Tuesday, November 9, 2010

That Subjunctive Mood

"If I were you, I'd write a novel."

"No, no, " he scolded. If I was you. I is singular. "

"Yes, but I am not you, " I said. "It is contrary to fact, so you use the subjunctive mood."

"The what?" he asked.

The almost-obsolete subjunctive mood (SM) lurks in our language and careful writers respect it. Please notice, we call it a mood; it is not a tense or voice, such as active or passive.

You don't need to memorize this, but English has three moods: indicative, imperative, and subjunctive. The indicative mood makes statements and questions; the imperative mood commands or requests; the SM expresses wishes, desires, requirements, or conditions.

Simple? Clear? Most people aren't aware of their using the subjunctive mood. We've all heard people say (and it's correct):

· Whether it be

· Far be it from me

· As it were.

The following sentences use the subjunctive mood correctly.

· If she were rich, would she be kind?

· The defense attorney asks that he testify [not testifies] Monday.

· Unless the weather were to change, we'll have our annual picnic tomorrow.

· He yelled as if the house were on fire.

Here's a hint to help you with the subjunctive mood:
If the clause begins with as if or as though,
you usually need the subjunctive mood.


  1. Thanks for the grammar refresher. If only this were brought back to high school English classes, more people would be grammarians. :-)

  2. This has become my number one pet peeve. My schoolteacher mother would be appalled at the frequency with which this is butchered in today's books.

  3. Very good post on a detail often overlooked, thank you.


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