What is the subjunctive? Examples and explanation

THE SUBJUNCTIVE AND EXAMPLES

1. What is the subjunctive?

2. There are three recognized grammatical moods: Indicative: This mood is used for stating facts. Ken ate all the cookies. Imperative : This mood is used for making commands. Ken, eat the cookies! Subjunctive: This mood is used for expressing desires and hypotheticals. I ask that you eat these cookies, Ken The subjunctive requires that the verb be in its bare form. .

3. The subjunctive mood is how you express hypothetical situations and outcomes. It’s the mood used to express wishes, hopes, desires, and any other imagined outcome you might describe in speech or writing . If you’ve ever written something that began with “If I were . . .,” you’ve written in the subjunctive mood.

4. The English subjunctive is a special, relatively rare verb form that expresses something desired or imagined. We use the subjunctive mainly when talking about events that are not certain to happen. The form of the base subjunctive is extremely simple. For all verbs and all persons, the form is the base of the verb, The board recommend that he join the company.

5. Our teacher suggested that we finish our work early. If the shop were like other shops in town, it would take credit cards . I n the subjunctive mood, the verb remains in its bare form, rather than changing to reflect the tense. it’s important to note that when a subjunctive clause involves the verb to be , perhaps the most well-known irregular verb in English, it almost always uses it in either of these forms: be or were . If she were accepted, she would major in chemistry. He’ll join the band on the condition that he be the backup singer.

6. I wish I were taller. The coach recommended that he stop playing soccer. When I go on vacation, I hope I go s urfing.

7. He suggests that you be present at the meeting. The board recommend that he join the company. He requested that the car park not be locked at night. They made a suggestion that we be early. He made a proposal that the company buy more land. The president has issued an order that the secretary resign next month.