaved as if their future were a big joke.”

In such constructions, “were” behaves as if it were consistently plural and in the past tense. No wonder that many people find it so difficult to understand the subjunctive form and how it works.

We will continue this discussion in Part III of this column.

This essay, 702nd in the series, first appeared in the column “English Plain and Simple” by Jose A. Carillo in the August 7, 2010 issue of The Manila Times, ©2010 by the Manila Times Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

(Continued in Part III below)

Part III - The maverick behavior of verbs in the subjunctive

In Part II, I pointed out that sentences in the subjunctive mood can take several forms to do the following tasks: (1) indicate a possibility (2) express a desire or wishful attitude, (3) express insistence on a particular action, (4) express doubt about a certain outcome, (5) describe an unreal situation or an idea contrary to fact, or (6) express a request or suggestion. I explained that in doing these tasks, subjunctive sentences are marked by certain deviant behavior of verbs, particularly (1) the disappearance of the expected “-s” in the tail end of the verb when it’s in the third-person singular, and (2) the holding fast by the verb “be” to the subjunctive form “were” regardless of the person and number of the subject.

Now that we know this maverick behavior of verbs in the subjunctive, we can better understand the grammatical functions of this mood:

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: “I would visit Rome if I had the money.” Here, “I would visit Rome” is the main clause, one using 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 visiting Rome. The verb “had” here is in the subjunctive past tense, as opposed to the indicative future tense usage in this sentence: “I will visit Rome 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 fashion-conscious.” “I wish (that) I were the coach.” 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. Sentences with subjunctive “that”-clauses can express the speaker’s insistence that a particular action be taken. The insistence may be an indirect demand, strong suggestion, or pointed request: “We ask that the sports committee defer the tournament to a much later date.” “It is imperative that we regain respectability.” “It is important that we take action now.”

To describe the outcome of an unreal situation or idea contrary to fact. The subjunctive can denote a hypothetical state or outcome given a certain condition that’s 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 questioned my leadership!” Without “if,” such constructions can sometimes take an inverted syntax: “Were she the dean, our school wouldn’t be in this academic mess.”

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 spoke as if he were the only educated person in the group, but the audience knew better.” “That would be an intelligent course of action if the situation were really as you describe.” “She wouldn’t behave that way if she were already a professional.”

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 annual leave be extended.” “I suggest that the chairman take the morning flight.” These subjunctive constructions are extremely formal and officious, reflecting varying degrees of deference to organizational authority or higher social rank.

This ends our three-part discussion of the subjunctive. I trust that it has given Miss F. and everybody else enough confidence to deal with this perplexing grammatical form of the English language.

This essay, 703rd in the series, first appeared in the column “English Plain and Simple” by Jose A. Carillo in the August 14, 2010 issue of The Manila Times, ©2010 by the Manila Times Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.