The Subjunctive: Part 2
The Subjunctive (Part 2) has come at last! Let's dance!
In a galaxy far, far away...
To refresh from Subjunctive (Part 1), the subjunctive mood expresses hypothetical situations, as opposed to the fact-based indicative or the commanding imperative.
The subjunctive most commonly represents abstract ideas, like doubt or conditionals (If I were a kangaroo, I'd take a nap), and because they are abstract, they technically exist outside of time. The use of the past, present, or future tense is determined by the type of action/situation and its duration, as well as personal style choice.
The subjunctive mood itself (the conditional/hypothetical statement) is expressed using thesimple (unchanging situations/facts), progressive (ongoing action), perfect (completed action), or perfect-progressive (in-progress, completed action) verb tenses.
Castle will have been writing Nikki Heat books for a decade by 2020.
Future Perfect-Progressive - BECAUSE Castle in the future will be writing continuously (ongoing action) until 2020 when he'll stop writing Nikki Heat books (completed action) for good.
Isn't that fun? Yes, it is.
(Yes, it is.)
It's gettin' pretty iffy around here.
One of the more recognizable constructions of the subjunctive is the "if-clause," though NOT ALL if-clauses are subjunctive. Some can be indicative (stating fact):
Jane likes wearing purple if it's raining. This is a fact (indicative)—whenever it rains, Jane is likely to wear purple.
If it were to rain tomorrow, Jane might wear purple. This is subjunctive—Jane wearing purple tomorrow is conditional (subjunctive) based on whether or not it rains.
The if-clause is usually a subordinate (or dependent) clause, which means the statement has a subject and a verb, but is NOT a complete sentence on its own: If Joel dances in the rain is not a complete sentence. It’s dependent on the main clause: He might gain superpowers.
If Joel dances in the rain, he might gain superpowers.
All arise for the transition!
Subordinate clauses will begin with a subordinate conjunction—a transition word indicating time, place, or relation—in this case, if. It indicates level of importance—the subordinate statement is often the conditional or introduction statement, while the most important information is in the main clause:
While I was sky-writing, Superman corrected my grammar.
The subordinate conjunction (While I was sky-writing) contains lower order information next to the main clause (Superman corrected my grammar). It establishes what I was doing when Superman showed up, but Superman's activity (main clause) is the actual point of my sentence.
Here are some examples of the subjunctive in if-clause form:
If we run really fast, we can catch the Flash!
If Bobby jumps off the swing, will he fly into space?
Scott would have found the infinity stone if he had listened to Starlord's instructions.
If you're looking for an easy way to remember the subjunctive, just listen to Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof: "If I were a rich man...I'd build a big tall house with rooms by the dozen."
(It’s Simple Past Subjunctive - BECAUSE Tevye would have the house (fact) by already being a rich man (past tense).) Plus, it's a great song.
Words, words, words...
You can also find the subjunctive mood hanging out with certain verbs and noun clauses.
Verbs like advise that, recommend that, desire that, suggest that, urge that all appear with noun clauses to tip us off that the Subjunctive has made a bold arrival.
I advise that our crew be preparing for launch by o'two hundred hours. (Active Present Progressive Subjunctive)
Mal recommends that Wash land Serenity outside the junkyard. (Active Simple Present Subjunctive)
Both examples express hypotheticals:
The crew should be getting ready, but they won't necessarily follow orders or be exactly on time, and
- Mal is making a suggestion on where Wash should land the ship, but it's not an imperative statement--Wash could potentially ignore it.
Happy Writing! :)
Resources:
(1) Linguistics Girl: The Subjunctive Mood of English Verbs
THERE’S A HUGE VERB CHART IN HERE!!!! YAY!! Check it out!
(2) Grammar Girl: Quick and Dirty Tips: Subjunctive Verbs
The quick guide to Subjunctive Verbs.
(3) Grammarist: Subjunctive Mood
Solid, comprehensive guide to the Subjunctive that every formal grammarian can get on board with.
(4) English Page: Sunjunctive
Quick, quick, quick refresher tutorial on the Subjunctive.
(5) Grammar Bytes!: The Subordinate Clause
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