Subjunctive Mood Explained: How to Use the Subjunctive Mood

The subjunctive mood is used in the English language to express wishes, describe hypothetical situations, and outline conditional events. It is grammatically anchored by a subjunctive verb phrase, which typically will feature the words "that" or "if." For instance, the subjunctive phrase "I wish that you wouldn't interrupt me" explains a desire and uses "that" as part of a verbal phrase.

Subjunctive verb phrases can be inserted into the present tense, past tense, past perfect tense, and future perfect tense. Note, however, that the subjunctive itself is tenseless; we use the phrase “subjunctive mood,” not “subjunctive tense.” The subjunctive mood is common in the English language but also appears in many of the world's languages, including Spanish, French, German, Polish, Arabic, and Hebrew.

You can use the subjunctive mood in your own writing to express a desire or a hypothetical situation. You can also transform imperative, indicative, and interrogative phrases by adopting the subjunctive form of the verb in an existing sentence.

1. 1. In a subordinate clause: Many sentences begin with dependent clauses that make use of the subjunctive mood. For example, "If I were a rich man, I would quit my job tomorrow."
2. 2. To transform a clause in the imperative mood: An imperative statement can change to subjunctive form with a subjunctive verb and the word "that." For instance, "do your homework" can become "I wish that you would do your homework."
3. 3. To express a desire: Subjunctive phrases like "may you live a healthy life" express wishes. Even standard idioms of modern English like "God bless you" are technically in the subjunctive mood.
4. 4. To describe a hypothetical situation: These hypothetical situations tend to involve infinitive verbs, such as "if you want to play tennis."
5. 5. To declare a mandate: The mandative subjunctive mood shows up in phrases like "I demand that you refund my money."
6. 6. Without infinitives or conjunctions like "if" or "that”: In grammatical terms, the subjunctive mood can function without the assistance of conjunctions. This is particularly true in older English expressions like, "Should you need assistance, ring the bell." In this case, the modal verb "should" makes the subjunctive mood possible.

The subjunctive mood appears in many different types of sentences.

1. 1. As a dependent clause: "If you would propose to me, I would say yes."
2. 2. To describe a hypothetical: "She acts as though she is already CEO."
3. 3. In past subjunctive form: "I would be a doctor if I had studied harder in school."
4. 4. To describe a future hypothetical: "I don't know if I would survive a year in space."
5. 5. With a modal verb: "Should the jury find him guilty, he will serve at least 30 years in prison."
6. 6. In present subjunctive form, describing a mandate: "It is essential that children attend school throughout their youth."
7. 7. In present subjunctive form, to introduce an idea: "The board proposes that the company be taken public."
8. 8. Asking a question about a possible scenario: "If we stopped for coffee, would you want anything?"

Remember that the subjunctive is not a verb conjugation; there are no subjunctive tenses in English. Rather, the subjunctive is an overall mood created by verbal phrases or a combination of verb forms.

While the subjunctive mood traditionally describes something that might hypothetically happen, the indicative mood describes something that is already certain. This most commonly applies to the verb "to be."

• Subjunctive mood: "I insist that our employees be on time." This suggests that the speaker is expressing their wishes for both present and future scenarios.
• Indicative mood: "I insist that our employees are on time." This suggests that the employees have already arrived on time and the speaker is refuting anyone who claims otherwise.
• Subjunctive mood: "I would be careful." The speaker suggests behavior in a future event, possibly even as a piece of advice to someone else.
• Indicative mood: "I am careful." The speaker describes a present state of being.

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