LESSON 1 General Characteristics of the Moods in English. Subjunctive Forms
Definitions
Mood is a grammatical means to express modality – the speaker’s attitude towards the event/ activity/
action in reality. Modality can be expressed by several means:
1. Lexical - modal words, e.g. certainly, probably, perhaps. These words express various degrees of
certainty or uncertainty or desirability on the part of the speaker in relation to the action expressed by the
predicate of the sentence.
e.g. Perhaps he will come tomorrow. I'II probably see him at the meeting.
2. Lexico-grammatical - modal verbs. They express necessity, obligation, possibility,
probability, desirability, etc. with regard to the fulfillment of the action denoted by the
infinitive which follows modal verbs. e.g. You should help your friend. You can easily do it. How could
you do it? You may visit him every Monday.
3. Grammatical - the category of mood. It is the main means of expressing modality. It shows whether
the speaker perceives an action as a fact or as a non-fact, it expresses the relation of the action towards
reality as stated by the speaker. So, the speaker views an event as real, hypothetical or problematic, and
unreal e.g.
1) He was here yesterday.
2) She ordered he should be here tomorrow.
3) I wish he were here tomorrow.
4) If I were you, I wouldn't do it.
5) You wouldn't have allowed the children to go boating if you were more sensible.
The Number of Moods in Modern English
There are two main Russian grammar schools:
1. The S.-Petersburg (or Leningrad) school of grammarians (Kaushanskaya V.)
2. The Moscow school of grammarians (Ganshina M., Smirnitskiy)
The S.-Petersburg School of grammarians distinguishes between three moods in ME: the Indicative Mood,
the Imperative Mood, the Subjunctive Mood. The Moscow School of grammarians distinguishes between:
two direct moods - the Indicative Mood and the Imperative Mood; four oblique moods - Subjunctive I,
Subjunctive II, the Suppositional and the Conditional moods.
General Notions of the Moods in ME
1. The Imperative Mood expresses a command or a request. In ME the Imperative Mood has only one
form which coincides with the Infinitive without the particle «to». It is used in the second person singular
or plural. e.g. Come to the board! Leave the room! Be an angel and fetch my newspaper, please!
In forming the negative form the auxiliary verb «to do» is always used, even with the verbs « do, be»
e.g. Don't go there! Don't be so touchy! Don't do it!
To make a request or command more emphatic the subject expressed by the pronoun «you» is sometimes
used. It is a marker of colloquial speech. It is used:
a) with emphatic force: e.g. You take your things and go away!
b) when orders are given to different persons: e.g. You go to the station and you call him up.
c) when speaking with children: e.g. Children listen to me!
Emphatic forms of the Imperative Mood are built sometimes with the help of:
a) the verb «to do» followed by the Infinitive; e.g. Do come to see me tonight!
b) «will you» which follows the Imperative. In this case the command turns into a kind of request; e.g.
Turn to the right here, will you? Give me your book, will you?
A command addressed to the third person singular or plural is usually expressed with the help of the verb
«let». The combination «let + Infinitive» is also used with the 1-st person e.g. Let the children go to bed. Let
the child go to bed.
Let me go there. Let us stop quarrelling.
2. The Indicative Mood shows that the event/ action or state expressed by the predicate is presented as a
fact. e.g. I live in Novosibirsk.
The verb in the Indicative Mood expresses the meanings of the following grammatical categories: tense,
aspect, time correlation, voice, number, person.
The Indicative Mood is used to express a real condition in complex sentences. A complex sentence
consists of two parts: the principal clause and the subordinate clause:
e.g. If he comes early, he will ring me up.
The following rules may be observed within. If a real situation is meant and we think that the outcome is
really possible, the present tenses are used in the subordinate clauses and the future tenses in the principal
parts.
e.g. If you keep driving like that, you 'II have an accident.
If she has finished work by 4 o 'clock she will go home.
If he doesn’t hurry, the plane will have left by the time he gets to the airport, (the Perfect form emphasizes
completeness)
If one situation depends on another, «if» can be replaced by «as/so long as», «provided» or «only if».
e.g. I’ll do what you say provided the police are not informed.
«Even if» describes how something will happen whatever the condition.
e.g. Even if it rains, we’ll still go for a picnic.
Other tenses can be used in if-sentences.
1 . What is always true: present + present. Both present simple and continuous are possible
after //meaning when. e.g. If I work late, I get tired (= когда я работаю допоздна, я устаю).
If the water is boiling, the food is nearly ready.
2. What was always true: past + past. Both past simple and continuous are possible after «if» meaning «when».
e.g. We went home early if it was foggy (=мы шли домой рано, когда был туман). If it was snowing, we
stayed at home.
3. Possible situations in the present or past can be expressed with the help of modal verbs in the principal part:
e.g. If you get wet, you should change your clothes immediately. If I got tired, I could go out with a friend or
read a good book.
4. «Going to» can replace «will» in the principal clause to express smth inevitable: e.g. If you
fall, you 're going to hurt yourself.
«Going to» can be used to mean «intend to» after «if». If you 're going to make trouble, we 'll call the police.
5. «Will» in the subordinate clause can be used as a polite form:
e.g. If you will wait here, I’ll see if Mrs. Green is free.
«Will» can also be used for emphasis, meaning «insist on doing».
e.g. If you will stay out late, no wonder you’re tired, (insist on staying)
6. «If so/if not» can refer to a sentence understood but not stated. e.g. There is a possibility that Jack will be
late. If so, I'll take his place.
7. Colloquial omission of «if» can be observed in an imperative used instead of an «if-clause» in everyday
speech. e.g. Sit down, and I 'II make us a cup of tea. (If you sit down ...)
8. In expressions such as «if it is necessary/obligatory/impossible)) etc. it is possible to omit the verb «be». e.g.
If interested, apply within. If necessary, take a taxi.
9. Formally «if» can mean «although», usually «if + adjective».
e.g. The room was well-finished, if a little badly decorated.
3. The Subjunctive Mood shows that the action or state is presented as a non-fact. It contradicts the
reality; it is something imaginary or desired. It expresses wish, supposition, purpose, condition, etc. When
the speaker uses one of the subjunctive forms s\he just communicates to the listener what is desirable.
When s\he uses an imperative form, s\he urges the listener to realize her \ his order or request.
e.g. Be silent. I wish you were silent.
When the speaker expresses his wish by using one of the forms of the Subjunctive Mood he merely
communicates to the listener what he considers desirable. This is the main difference between the
Subjunctive Mood and the Imperative mood. When using the Imperative mood the speaker directly urges
the person addressed to fulfil his order or request. Compare: Be quiet! - I wish you were quiet. (My wish
contradicts reality, you are not quiet.) Do it at once! - If only you could do it!
According to the Leningrad School there are synthetic and analytical forms of the Subjunctive Mood.
The Synthetic Forms of the Subjunctive Mood.
The synthetic forms express the grammatical and the lexical meanings in the same word, the analytical
forms express these two meanings in separate words. The synthetic forms are older. Long ago they had
their own inflexions.
The Present Subjunctive.
Form:
it corresponds to Subjunctive I in the Moscow school terminology. In the Present Subjunctive
the verb «to be» has the form «be» for all the persons singular or plural. In all other verbs the forms of the
Present Subjunctive coincide with the corresponding infinitives without the particle «to». The Present
Subjunctive has no ending
Meanings: the Present Subjunctive denotes an action referring to the Present or Future. It represents an
action as problematic but not contradicting reality. It is used to express order, request, suggestion,
supposition, purpose, etc. Until recently the Present Subjunctive was restricted to very formal language,
where it is still usual. It is, however, widely used in AE, and is now quite acceptable in BE. e.g.
Joseph insisted that his wish be carried out. I suggest that he do the work. He ordered that we be present.
The Present Subjunctive is normal, and quite familiar, in a number of fixed expressions:
Be that as it may God forgive
Be it so Long live the Queen
Far be it from me to
Come what may Heaven help
God bless youSuffice it to say
contradict you
us
that
List of Verbs and expressions that normally introduce the Subjunctive I:
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
advise (that)
ask (that)
command (that)
demand (that)
desire (that)
insist (that)
propose (that)
recommend (that)
request (that)
suggest (that)
urge (that)
It is best (that)
It is crucial (that)
It is desirable (that)
It is essential (that)
It is imperative (that)
It is important (that)
It is recommended (that)
It is urgent (that)
It is vital (that)
It is a good idea (that)
It is a bad idea (that)
The Past Subjunctive.
It corresponds to Present Subjunctive II in the Moscow School terminology. The verb «to be» has the
form «were» for all the persons singular and plural. The forms of other verbs of the Past Subjunctive
coincide with the form of the Past Indefinite Indicative.
e.g. If you were an animal, what animal would you like to be?
If she knew their language, she could easily understand them.
Meaning: the Past Subjunctive is widely used in ME. In adverbial clauses of unreal condition it denotes
an unreal condition referring to the Present or Future. In other types of subordinate clauses it denotes an
action simultaneous with the action expressed in the principal clause. Thus, it may refer to the Present and
to the Past. e.g. If you were me, what would you do? If he closed his eyes, he would visualize the scene.
I wish he were here now. I wished I knew how to please her. It is time she went on a diet.
The Perfect Subjunctive
Form: it corresponds to Past Subjunctive II in the Moscow School terminology. The forms of the verbs
coincide with the Past Perfect Indicative.
e.g. If you had had breakfast in the morning, you wouldn 't be hungry now.
Meaning: it represents an action contrary to fact. In adverbial clauses of unreal condition this form denotes
an unreal condition referring to the past.
If you had called on him, he would have come. If nobody had helped him, he wouldn't have coped with it.
The Perfect Subjunctive used in other types of subordinate clauses denotes an action prior to the action
expressed in the principal clause.
e.g. I wished he hadn 't mentioned it at all.
The Analytical Forms of the Subjunctive Mood
There are two analytical forms of the Subjunctive Mood: the Conditional Mood and the Suppositional Mood.
The Conditional Mood
Form: the Conditional Mood is built with the help of the mood auxiliaries «should» for the first persons
singular and plural and «would» for the second and third persons singular and plural + the Infinitive
(Indefinite, Perfect, Continuous).
e.g. If he were here he would help us.
If I left home, I think I should be lonely.
If you had called on him, he would have come.
If she could, she would be staying with us at the moment.
Sometimes modal verbs «may», «might», «could» can be used, presenting their modal meaning.
e.g. If she were younger, she could run faster. If he knew the facts, he might tell us what to do.
Meaning: this form represents unreality of the action, impossibility of realization of which depends on the
circumstances given in the subordinate clause. This form is mainly used in the principal clause of a complex
sentence with a subordinate clause of unreal condition.
e.g. If I had not been busy yesterday, I should have come to see you. (the principal clause is «I should have
come to see you». The form «should have come» shows that the action was not realized because of the
absence of the necessary conditions).
The Suppositional Mood
Form: the Suppositional Mood is built with the help of the mood auxiliary «should» for all persons singular
and plural + the Infinitive (Indefinite, Perfect, Continuous).
e.g. I insist that you should go there.
He insists that Mrs Smith should be present there.
It is impossible that he should have done so.
She fears lest they should come.
Meaning: this form is used to express necessity order, suggestion, supposition etc. It represents an action as
problematic but not necessarily contradicting reality. The realization of the action may depend on certain
circumstances which are not contrary to fact.
e.g. I insist that you should consult a doctor. -I do not represent your consulting a doctor as an actual fact
which will take place in the future but only as something that in my opinion you ought to do. The realization of
the action depends on you.
HANDOUT. MOODS IN ENGLISH
MOODS
INDICATIVE IMPERATIVE
The form
depends on the
categories:
- tense
- aspect
- time correlation
- voice
- person
- number
The affirmative
form coincides
with the bare
infinitive and is in
the second person
singular / plural.
The negative form
is don’t + bare
infinitive for all
verbs.
We smile.
We smiled.
We will smile.
Stop here.
Beware of the dog.
Please call us back.
Don’t answer the call.
Don’t be so silly.
Go on working.
Keep on waiting.
We are smiling.
We were smiling.
We will be smiling.
We have smiled.
We had smiled.
We will have smiled.
We have been smiling.
We had been smiling.
We would smile.
We would be smiling.
We would have smiled.
Special cases:
Let them ask.
Let me see.
Let’s face it.
Why don’t we start?
Stop crying, will you?
You stay here, and
you check the gate.
Go ask him.
SUBJUNCTIVE
SYNTHETIC FORMS
ANALYTICAL FORMS
SUBJUNCTIVE I
SUBJUNCTIVE II
PRESENT
SUBJUNCTIVE II
PAST
CONDITIONAL
bare infinitive
to be > were
other verb forms
coincide with Past
Indefinite
all verb forms
coincide with Past
Perfect
He asked that we be
present.
If I were you…
If I had known
before…
would + infinitive
should + infinitive
should + infinitive
for 1st person
could / might +
infinitive in their
modal meanings
She would like a cup I suggest John
of coffee.
should have another
try.
I should/ would go
there if I had time.
It is important that
Cinderella should
I should / would
return before
have gone there, if I midnight.
had had time.
The boss ordered
We could have made that Jack should be
friends if we hadn’t
fired.
met at war.
I suggest that he do
the work.
Come what may!
Be it so!
Long live the Queen!
God bless you!
If Jack spoke
louder…
If summers were
longer…
She looks as if she
knew everything.
I wish I had more
time.
If Jack had asked
that question…
If I had studied
better at school…
She looks as if she
hadn’t slept at all.
I wish I had learnt it
better.
SUPPOSITIONAL