Subjunctive mood in English (like any other) describes unrealistic situations and, as a rule, begins with the words “if”, which is why the subjunctive mood is sometimes called the dreamy mood. (In the literature, the subjunctive mood can be found under the names conditional or Type 2 conditional sentences.) In English, the word "if - if" has a peculiarity. The words “will” or “would” cannot be used after it. If I have time, I will learn English. If I have time, I will learn English. BUT NOT!!! If I will have time, I will learn English. "Conditional mood in English" If I had time, I would learn English. If I had time, I would learn English. BUT NOT!!! If I would have time, I would learn English.

1. The expression “if I” cannot be used as “if I would”. In English, “would” (like will) is never used after “if”.

The subjunctive mood in English instead of “if” can use synonyms or words with similar meanings:

We looked at the subjunctive mood in English for the present and future, as well as the verb "be". Unfortunately, the topic of the subjunctive mood in the English language is so extensive that it does not end with the consideration of one more type - the subjunctive mood in the past tense. Along with it, there are other varieties of the subjunctive mood.

Among the three types of English, the subjunctive mood occupies a special place. The fact is that a verb in the subjunctive mood can have a variety of forms and methods of use, and there are also several types of this mood. In order to understand what the subjunctive mood is in English, or the conditional mood in English, it is necessary to consider in detail the features of this category and understand examples of its use.

Basic characteristics of the subjunctive mood

The subjunctive mood in English differs from the other two in that it can show:

Today in English there are two forms of this mood: synthetic and analytical.

Features of the synthetic form

This kind of Subjunctive mood is perhaps more common in the language. It originates from old times, and to this day quite a lot of constructions formed using this type of subjunctive mood have been preserved in the English language. In particular, we're talking about o Present Subjunctive, where the frequent form of verb formation is infinitive without particle to.

Present Sunjunctive

Examples of such use are some archaic expressions, which, however, can also be found in modern lexical composition:

· Be it so! - Let it be so!
· God forbid! - God forbid!
· Far be it from me to argue with you! – I had no intention of arguing with you!

Quite often the auxiliary word in this type of subjunctive mood can be may:

· May success attend you! – May success accompany you!
· May they live long! – May they live long!

In modern English, as it becomes clear, forms of the Subjunctive mood of this type are rare, and they are used only in individual cases, when the speaker wants to expressively and purposefully emphasize a particular statement.

Past Subjunctive

Verbs in the subjunctive mood of the synthetic type of the Past Subjunctive category are much more common today. This includes almost all those forms that are familiar to modern native speakers and people learning English. So, will never exist in its original form, and will be transformed into were.

Note: it so happened that the singular form in the subjunctive mood of the verb be did not take root. Speaking more in simple language, regardless of the person or number, it is customary to use not was, but were for all cases.

Examples of this type of subjunctive mood include the most different variants. This includes those familiar to many , and constructions with wish, and much more:

· If I were you, I wouldn’t argue with you mother - If I were you, I wouldn’t argue with your mother
· I wish my friends had been there yesterday - It’s a pity that my friends weren’t with me yesterday

Note: conditional sentences of the first type do not apply to the subjunctive mood rule; they represent the indicative mood of the verb, since the action in them is not unreal and may well occur, since it refers to the future tense:

I will go to the south next summer if I earn enough money – I will go to the south next summer if I earn enough money

Features of the analytical form

As many believe, the problem of the Subjunctive mood is the presence of two forms: synthetic, which was discussed above, and analytical. If we define the latter, it can be noted that it denotes the same rule of Subjunctive mood with the only difference that the main indicators of conditionality here are the so-called mood auxiliaries, or auxiliary words of mood: would, should, may (might). They act as meaningful words and help to form an analytical rather than a synthetic form. The meaning remains the same:

· If I had money, I would buy a new jacket = If I should have money, I would buy a new jacket - If I had money, I would buy a new jacket
· She closed her eyes that she might not see anybody – She closed her eyes so as not to see anyone

In order to understand how to determine which form is better to use, you should know that both structures will be correct. Perhaps the synthetic form is found somewhat more often in the Subjunctive mood, but this does not mean that the analytical form should be completely neglected.

A small table will help show the types of subjunctive mood in a condensed form:

Thus, the grammatical features of Subjunctive mood make it the most complex of all three types. However, in order to have a good understanding of its features, it is enough to understand the rules for using its forms, and then problems with use will become significantly less.

“If I were a sultan, I would have three wives”, “If only there were mushrooms growing in my mouth” - all these are sentences denoting hypothetical situations that do not occur in life (that is, I am not a sultan, and there are no mushrooms in my mouth) grow).

It is for such things that the subjunctive mood is responsible. The hero of our today's article is subjunctive mood(subjunctive mood) in English.

We will talk about what the mood is in general and the subjunctive mood in particular.

First we will look at this using the Russian language as an example, then we will switch to English. I will explain how it is built and, most importantly, in what cases it may be needed.

So, let's go!

What is "inclination"?

Let's first understand what mood is, using the Russian example.

Mood is what helps us (the speaker) express our attitude to the situation. Blurry definition? Perhaps yes.

But it’s enough for us to remember how the three moods differ in the Russian language:

1. Indicative - manifests itself when we simply want to convey information.

I usually set my alarm for seven in the morning.

In the indicative mood (and only in it!) tenses are distinguished:

Yesterday I set the alarm for seven in the morning.
I'll set the alarm for seven in the morning tomorrow.

2. Imperative - we express a request, order, command - that is, we want someone to do something.

Set your alarm for seven in the morning, please!

3. Subjunctive - expresses an unreal, hypothetical situation that has never taken place in life.

If you set your alarm for seven in the morning, you wouldn't be late!

Note that mood only affects verbs (words that indicate action). They are the ones that change when the inclination changes (compare: posture silt/delivered lju in the indicative; having delivered b in the imperative; having delivered silt would in the subjunctive).

Subjunctive mood in English it has the same meaning as the subjunctive mood in Russian. That is, it is used in relation to a situation that does not occur in reality. And here's what When it is used - that's a separate conversation. We'll look into this later.

For now, let's look at how to put a verb in the subjunctive mood.

Subjunctive mood form

How to put English verb in the subjunctive mood, that is, in the subjunctive mood?

To do this, you just need to take the usual form of the verb.

For example:

to come (“to come”) - subjunctive form: come
to work (“to work”) - subjunctive form: work

What is the difference from the usual present tense?

It consists in the fact that in the subjunctive mood we never add anything additional! There is no -s after he/she/it:

He usually comes at 10 AM.
He usually comes at 10 am.

I suggest that he come at 10 AM.
I suggest that he come at 10 am.

Also, negation is formed without do, but with the help of not alone:

She picks me up every Tuesday.
She gives me a lift every Tuesday.

I suggest she doesn't pick me up today.
I suggest that she doesn't give me a ride today.

When is subjunctive mood used?

Now that we have found out what a verb looks like in the subjunctive mood, let's look at the cases when this mood is used in English.

1. After certain verbs

There are a number of verbs that require that + after themselves actor+ subjunctive mood. Basically, these are verbs denoting a wish or advice - that is, a hypothetical situation that we would like to bring to life. Among them:

2. After if ("if")

There are sentences with “if”, denoting an unreal situation now or in the future (“If I were in your place...”, “If I were a millionaire...”). In them, the word be (“to be”) has its own subjunctive form - were.

This were is used in all cases (I, you, he, she, they) regardless of who we are talking about.

If you were with us now, you would like it in Madrid!
If you were with us now, you would love it in Madrid!

If Bob were on our team, he would come up with a lot of ideas.
If Bob were on our team, he would come up with a ton of ideas.

When we talk about an unreal situation, we mean conditional sentence second type (conditional). Read more about it V this article.

3. After wish (“to want, to desire”)

There is a construction with the word wish, denoting a wish related to the present. Often we are talking about something impossible:

I wish it were summer!
If only it were summer (now)!

Right now Tom wishes he were ready for the exam.
On this moment Tom dreams of being ready for this exam.

As you can see, after wish there is also were.

Read more about constructions with wish in this article.

4. After some adjectives

Adjectives are words denoting a characteristic (Which? Yellow. Which? Hot. Which? Difficult). There are a number of adjectives that also require the subjunctive mood after them. The design itself looks like this:

It is + adjective + that...

There are a few other uses of the subjunctive mood, but these are mostly traditional, established expressions like God save the Queen or Long live the King or so be it. ). We have covered all the main points. I hope the information was interesting and, most importantly, useful!

Reinforcement task

Translate the following sentences into English. Leave your answers in the comments below the article.

1. It is necessary that we be in court at 11 am.
2. I insist that he come.
3. John dreams that his team will be first in the competition.
4. It is important that you do not use these materials without the permission of the owner.
5. If I were a composer, I would write operas.
6. If I were the boss, I would reorganize the entire company.
7. Oh, if only it were Saturday now...
8. The lawyer insisted that I not give unnecessary information to the police.

You probably know that language has such faithful friends as moods: indicative, imperative, conditional. They express how the speaker relates to reality. So, English is no exception to this pattern. It provides extensive material for study: in the indicative alone there are 2 voices and 26 tenses, not counting modal verbs and other subtleties of use. But today we are not talking about them, but about the most insidious brother - the Subjunctive Mood or the subjunctive mood, we will cover it in detail character traits and shapes.

"What's the problem?" - you ask. In Russian there is only one form that is so easy to use: would say, would do, would go- that's all. But in English you and I are out of luck - there are many more options. Let's figure out what's what.

Subjunctive Mood views the action as unreal, imagined or desired, or even problematic. Unlike our native language situation, here you will have to take into account both the past and the future with the present tense, and therefore, you will need to remember more forms. Linguists divide the subjunctive mood into:

1. The Subjunctive Mood covers those examples that involve a desirable but sometimes difficult action. In turn, it combines:

Subjunctive I. You can easily not only form, but also use this form. There are no auxiliary verbs needed here, so everything is quite simple:

• Present Subjunctive coincides with the infinitive without a particle to and avoids conversational and everyday expressions, choosing for himself a more elevated habitat in the form of official, journalistic or scientific works, as well as lyrical statements. At the same time, it refers them to the present or future tense, although it rarely pleases the ear in modern English. You will, however, have to memorize a list of verbs and phrases, so to speak, companions of this form, the presence of which is required by the Subjunctive Mood grammar: it is necessary that– it is necessary that; it is advisable that– it is advisable that; it is important that- It is important to; to demand- demand, to suggest- suggest, to insist- insist, to recommend- recommend, to ask- ask, to advise- advise, to request- ask, etc.:

It is advisable that he stay here for the weekend. — It would be advisable for him to stay here for the weekend.

Lynn requests that she be in the room during the discussion. — Lynn asks that she be in the room during the discussion.

In addition, this form can be found in stable expressions:

God forbid! - God forbid!

Suffice it to say that (...) - Suffice it to say that (...)

Be it so. - Let it be so.

Far be it from me to (...) - I had no idea (...)

Long live the Queen! - Long live the queen!

• Past Subjunctive fortunately coincides with Past Simple. Please note that the verb to be has the shape were for all pronouns (although in modern English it still appears was For I, he, she, it). Use it in exclamations with if only, subordinate modus operandi with conjunctions as if/as though, additional with to wish, where the action preceding or coinciding with the moment of speech is indicated:

If only he were a doctor! - Oh, if only he were a doctor!

Jess loved Richard as if he were her father. “Jess loved Richard as if he were her father.”

I wish you came to our place tonight. - It's a pity that you won't come to us this evening.

• Past Perfect Subjunctive identically Past Perfect. Here we are talking about an already completed action. As for the scope of use, it coincides with the previous paragraph. As you can see, the grammar if only no different from other examples:

I wish they had given the cat away last month. “It’s a pity that they didn’t give away the cat last month.”

You are discussing the crash as if you had been there. “You’re discussing the accident as if you were there.”

If only you had read"Pride and Prejudice" before the exam! - Oh, if only you had read “Pride and Prejudice” before the exam!

Subjunctive II combines modal verbs and an infinitive without a particle to, followed by perfect form, if the action can no longer be performed, the opportunity is lost, and imperfect, if it is in progress or just about to happen:

Children would go to the forest if it didn't rain. — The children would go to the forest if it weren’t for the rain.

I could have eaten the whole plate of my granny’s soup. “I could eat a whole bowl of grandma’s soup.”

We might have seen the movie the other day. — We could watch a movie one of these days.

2. The Conditional Mood or the conditional mood deals with different subordinate clauses:

• 1 type: If the action is real and feasible, then help will come to you Present Simple in a subordinate clause and Future Simple in the main. Learn conjunctions typical for such situations: if- If, when- When, as soon as- as soon as, till- Bye, until- not yet, before- before, after- after etc.:

If Mark asks she's out Jane will agree. — If Mark asks her out, Jane will agree.

As soon as I buy a car I will feel free. — As soon as I buy myself a car, I will feel free.

• Type 2. If the action is unlikely to be performed, then use it in a subordinate clause Past Simple, and most importantly - would + infinitive without to:

If I went to the South this summer I would swim a lot. — If I went south this summer, I would swim a lot.

Jack would wait for Joann untill she got ready. — Jack would wait for Joan until she was ready.

• Type 3. When everything is completely silent, and the train has already left, and the chance has not been used, then we turn to Past Perfect in the subordinate clause and would+have+infinitive without to in the main:

If you had written it down you wouldn't have forgotten about it! - If you wrote it down, you wouldn’t forget about it!

If we had telephoned him we would have found out that he was sick. “If we had called him, we would have found out that he was sick.”

3. The Suppositional Mood or presumptive mood is probably the simplest of all. It makes friends exclusively with modal verb should and expresses an action that is likely to occur, which is often desired by the speaker. As usual, the perfect form of the infinitive means a completed action, the non-perfect form means an unfinished action:

It is so strange that he should have shown interest in the subject. “It’s so strange that he became interested in the subject of conversation.”

Use it:

• In additional subordinate clauses with verbs of surprise, joy, regret:

I am sorry that you should say that. - I'm sorry you say that.

• In subordinate clauses:

I shut the door that no one should enter the room. — I closed the door so that no one would enter the room.

• In questions starting with why:

Why should I go there? - Why would I go there?

• With already familiar verbs and expressions from Present Subjunctive:

It is necessary that we should fly to the USA, not sail. - It is necessary that we fly to the USA, and not sail.

Let's summarize everything that has been said. Subjunctive Mood grammar has something to show and surprise. You will have to learn a lot, and before that, re-read and structure it in your head many times. However, having mastered such a complex (one of the most difficult!) topics in English, you will no longer be embarrassed in an exam or in everyday speech. To begin with, memorize one example for each point of the rule, then start practicing a little. Subjunctive Mood exercises will reinforce the material in your memory and prepare you for anything you may encounter.

We already know that in the English language there is an Indicative Mood, a Conditional Mood, an Imperative Mood and a Subjunctive Mood. Today I would like to discuss such a grammatical phenomenon as the subjunctive mood in English, its forms, ways of using it in speech, etc. Subjunctive mood in English: forms and examples

Subjunctive mood in English (Subjunctive Mood) is special forms verbs that are used in certain types of sentences, mainly dependent (subordinate) clauses. The subjunctive mood in the language we are studying helps to express desire, necessity, goal, assumption and other ideas of this type.

What does it take to form a Subjunctive Mood?

Friends, you need to remember one thing. In English, there are certain constructions and verbs that help form the subjunctive mood. After such constructions, the verb in the subjunctive mood remains, so to speak, in the infinitive, in the initial form. Moreover, in the third person singular there is no ending -s.

Please note the following examples:

• It is important that he be present at the contest. — It is important that he be present at the competition
• The teacher wants we write the dictation. — The teacher wants us to write a dictation.

Since the subjunctive mood expresses in English a goal, desire, necessity, assumption, etc., it is important to pay attention to the syntactic structures that are involved in the formation of Subjunctive Mood:

• It is desirable that - it is desirable that...
• It is essential that - the main thing is that...
• It is important that - it is important that...
• It is necessary that - it is necessary that...
• It is vital that - it is extremely necessary (vitally important) that...

Now look at how these combinations behave in sentences, and what forms the subjunctive mood takes:

• It is desirable that he come to the meeting. — It is advisable that he come to the rally
• It is necessary that we learn Subjunctive forms. — It is necessary that we learn the forms of the subjunctive mood
• It is essential that Tom show us the new forms and methods of teaching. — The main thing is that Tom shows us new forms and methods of teaching.

Also, the subjunctive mood usually involves the following verbs + that:

• Ask - to ask
• Command - to order
• Demand - demand
• Insist - insist
• Recommend - recommend
• Request - demand
• Suggest - suggest
• Want - want
• Desire - to wish
• Wish - to wish

Examples of sentences with these verbs:

• The director insists that every worker know his rights. — The director insists that every employee knows their rights
• Your parents demand that you listen to your teachers. —Your parents demand that you listen to your teachers.
• We want that our children behave well. — We want our children to behave well.

As you can see from these examples, the verb in the subjunctive mood does not change at all; it retains its initial form.
Subjunctive mood and verb tenses

Where should we go?

Friends, everything we have given above is a simplified, colloquial, more Americanized form of Subjunctive Mood. Now let's talk about the British subjunctive mood in English. It is characterized by a design should + infinitive verb. The principle of constructing sentences, syntactic combinations and forms are the same. Note:

• It is important that you should read this book. — It is important that you read this book
• Alex recommends that you should visit a doctor. — Alex recommends that you visit a doctor
• It is necessary that you should persuade him not to do that. “You need to convince him not to do this.”

So, if you use should in sentences with the subjunctive mood, then you will not make a mistake, but on the contrary, you will form a grammatically and linguistically correct sentence.

Other members of Subjunctive Mood

Here it is appropriate to talk about such constructions as a s if + verb, wish + verb, suppose + verb. These grammatical constructions also form the subjunctive forms in English.

It is important to remember that if we use these constructions + verb to be, then this verb takes the form were in any person and number.

Let's start with the form as if + verb. It means “as if, as if.” After it, the verb must be in the Past Simple. For example:

• She looked at me as if I were guilty. — She looked at me as if I was to blame
• Mike behaves himself as if he won the contest. — Mike acts like he won the competition.

If we are talking about design suppose + verb(assume, imagine), then the conditions here are the same: the verb must be in the simple past tense. For example:

• Suppose he were here; what would you do? - Imagine if he were here, what would you do?
• I suppose Alex bought a car as he wanted. — I assume that Alex bought the car as he wanted.

Regarding the form wish + verb(want, desire), then we consider this construction in more detail in a separate article. Here I would like to remind you of a couple of important details. If wish is in the present tense, then the next verb must be in the Past Simple. For example:

• We wish you were at our party
• Alex wishes you organized the ceremony.

If wish in the past tense, that is wished, then the verb must be in the Past Perfect.

• It’s a pity you didn’t pass all the exams; you parents wished you had passed all your exams. — It’s a pity that you didn’t pass all the exams; your parents wanted you to pass all your exams
• Sue wished she had listened to her parents. — Sue would like to obey her parents.

Well, that's it for the subjunctive mood in English. Remember the constructions, build sentences, dialogues and you will succeed!