The Subjunctive I and the Suppositional Mood

Part One

Mood

Mood is a grammatical category of the verb expressing modality, i.e. the relation of the action denoted by the predicate to reality from the speaker’s point of view. The category of mood is made up by the set of forms opposed to each other in presenting the event described as a real fact, a problematic action or as something unreal that does not exist.

In English, as in Russian and Ukrainian, finite verbs have three moods: the Indicative Mood (which represents an action as a fact of reality or as in close relation with reality; the latter refers to conditional sentences expressing a real condition that can be easily realized), the Imperative Mood (which represents an action as a command or request) and the Subjunctive Mood (or the Oblique Moods which represents an action not as a real fact but as something imaginary or desirable, i.e. something problematic).

The Oblique Moods

The function of the oblique moods is to represent something in the speaker’s mind not as a real fact but as a wish, purpose, supposition, doubt or condition, problematic or contrary to fact. When the speaker expresses his wish by using one of the oblique moods (the Subjunctive I, the Subjunctive II, the Conditional or the Suppositional Mood), he merely communicates to the hearer what he considers desirable.

As the use of the Oblique Moods depends on the use of the infinitive, it is important to learn them:

The Form of the Infinitive	Active	Passive
Indefinite	to write to come	to be written
Continuous	to be writing to be coming
Perfect	to have written to have come	to have been written
Perfect-Continuous	to have been writing to have been coming

 

The Infinitive in English has six forms if the verb is used in the Continuous form and if it is transitive.

 

The Conditional Mood

The Conditional Mood is formed by means of the auxiliary verbs should and would and the Infinitive of the main verb without the particle to. Both should or would can be used with the first person singular and plural, but with the second and the third persons the auxiliary verb would is used only.

Ex. I should (or I would) do it for you. (Both should or would is possible).

Ex. He would do it for you. (Should is not possible).

The Conditional Mood coincides in its form with Future-in-the-Past of the Indicative Mood (should / would + the infinitive of the main verb) but differs in its purpose and meaning.

Future-in-the-Past is used to express a real action which was future from the point of the view of the past.

Ex. He believed I would come back. But I didn’t. (A real action which was future from the point of the view of the past).

The Conditional Mood is used in simple, compound or complex sentences to indicate an action which would take (have taken) place under certain conditions expressed or implied. These conditions can be expressed in the same sentence or in other sentences from the same context.

Ex. I would buy the book but I’ve got too little money on me. (The condition is expressed in the other independent clause of the same sentence – I’ve got too little money on me)

Ex. It’s a pity I have got too little money on me. I would buy the book. (The condition is expressed in the previous sentence).

The Conditional Mood has two tense forms: present and the past.

The Present Conditional is formed with the help of the auxiliary verbs should and would and the Indefinite Infinitive (Common Aspect) or the Continuous Infinitive (Continuous Aspect) of the main verb. The Common Aspect of the Present Conditional coincides in its form with Future-in-the-Past Indefinite of the Indicative Mood. The form of the Continuous Aspect of the Present Conditional is individual as there is no Future-in-the-Past Continuous in the English Tense System.

Ex. I (we) should / would do it. (or I (we) should / would be doing it). (Both should or would is possible).

Ex. He (she, it, you, they) would do it. (or He (she, it, you, they) would be doing it). (Should is not possible).

The Continuous Aspect of the Conditional Mood is used when it is necessary to emphasize an action in its progress.

Ex. I do not have much time. I would be having tea. (The action in its progress is emphasized).

The Present Conditional expresses an action which could take place in present or in future under certain conditions expressed or implied.

Ex. I would call on him today (tomorrow) but I do not have much time. (The action refers to the present / future).

The Past Conditional is formed with the help of the auxiliary verbs should and would and the Perfect Infinitive (the Common Aspect) or the Perfect-Continuous Infinitive (the Continuous Aspect) of the main verb. The Past Conditional (the Common Aspect) coincides in its form with Future-in-the-Past Perfect of the Indicative Mood and the Past Conditional (the Continuous Action) coincides with Future-in-the-Past Perfect-Continuous of the indicative Mood.

Ex. I (we) should / would have done it. (The Past Conditional coincides in its form with Future-in-the-Past Perfect).

The Past Conditional expresses an action which could have taken place in past under certain conditions expressed or implied.

Ex. I would have called on him yesterday but I didn’t have much time. (The action refers to the past).

 

The Conditional Mood

The Common Aspect

The Present Conditional	The Past Conditional
I should / would speak He would speak We should / would speak You would speak They would speak	I should / would have spoken He would have spoken We should / would have spoken You would have spoken They would have spoken

The Continuous Aspect

The Present Conditional	The Past Conditional
I should / would be speaking He would be speaking We should / would be speaking You would be speaking They would be speaking	I should / would have been speaking He would have been speaking We should / would have been speaking You would have been speaking They would have been speaking

The Subjunctive II

The Subjunctive II has two tense forms: present and past. The Present Subjunctive II coincides in form with the Past Indefinite Tense of the indicative Mood. The only exception is the verb tobe, the Present Subjunctive of which has the form were both in the plural and in the singular.

Ex. I (he, she, it, we, you, they) were. (Was is not possible).

As though the Present Subjunctive II coincides in its form with Past Indefinite of the Indicative Mood but it differs in its purpose and meaning.

The Past Indefinite Tense is used to express a real action which took place in the past.

Ex. They were in London last year. (Past Indefinite)

The Present Subjunctive II represents an action which refers to the present or to the future and is contrary to reality.

Ex. If they were here now, they would give us a call. (The Present Subjunctive II).

The Continuous Aspect of the Subjunctive II is used when it is necessary to emphasize an action in its progress.

Ex. I would be very glad if I were speaking with her now. (The desired action in its progress is emphasized).

 

The Past Subjunctive II coincides in form with the Past Perfect Tense of the indicative Mood but it differs in its purpose and meaning. The Past Perfect Tense is used to express an action which took place before another past action or before a definite moment in the past indicated by such expressions as by five o’clock, by that time, etc.

Ex. He had come home by five o’clock. (The Past Perfect Tense).

The Past Subjunctive II represents an action which refers to the past and is contrary to reality.

Ex. If he had called on me in time, we wouldn’t have been late for the beginning of the performance. (The Past Subjunctive II).

The Subjunctive II

The Common Aspect

The Present Subjunctive II	The Past Subjunctive II
I spoke he spoke we spoke you spoke they spoke	I had spoken he had spoken we had spoken you had spoken they had spoken

 

The Continuous Aspect

The Present Subjunctive II	The Past Subjunctive II
I were speaking he were speaking we were speaking you were speaking they were speaking	I had been speaking he had been speaking we had been speaking you had been speaking they had been speaking

 

Exercises (Oblique Moods)

Exercise 1. Comment on the mood of the verb in the following sentences:

1. He thought they wouldn’t tell her anything. 2. If Bill had not told her about it, she would have never learnt. 3. I shall call on you if I find some spare time. 4. Go to the blackboard and recite the poem you have learnt. 5. At that moment I didn’t understand what was going on around. 6. If I remembered all these words, I could translate this text without a dictionary. 7. The article wasn’t difficult and I could easily translate it. 8. She can imagine it so clearly as if it had really happened. 9. It was very important that they be there in time. 10. She promised me that she would come to my place the next week. 11. He would behave differently if he realized what really has happened. 12. I told her I didn’t remember about that. 13. He demanded that we should start at once. 14. Don’t look at me as if you didn’t know what had happened. 15. They would invite you but you live so far from their place.

Exercise 2. Paraphrase the following sentences using the oblique moods:

1. He didn’t send them a telegramme, so they didn’t know anything about this event. 2. She doesn’t get to her office by bus as she lives not so far from it. 3. Bill failed his exam in English Grammar as he didn’t work hard enough. 4. We can’t go to the seaside with you because our academic year is not over yet. 5. It is too hot today so they will stay in. 6. Jane felt bad yesterday, so she didn’t go to the University to have classes. 7. As I was busy last night, I didn’t watch my favoutite film on TV. 8. They are very tired today, so they will not go for a walk. 9. They couldn’t get tickets, so they didn’t go to the cinema with us. 10. He went to his office by taxi, so he got there in time. 11. I didn’t notice you near the house, that’s why I didn’t give you a lift. 12. It is so early now, so the shop is not open yet. 13. She doesn’t know me, so she will not ask me to help. 14. He doesn’t know our village well enough, that’s why he won’t show you the way to the river. 15. As I didn’t know German well enough, I couldn’t read the book in the original. 16. They don’t send me to the conference, so I shan’t make a report there. 17. As the light was switched off, I didn’t notice the book on the chair. 18. Mary didn’t see them, that is why they told her nothing about the conference. 19. He didn’t buy batteries for his recorder, so we won’t listen to the music in the forest. 20. Mary didn’t have enough money with her, so she could not buy a new summer skirt. 21. I have a sore throat, so I won’t take part in the concert. 22. Ann doesn’t have spectacles with her, that’s why she cannot read the article outside. 23. The children couldn’t lift the lid of the box, that’s why they didn’t see what was inside. 24. Mr. Brown didn’t check our tests, so we shall not learn our marks for them. 25. He doesn’t remember her address, so she will not receive his invitation.

Exercise 3. Name the oblique moods used in the following sentences and translate the sentences into Russian:

1. If you had done everything I advised you, you wouldn’t have such problems now. 2. If I were younger, I would join you but I can’t. 3. If she had read the book I told her about, she would be ready to have such conversation. 4. If I were you, I wouldn’t believe any word she says. 5. If you had got up earlier yesterday, you would be in time for the plane. 6. The picture is very beautiful. She wouldn’t buy such one, even if she had enough money. 7. We would have never found the place he lived, if Nell hadn’t helped us. 8. You would hardly recognize Bill if you met him. 9. You wouldn’t have become a teacher if you didn’t love children. 10. He would be able to speak French better if he studied harder. 11. If I had known about your trouble, I would willingly have helped you willingly. 12. They would have done it long ago if they could. 13. We would go to the seaside if it were summer now. 14. If Alice knew English better, she could translate the words of the song. 15. They wouldn’t have fallen seriously ill if they had followed everything the doctor advised.

Part One

Mood

Mood is a grammatical category of the verb expressing modality, i.e. the relation of the action denoted by the predicate to reality from the speaker’s point of view. The category of mood is made up by the set of forms opposed to each other in presenting the event described as a real fact, a problematic action or as something unreal that does not exist.

In English, as in Russian and Ukrainian, finite verbs have three moods: the Indicative Mood (which represents an action as a fact of reality or as in close relation with reality; the latter refers to conditional sentences expressing a real condition that can be easily realized), the Imperative Mood (which represents an action as a command or request) and the Subjunctive Mood (or the Oblique Moods which represents an action not as a real fact but as something imaginary or desirable, i.e. something problematic).

The Oblique Moods

The function of the oblique moods is to represent something in the speaker’s mind not as a real fact but as a wish, purpose, supposition, doubt or condition, problematic or contrary to fact. When the speaker expresses his wish by using one of the oblique moods (the Subjunctive I, the Subjunctive II, the Conditional or the Suppositional Mood), he merely communicates to the hearer what he considers desirable.

As the use of the Oblique Moods depends on the use of the infinitive, it is important to learn them:

The Form of the Infinitive	Active	Passive
Indefinite	to write to come	to be written
Continuous	to be writing to be coming
Perfect	to have written to have come	to have been written
Perfect-Continuous	to have been writing to have been coming

 

The Infinitive in English has six forms if the verb is used in the Continuous form and if it is transitive.

 

The Subjunctive I and the Suppositional Mood

The Subjunctive I and the Suppositional Mood are used to represent an action not as a real fact but as something necessary, important, ordered, suggested, etc, and not contrary to reality. The Suppositional Mood is much more widely used than Subjunctive I in British English where Subjunctive I is used only in official documents, in scientific and technical texts and in poetry. In American English Subjunctive I is used in literary language in general.

The Subjunctive I coincides in its form with the infinitive without the particle to. It has no tense distinctions – the same form may refer to the present, past and future.

Ex. Our lecturer demands that we be more attentive. (The action refers to the present).

Ex. Our lecturer demanded that we be more attentive. (The action refers to the past).

Ex. Our lecturer will demand that we be more attentive. (The action refers to the future).

The Suppositional Mood is formed by means of the auxiliary verb should and the infinitive without the particle to. The Suppositional Mood can be of two kinds: The Present Suppositional and the Past Suppositional.

The Present Suppositional is formed by means of the auxiliary verb should and the indefinite infinitive of the main verb. It refers the action to the future or present.

Ex. It is impossible that he should think so. (The action refers to the present).

The Past Suppositional is formed by means of the auxiliary verb should and the perfect infinitive of the main verb. It refers the action to the past.

Ex. It is impossible that he should have thought so. (The action refers to the past).

The Suppositional Mood and the Subjunctive I are used:

· In subordinate clauses after the expressions: it is necessary, it is important, it is ordered, it is demanded, it is recommended, etc.:

Ex. It is important that they should do it immediately. (The Suppositional Mood).

Ex. It is important that they do it immediately. (The Subjunctive I).

· In object clauses after verbs denoting order, request, suggestion etc.: to order, to suggest, to propose, to demand, to request, to advise, to recommend, etc.:

Ex. He proposed that we should go there as soon as possible. (The Suppositional Mood).

Ex. He proposed that we go there as soon as possible. (The Subjunctive I).

· In subordinate clauses introduced by lest (The Suppositional Mood is more common):

Ex. We got up very early lest we should be late for the train. (The Suppositional Mood).

· The Suppositional mood is used in conditional clauses which refer to the future if the fulfillment of the condition is unlikely:

Ex. If you should meet Mary, tell her I have been missing her much. (The Suppositional Mood) or:

Ex. Should you meet Mary, tell her I have been missing her much. (The Suppositional Mood, the inversion is used).

 

The Conditional Mood

The Conditional Mood is formed by means of the auxiliary verbs should and would and the Infinitive of the main verb without the particle to. Both should or would can be used with the first person singular and plural, but with the second and the third persons the auxiliary verb would is used only.

Ex. I should (or I would) do it for you. (Both should or would is possible).

Ex. He would do it for you. (Should is not possible).

The Conditional Mood coincides in its form with Future-in-the-Past of the Indicative Mood (should / would + the infinitive of the main verb) but differs in its purpose and meaning.

Future-in-the-Past is used to express a real action which was future from the point of the view of the past.

Ex. He believed I would come back. But I didn’t. (A real action which was future from the point of the view of the past).

The Conditional Mood is used in simple, compound or complex sentences to indicate an action which would take (have taken) place under certain conditions expressed or implied. These conditions can be expressed in the same sentence or in other sentences from the same context.

Ex. I would buy the book but I’ve got too little money on me. (The condition is expressed in the other independent clause of the same sentence – I’ve got too little money on me)

Ex. It’s a pity I have got too little money on me. I would buy the book. (The condition is expressed in the previous sentence).

The Conditional Mood has two tense forms: present and the past.

The Present Conditional is formed with the help of the auxiliary verbs should and would and the Indefinite Infinitive (Common Aspect) or the Continuous Infinitive (Continuous Aspect) of the main verb. The Common Aspect of the Present Conditional coincides in its form with Future-in-the-Past Indefinite of the Indicative Mood. The form of the Continuous Aspect of the Present Conditional is individual as there is no Future-in-the-Past Continuous in the English Tense System.

Ex. I (we) should / would do it. (or I (we) should / would be doing it). (Both should or would is possible).

Ex. He (she, it, you, they) would do it. (or He (she, it, you, they) would be doing it). (Should is not possible).

The Continuous Aspect of the Conditional Mood is used when it is necessary to emphasize an action in its progress.

Ex. I do not have much time. I would be having tea. (The action in its progress is emphasized).

The Present Conditional expresses an action which could take place in present or in future under certain conditions expressed or implied.

Ex. I would call on him today (tomorrow) but I do not have much time. (The action refers to the present / future).

The Past Conditional is formed with the help of the auxiliary verbs should and would and the Perfect Infinitive (the Common Aspect) or the Perfect-Continuous Infinitive (the Continuous Aspect) of the main verb. The Past Conditional (the Common Aspect) coincides in its form with Future-in-the-Past Perfect of the Indicative Mood and the Past Conditional (the Continuous Action) coincides with Future-in-the-Past Perfect-Continuous of the indicative Mood.

Ex. I (we) should / would have done it. (The Past Conditional coincides in its form with Future-in-the-Past Perfect).

The Past Conditional expresses an action which could have taken place in past under certain conditions expressed or implied.

Ex. I would have called on him yesterday but I didn’t have much time. (The action refers to the past).

 

The Conditional Mood

The Common Aspect

The Present Conditional	The Past Conditional
I should / would speak He would speak We should / would speak You would speak They would speak	I should / would have spoken He would have spoken We should / would have spoken You would have spoken They would have spoken

The Continuous Aspect

The Present Conditional	The Past Conditional
I should / would be speaking He would be speaking We should / would be speaking You would be speaking They would be speaking	I should / would have been speaking He would have been speaking We should / would have been speaking You would have been speaking They would have been speaking

The Subjunctive II

The Subjunctive II has two tense forms: present and past. The Present Subjunctive II coincides in form with the Past Indefinite Tense of the indicative Mood. The only exception is the verb tobe, the Present Subjunctive of which has the form were both in the plural and in the singular.

Ex. I (he, she, it, we, you, they) were. (Was is not possible).

As though the Present Subjunctive II coincides in its form with Past Indefinite of the Indicative Mood but it differs in its purpose and meaning.

The Past Indefinite Tense is used to express a real action which took place in the past.

Ex. They were in London last year. (Past Indefinite)

The Present Subjunctive II represents an action which refers to the present or to the future and is contrary to reality.

Ex. If they were here now, they would give us a call. (The Present Subjunctive II).

The Continuous Aspect of the Subjunctive II is used when it is necessary to emphasize an action in its progress.

Ex. I would be very glad if I were speaking with her now. (The desired action in its progress is emphasized).

 

The Past Subjunctive II coincides in form with the Past Perfect Tense of the indicative Mood but it differs in its purpose and meaning. The Past Perfect Tense is used to express an action which took place before another past action or before a definite moment in the past indicated by such expressions as by five o’clock, by that time, etc.

Ex. He had come home by five o’clock. (The Past Perfect Tense).

The Past Subjunctive II represents an action which refers to the past and is contrary to reality.

Ex. If he had called on me in time, we wouldn’t have been late for the beginning of the performance. (The Past Subjunctive II).

The Subjunctive II

The Common Aspect

The Present Subjunctive II	The Past Subjunctive II
I spoke he spoke we spoke you spoke they spoke	I had spoken he had spoken we had spoken you had spoken they had spoken

 

The Continuous Aspect

The Present Subjunctive II	The Past Subjunctive II
I were speaking he were speaking we were speaking you were speaking they were speaking	I had been speaking he had been speaking we had been speaking you had been speaking they had been speaking