Most writers of English are not likely to recall from high school or college what the term “subjunctive mood” means. Even if they actually covered the 3 “moods” in a grammar course, it would remain hard to remember what a subjunctive is, as both the noun and the adjective are seldom paired in conjunction with any other word or concept in common vocabulary. If you don’t study or teach English, the term “subjunctive” (as well as its principles) is forgettable. Unless, that is, you study or teach Spanish, in which the subjunctive mood is used often in speech and writing.
"Make a Wish -- Wish You Were Here" Wix Stock Photo
While this blogpost concerns the subjunctive, you’d probably like to be reminded what the other 2 “moods” are. So briefly, along with the subjunctive, there are the imperative and indicative moods. Sound familiar? Probably not. I usually can’t remember them, either. Mainly because their usage is direct, seldom trips me up, and I don’t need to look them up in a reference source to double-check. I can usually recall the subjunctive mood, now, because I’ve had to look it up a lot in the past to make sure I had the right term or understood the full definition (there are 4 variations).
Here’s a brief rundown, so we’ll all be refreshed on the moods:
Imperative — shown in a command, direction, or request
Indicative — shown in a statement or question
Subjunctive — shown in a suggestion of
Possibility
Speculation
Urgency
Formality
Writers tend to understand moods 1 and 2 because they are straightforward. But mood 3 is trickier to get right because it’s a bit elusive in its origin. It’s confusing, because it tends to switch verb tenses from present to past, even though there is no reference to the past. One of the easiest ways to remember whether to shift into the subjunctive mood and change the verb tense, at least in the cases of possibility and speculation, is to ask yourself, “if” the phrase involves prospect and/or fantasy. Especially if you’re asking a question beginning in “if.”
“If I were rude to you at all…?”
“You were.”
“Then, I was rude. Sorry.”
“If I were a rich woman, I’d help build and supply vegetable gardens to the entire public housing circle down the road from me.”
Okay, yes, that last sentence is a fantasy. A subjunctive fantasy. Still, if it were true, the sentence would become indicative, a statement of fact: “I’m a rich woman.”
“Wish you were here. But you’re not.”
“Yeah, wish I was. Er, wish I were?”
“Ah, but you were here, once.”
“I wasn’t!”
“You was!”
This is how some conversations go when the speakers forget about the subjunctive mood. They are confused. Or maybe just extremely casual about grammar.
You don’t have to be confused. Remember that “if” something is a future possibility or speculation, but not a present fact, t’were not true. But if t’were?
If it is true, it’s indicative of fact.
Just to touch upon the lesser-used subjunctives, Urgency and Formality: these variations concern things that are not yet, but by virtue of urgency and formal recommendation assert that possibility become probability. Uh, how's that?!
If you’d like to hear more about how imperatives, as well as the urgent and formal subjunctives work, you can speculate until next week, when I’ll talk about them a little bit more.