The Subjunctive: Part 1
The Subjunctive (Part 1) is here!
I feel that statement should be followed by a dramatic monologue, like the Subjunctive is the villain of a Marvel comic. But never fear! We’re going to make this tricky grammatical mood our hypothetical-expressing friend!
What is the subjunctive?
First, the subjunctive is 1 of 3 grammatical moods articulated with verbs in the English language: indicative, imperative, and subjunctive. Moods (or modality) convey the speaker’s attitude.
- The Indicative expresses facts, opinions, or asks questions: I saw Black Widow in Times Square.
- The Imperative expresses commands or requests: Sit down and watch Iron Man.
- The Subjunctive expresses conditional or hypothetical situations, such as doubts, guesses, or suggestions: If Edith were a superhero, she’d call herself “Red Panda Lightening.”
Here’s some more examples of the subjunctive hard at work:
- I wish I could fly—or be River Tam. (Wishes)
- Wally thinks X-Men and Avengers should do a crossover. (Suggestions)
- Mary says there’s no future in comic book movies if we don’t include every contradictory storyline. (Hypotheticals)
- If I were a writer, I’d never stop writing comics. (Conditions/Contrary to fact)
Subjunctives are Time Lords.
It’s true! The subjunctive technically exists outside time (or across all of time, if you will), so its verbs can be...nebulous.
Linguistic Girl (#1 in the resources list below) is a grammar superhero who offers several exceedingly helpful charts of the various subjunctive verb constructions for both active and passive voice. I'll refer you to Heather Johnson (a.k.a. Linguistic Girl) for the big adventure, but here's the basics!
The Subjunctive, Active Duty style...
Let's start with types of verb tenses: simple, progressive, perfect, and perfect-progressive. (Hang with me, folks! We can do this!)
Present tense –
- Simple: truths, repeated actions, or unchanging situations. Iron Man wears a suit. - base form of the verb
- Progressive: ongoing action at some point in time, or action still in progress. They are running in slow motion to confuse Thanos. - be + present participle
- Perfect: completed action or condition. Starlord has lost the Infinity Stone already. - have+ past participle
- Perfect-Progressive: ...with progressive and perfect combined, we get the in-progress, completed action. Mal Reynolds has been flying across the 'Verse for a long time. - have+ be + present participle
Past tense –
- Simple: Iron Man wore a suit.
- Progressive: They were running in slow motion to confuse Thanos.
- Perfect: Starlord had lost the Infinity Stone already.
- Perfect-Progressive: Mal Reynolds had been flying across the 'Verse for a long time.
Future tense –
- Simple: Iron Man will wear a suit.
- Progressive: They will be running in slow motion to confuse Thanos.
- Perfect: Starlord will have lost the Infinity Stone already.
- Perfect-Progressive: Mal Reynolds will have been flying across the 'Verse for a long time.
Phew.
Now let’s put that into the subjunctive soup! Woulda, shoula, coulda…
Subjunctive tense is tricky because the subjunctive deals with the abstract. When thinking of whether you need the past, present, or future tense of your simple, progressive, perfect, or perfect-progressive subjunctive construction, ask yourself when the hypothetical situation/action takes place.
· If I were a writer, I would never sleep.
o Simple Past Subjunctive – BECAUSE my lack of sleep would occur by alreadybeing a writer.
· The students should be studying animation style all day tomorrow.
o Present Progressive Subjunctive – BECAUSE the studying is hypothetically an ongoing action at some point in time.
· Wolverine would have gone to Xavier’s school if Wolverine were younger.
o Past Progressive Subjunctive – BECAUSE going to school occurs in the past, but the idea of Wolverine being younger (his age during school years) is considered an ongoing event.
o Note that the Past Progressive Subjunctive, which is also used with “If I were…” type statements, uses were, not was.
Much of the “past, present, future” decision making comes down to you since the idea you’re working with is abstract. The important part is to make sure your tense construction is correct (simple, progressive, perfect, perfect-progressive).
Until next week, grammar friends!
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) Grammar Girl: Quick and Dirty Tips: Getting Your Tricky Conditionals Right
Covers First, Second, and Third Conditionals. Talks more about subjunctive verb tense.
(4) Grammarist: Subjunctive Mood
Solid, comprehensive guide to the Subjunctive that every formal grammarian can get on board with.
(5) English Page: Sunjunctive
Quick, quick, quick refresher tutorial on the Subjunctive.
Comments
Post a Comment