Meaning & use
subjunctive
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a nountechnical
Describing a verb form used to talk about wishes, doubts, demands or things that are not real or not certain.
Grammar: Usually comes before a noun: the subjunctive mood, a subjunctive verb.
Patterns
- the subjunctive mood
- a subjunctive form
In 'If I were taller, I would play basketball', the verb 'were' is in the subjunctive mood.
Spanish uses subjunctive verb endings far more often than English does.
The teacher explained why 'I suggest that he go' sounds subjunctive.
nounusually singulartechnical
The verb form or mood used for wishes, suggestions, doubts and unreal situations, or a verb that is in this form.
Grammar: Often used with the: she used the subjunctive; a plural 'subjunctives' is rare.
Patterns
- in the subjunctive
- use the subjunctive
Many learners find the subjunctive hard to master in French.
'It is essential that she be present' is correct English because 'be' is in the subjunctive.
The subjunctive is fading from everyday American speech, but it survives in formal writing.
Word forms
| plural | subjunctives |
|---|
Common combinations
- the subjunctive mood
- The subjunctive mood expresses what might be rather than what is.
- use the subjunctive
- You should use the subjunctive after verbs like 'insist' and 'recommend'.
- present subjunctive
- The present subjunctive looks the same as the base form of the verb.
- past subjunctive
- 'Were' in 'if he were here' is a past subjunctive.
- in the subjunctive
- The clause after 'wish' is often put in the subjunctive.
Synonyms and how they differ
- conditional
- The conditional describes what would happen under a condition, while the subjunctive is a verb mood that often appears in the 'if' clause itself.
- hypothetical
- Hypothetical is a general word for imagined situations, whereas subjunctive names a specific grammatical form.
Opposites
Word family
- subjoin verb
- to add something at the end, sharing the Latin root meaning 'join under'
- mood noun
- the grammatical category that includes subjunctive, indicative and imperative
Commonly confused: subjunctive or indicative? subjunctive or conditional?
subjunctive vs indicative
The indicative states facts and asks real questions; the subjunctive deals with wishes, doubts and unreal ideas.
subjunctive vs conditional
A conditional sentence is a whole 'if' structure; the subjunctive is only one verb form that can occur inside it.
Practice
Which sentence contains a verb in the subjunctive mood?
Choose one answer.
'Were' with 'I' is the classic subjunctive for an unreal situation. The other sentences state ordinary facts in the indicative.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “subjunctive”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.