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    English Subjunctive

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    zpervan1
    The document discusses the subjunctive verb form in English. It describes how the subjunctive expresses nonfacts or hypothetical situations. It provides examples of the present and past subjunctive forms. It also examines different uses of the subjunctive including mandative, hypothetical, and formulaic uses.

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    English Subjunctive

    Uploaded by

    zpervan1
    54 views1 page
    The document discusses the subjunctive verb form in English. It describes how the subjunctive expresses nonfacts or hypothetical situations. It provides examples of the present and past subjunctive forms. It also examines different uses of the subjunctive including mandative, hypothetical, and formulaic uses.

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    English Subjunctive

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    The document discusses the subjunctive verb form in English. It describes how the subjunctive expresses nonfacts or hypothetical situations. It provides examples of the present and past subjunctive forms. It also examines different uses of the subjunctive including mandative, hypothetical, and formulaic uses.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    54 views1 page

    English Subjunctive

    Uploaded by

    zpervan1
    The document discusses the subjunctive verb form in English. It describes how the subjunctive expresses nonfacts or hypothetical situations. It provides examples of the present and past subjunctive forms. It also examines different uses of the subjunctive including mandative, hypothetical, and formulaic uses.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    The subjunctive in English

    The term subjunctive refers to a particular verb form. In Old English, special verb forms existed to communicate nonfacts, e.g., wants, hopes, and hypothetical situations. The subjunctive is somewhat weak in Modern English. In many
    cases, the subjunctive is a form learned in school or through reading, so it is educated speakers who use it most.
    The English present subjunctive is the plain, uninflected form of the verb, the same form as the bare infinitive and
    the imperative. For example, the present subjunctive form of the verb to think is simply think. The subjunctive is most
    distinctive in the verb to be. Here, there is not only a present subjunctive, be, but also a past subjunctive, were.

    i. Mandative subjunctive

    The subjunctive can be used as a directive or order. The mandative subjunctive is a very distinct kind of directive and it
    always takes the same form. In each of these sentences, the main verb makes some sort of demand, from very mild
    (ask/suggest) to very strong (demand/insist). In each case, the direct object of the main verb is a clause (the structure in
    brackets). Note that when the subject of the clause is third person, its verb does not take third person {-s} and be is in its
    infinitive form.
    I suggest [that he leave].
    I demanded [that she give me her files].
    We asked [that Marsha tell the truth].
    I insist [that you be quiet].
    I require [that term papers be turned in on time].

    ii. Hypothetical subjunctive

    This usage of the subjunctive is called for whenever the situation described by the verb is hypothetical, whether
    wished for, feared, or suggested; the common thread is that the situation is not the current state of affairs. This
    subjunctive can occur with or without a word like if or whether that specifically marks a phrase as hypothetical. When
    if is omitted, an inverted syntax is usually used:
    Were I the President...
    If I were the king of the world...
    Be he alive or be he dead...
    If I were the President...

    In most varieties of English, this subjunctive can be replaced by an indicative when the if-form is used:
    If I was the President ...
    If he was a ghost...

    Another use of the hypothetical subjunctive occurs with the verb wish I wish I were a bird; Joseph wishes he were a
    cowboy. This too is often replaced with the unmarked form. I wish I was a bird expresses exactly the same meaning, but
    technically was is not a subjunctive form.
    Some use the marked form even in the absence of a hypothetical situation Johnny asked me if I were afraid
    simply as a conditioned variant that follows if and similar words. This is commonly considered a hypercorrection.

    iii. Formulaic subjunctive

    English has a small set of phrases, generally learned as whole pieces, that still contain marked subjunctive verbs. The
    expression God bless you contains a third person subject and an uninflected verb. This sentence is communicating not a
    statement of fact, i.e., God blesses you, but rather something like May God bless you. Many of these are now often
    analyzed as imperative forms rather than as the subjunctive ones they are.
    Heaven forbid.
    God help him.
    Be that as it may
    Come what may
    (God) damn it!
    Far be it from me
    So be it.
    Suffice it to say
    Adapted from:
    Berk, L. M. 1999. English syntax: from word to discourse. New York: Oxford UP. 149-150.
    Subjunctive mood on wikipedia.org

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