Subjunctive Mood

The present subjunctive talks about a necessity, a requirement or an indirect order, advice, suggestion or request. It sits in the that-clause, which is the subordinate clause.

[[parse: S=The teacher | V=recommended | CONJ=that | X=Mohit | MV=study]]

Subject-verb agreement and tense do not work inside this clause. The verb is simply the base form.

1. After these verbs. When a that-clause follows one of them, the that-clause takes the present subjunctive.

Demand, Advise, Recommend, Allow, Desire, Move, Request, Arrange, Determine, Order, Require, Ask, Pledge, Resolve, Beg, Pray, Stipulate, Command, Grant, Prefer, Suggest, Concede, Insist, Pronounce, Urge, Decide, Instruct, Propose, Vote.

✘ My teacher ordered that everyone was on time at the party. (use be)
✔ I insisted that the council reconsider its decision.
✘ All of his friends advised him that he helps his girlfriend. (use help)
✘ The job requires that candidates are experienced in JavaScript. (use be)
✘ The teacher recommended that Mohit studies harder for the exam. (use study)

2. After these adjectives, in the structure It is + adjective + that.

Essential, compulsory, imperative, impossible, (im)proper, (in)appropriate, crucial, important, necessary, obligatory, mandatory, vital.

✘ It is important that Radhika is present there. (use be)
✘ It is obligatory that he arrives early for the meeting. (use arrive)

3. After nouns or adjectives made from those verbs. In place of the adjective, the nouns and adjectives formed from the verbs of point 1 can also be used.

✔ His demand is that the report be sent today.
✔ Our advice is that she see a doctor.
✔ It is my suggestion that Radhika go first.

The fact-or-need check. A word from the lists above does not act as an automatic trigger. Use it only when it shows a need. An adjective brings the subjunctive only if it says that something is needed; this is why possible does not do it, while impossible and necessary do.

Which tense is the main clause in? It does not matter. The base form stays as it is whether the demand is made today or was made last year. She suggests that he leave early and She suggested that he leave early take the same that-clause. A student who writes suggested that he left early has let the past tense of the main verb pull the that-clause back in time, and that is exactly the mistake the exam waits for.

✔ The committee demanded that the report be submitted by Friday.
✘ The committee demanded that the report is submitted by Friday. (use be submitted or should be submitted)
✘ The CEO demanded that the report was submitted to the board. (use be submitted)

Verbs with a hidden demand. Move (in a meeting, I move that the house adjourn), vote, stipulate, necessitate and pledge also carry a demand, so the that-clause after them takes the base form. A noun built from these verbs works the same way: the demand that, the requirement that, the proposal that.

✔ The new rule necessitates that every regional office conduct an audit.

The present subjunctive has a fixed form. Five points decide almost every question.

1. Only V1 (the base form) is used. The subject can be I, he, they or every child; the verb does not change.

✘ I recommend that he stops the work. (use stop)
✘ It is recommended that she goes to the doctor. (use go)

2. Should + V1 can be used in place of V1. If both are given in the options, should + V1 is preferred. In British English the should version is the natural one; the plain base form is the American style.

✔ It is imperative that he attend the class.
✔ It is imperative that he should attend the class. (preferable)

Only should is allowed here. Any other modal such as will, shall, could or must is wrong.

✘ He has proposed to me that he will start a business. (use start or should start)
✘ The court has ordered that she must prepare a report. (use prepare or should prepare)

3. Only be is used for the verb be. Is, am, are, was and were are wrong.

✘ It is essential that the report is ready by Monday. (use be)
✘ It was appropriate that he was promoted. (use be)

4. The negative is not + V1. Do not, does not and did not are wrong.

✘ It is vital that we do not miss our flight. (use not miss)
✘ I order that we do not take any break. (use not take)

With the verb be, not can come before or after it. The first is the modern style.

✔ Aastha urged that Monika not be sad.
✔ Aastha urged that Monika be not sad. (old style)

With should, the negative is should not + V1.

5. For a passive sense, use be + V3. A question cannot answer itself; somebody answers it. A document cannot sign itself; somebody signs it.

✘ It is necessary that their questions be answer at once. (use answered)
✘ I demand that I be allow to answer these questions. (use allowed)
✔ It was imperative that the document be signed before the close of business.

Some verbs bring the present subjunctive only when they carry the sense of an indirect order, demand, request or suggestion. When the same verb simply states or accepts a fact, no subjunctive is needed and the verb follows its normal tense. The verbs to watch are insist, agree, suggest and also concede.

> "I am innocent" is already a fact. Deepak is only saying it again and again. There is nothing to be done, so there is no need for the base form.

The three uses of suggest.

✔ Everyone is suggesting that he be promoted. (indirect suggestion, so V1)
✔ The evidence suggests that he is the killer. (it indicates something; a fact, so normal tense)
✔ Her smile suggests that she is happy. (it indicates something; a fact, so normal tense)

Evidence does not give advice. It only points towards a possibility. That is why is is correct in the second sentence.

Insist about the past. If the that-clause reports a claim about something already over, the tense follows the time of the claim.

✔ I insist that you come. (a demand; you should come)
✔ He insisted that he had a right to speak.
✔ She insisted that she had completed the assignment before the deadline.

Agree and concede.

✔ I agree that every child should have equal educational opportunities. (a principle; have or should have, never has)
✔ He reluctantly conceded that he was not fit enough to play in the match. (a fact, so was is correct)

Object with suggest and advise. Suggest takes to before the person and does not take an infinitive. Advise takes the person directly.

✘ He suggested me to take rest. (use He suggested that I take rest or He suggested to me that I take rest)
✔ The doctor advised him to take rest.
✔ The doctor advised that he take rest.
✘ The doctor advised for him to take rest. (drop for)

[[say:radhika| I saw insisted and put the base form straight away. Was that wrong?]]

[[say:sir| It was wrong in that sentence, Radhika. Many students do exactly this. Ask the question again every time: is it a demand, or is it a claim? A demand takes V1. A claim follows the tense.]]

1. Optative sentences. An optative sentence is a wish or a prayer. If may or might is not used, the present subjunctive (plain V1) is used.

✘ God saves our king! (use save)
✔ Long live the king!
✘ God blesses you! (use bless)

May is hidden in these sentences (May God save our king), and that is why they do not need should as well. Only the base form comes.

2. Lest = for fear that it may happen. Lest is a small word with a big idea: so that something bad does not happen. The negative idea is already inside lest, so the clause needs no not.

(a) Do not use not or may with lest.

✘ Walk fast lest you may get late. (use get)
✘ Walk fast lest you may not miss the train. (drop may not)
✔ Hold my hand lest you should get lost.

(b) Lest is followed by the present subjunctive: V1 or should + V1. A past tense verb is wrong.

✘ He got up early that morning lest he missed the train. (use miss)
✔ He got up early that morning lest he should miss the train.

(c) Will and shall are not used with lest.

✘ Work hard lest you will fail. (use fail)
✔ Work hard lest you fail.
✔ Radhika kept the umbrella with her lest she should get wet.

> Another way to say the same thing: Study hard lest you should fail = Study hard so that you may not fail. In the first sentence the idea of not is inside lest, so we write no not at all.

The past subjunctive shows unreality, imagination, improbability, an unfulfilled wish or a regret. It describes a hypothetical situation, so these words and phrases call for it: I wish, as if, as though, if only, would that.

Two questions decide the form. Is the unreal thing about now, or about an earlier time?

1. Unreal present: V2, and were for be.

✘ I wish I have money now.
✔ I wish I had money now. (= काश इस समय मेरे पास पैसे होते!)

With the verb be, we do not use was as V2 in the exam. We use were with all subjects. (Informal English allows was with singular subjects, but the exam key is were.)

✘ I wish he is here now.
✘ I wish he was here now.
✔ I wish he were here now.
✔ I wish I were a king.
✔ I wish Radhika were with me today.

2. Unreal past: had + V3.

✘ I wish I completed the work last week.
✔ I wish I had completed the work last week. (= काश मैंने पिछले हफ़्ते ही काम ख़त्म कर लिया होता।)
✔ I wish I had had more free time on my business trip last week. (= काश पिछले हफ़्ते मेरी business trip पर मेरे पास और ज़्यादा ख़ाली समय रहा होता।)
✔ I wish I had listened to my parents.
✔ I wish I had tried harder.

The regret is felt today, but the action was earlier, so the verb goes one step back. The simple concept: when the wish and the unreal thing belong to the same time, use were / V2. When the unreal thing is one step earlier, use had + V3.

3. Wished instead of wish. The same concept applies. Only now the unreality is seen from the time of the wish in the past.

✔ I wished I knew everything. / I wished I had known everything.
✔ I wished I slept well every night. / I wished I had slept well last night.

> After wish we never use a plain present or a present perfect: I wish I have and I wish I have come are both wrong. A comparative is also not doubled: tried harder, never tried more harder.

4. Wish with would and could. Two more forms follow wish, and both are often missed.

• Wish + would + V1 is a wish about somebody else's behaviour or about something outside our control in the future. It often carries a little annoyance: we want the person to change.
• Wish + could + V1 is a wish about our own ability at this moment: we cannot do it, and we want to be able to.

✔ I wish you would stop talking during the lecture. (annoyance; the other person can change)
✔ I wish it would stop raining. (we cannot control the rain)
✔ I wish I could help you with this difficult problem. (I am not able to help)
✘ I wish I can help you with this difficult problem. (use could)

With I as the subject, we do not say I wish I would; for our own ability, could is the word. And the exam never accepts a plain can, will or may after wish.

Would that and if only can be used in the sense of I wish. They show an imaginary situation, so the past subjunctive follows.

✔ I wish I were a bird.
✔ If only I were a bird.
✔ Would that all the questions were easy.
✔ If only I had known about your situation at that time.
✔ If only we had started earlier, we would be there now.

The same two concepts work as with wish: were / V2 for an unreal present and had + V3 for an unreal past.

If only is not the same as only if.

✔ If only I were a bird.
✔ Only if you study hard, can you pass.

In the first sentence, if only means I wish, so we have used the past subjunctive. In the second sentence, only if simply means if. The word only is there to stress the if. Because of only, the main clause that follows uses inversion (can you pass). You will study this in the Inversion chapter.

> If only belongs to this chapter and expresses a wish. Only if belongs to the conditionals and expresses a condition.

In the past subjunctive, the verb be becomes were for every subject: I, he, she, it, we, you and they. It is not a past tense here. It is a special form that says this is not real.

This is not only for wish. Were is used wherever the idea is unreal: after if, as if, as though, if only, would that and wish.

✔ I wish he were here now.
✔ If I were you, I would not lose my temper in this situation.
✔ If I were the queen, I would give a handsome sum towards education.
✔ If only I were young again.

The if I were you pattern. I cannot be you. I am not the queen. I am not very rich. So the situation is imaginary, and the verb has to be were, even though the subject is I.

✘ If I was the queen, I would give a handsome sum towards education.
✘ If I am the principal of the school, I would abolish all examinations. (use were)

Look at the main clause. A would there tells you the if-part is imaginary.

Were I ... (the if is dropped). When if is dropped, the verb comes before the subject. The word were moves to the front.

✔ If I were a rich person, I would share my wealth.
✔ Were I a rich person, I would share my wealth.

> The complete study of conditional sentences, including if I was you, is in the next chapter. Here, remember one point: when an option gives both was and were for an unreal idea, were is the answer.

As if and as though mean the same. They can show unreality or possibility.

• When they show unreality, the past subjunctive is used.
• When they show possibility, the verb after them follows the normal tense.

Compare:

✔ He looks as if he is rich. (there is a possibility that he is rich)
✔ He looks as if he were a girl. (he cannot be a girl, so this is unreality)

Similarly:

✔ He talks to her as though he is her boss. (there is a possibility that he is her boss)
✔ He talks to her as though he were her boss. (he is not her boss, so this is unreality)

The question to ask is simple: could it really be true? If yes, it is a possibility. If it is certainly not true, it is unreal.

Same time or earlier? The concept of wish works here too.

✔ He smiled as if he were not in pain. (smiling and being free of pain belong to the same time)
✔ The child cried as if he were in pain.
✔ He looked tired as if he had not slept last night. (the looking is of today, the sleeping was earlier)

The words last night may not be written; the sense tells you that sleeping came before looking tired.

> If alone cannot do the work of as if: He behaves if he were a king is wrong. The correct sentence is He behaves as if he were a king.

Look at what comes after It is time. Two different structures can be made.

1. It is time + to + V1. This gives a suggestion.

✔ It is time to study. (= now we should study)
✔ It is time for him to study. (= now he should study)

2. It is time + subject + V2. This shows regret. The time for the work has already come, and the work has not been done. The meaning is this should have been done earlier or it should have been done by now. The past subjunctive is used with it.

✔ It is time we went home.
✔ It is high time we started preparations.
✔ It is about time we did something useful.
✔ It is time someone took concrete steps to alleviate the problem of unemployment in the country.

That can be used in this structure, and it can also be left out.

✔ It is high time he went home.
✔ It is high time that he went home.

> The verb after the subject is the second form, always. It is time we should have done and It is time we have done are both wrong. The regret is already inside high time, so the verb does not need another helper.

Would rather has two uses.

1. One subject, two actions: a preference. Here would rather is followed by V1 and the other action also takes V1.

Structure: Subject + would rather + V1 + than + V1 ...

✔ I would rather study than play.
✔ I would rather die than beg.
✔ I would rather have a noble enemy than a mean friend.

2. A new subject after would rather: a wish about what that person does. Sometimes a new subject comes after would rather, and we show our wish that he should do, or not do, some action. Now the past subjunctive is used: V2.

Structure: Subject + would rather + new subject + V2 ...

✘ I would rather you study hard. (use studied)
✔ I would rather you studied hard.
✔ I would rather Radhika stayed with us tonight.
✘ Sagar wants to go, but I would rather he doesn't. (use didn't)
✔ Sagar wants to go, but I would rather he didn't.

When the wish is about something that did not happen earlier, had + V3 is used: I would rather you had told me earlier.

> The test is easy. Count the subjects. One subject means V1. A new subject means the second form, and the negative is didn't.

Mind makes three useful structures.

1. Do you mind + if + subject + V1 ... ? A real request in the present.

✔ Do you mind if I use your phone?
✔ Do you mind if I sit here?

2. Would you mind + if + subject + V2 ... ? This shows an imaginary situation, which is why the past subjunctive is used.

✔ Would you mind if I turned on this light?
✔ Would you mind if we sat here?

3. Would you mind + V-ing ... ? / Do you mind + V-ing ... ? This is a request.

✔ Would you mind opening the window, please?
✔ Would you mind turning on the light?
✔ Do you mind turning down the volume a little, please?

✘ Would you mind to open the window? (use opening)

> After mind the plain V1 and to + V1 are not used for a request. The verb is in -ing.

Not every that brings the subjunctive. The present subjunctive appears only when the main clause asks, demands or suggests that something be done. If the main clause only states, reports, hopes or believes, the that-clause is an ordinary clause and follows the usual tense and agreement.

Ensure and make sure. These two words tempt students because they sound like orders. But ensure means to make certain; it does not ask anyone to do anything inside the that-clause. The clause simply describes what is made certain, so its verb follows the ordinary tense and agreement.

✔ Please ensure that every participant is heard.
✘ To ensure every participant be heard, the chairperson requested that questions be submitted in advance. (use is heard)
✔ The principal made sure that every child had lunch before the trip.

Read the second sentence again. It has two that-clauses side by side. After requested, be submitted is correct. After ensure, be heard is wrong. One sentence, two different concepts, and the error is often placed in the clause that looks like the easy one.

When the main verb is in the past. After a demand the base form never moves back in time (insisted that he submit). After ensure, make sure, hope and say it does move, because it is an ordinary clause: *The principal made sure that every child had lunch.* *She hoped that the guests would like the food.*

> One question settles everything: is someone being asked to do something, or is the speaker only stating a fact? A request takes the base form. A statement takes the normal tense.

Some expressions are fossils of the subjunctive. They were formed with the base form long ago, and they have stayed that way. You cannot change a single word, so the verb never takes *-s* and never turns into is or was.

In every one of these, may is hidden at the front (May God bless you), and that is why the verb is the plain base form.

✔ Long live the King! (not Long lives the King)
✔ God bless you. (not God blesses you)
✔ Far be it from me to judge you. (not Far be it for me)

A wish, or a fact? The expression is subjunctive only when it is a wish or a prayer. God bless you is a wish. But God blesses everyone who helps the needy is a general statement about God, so it takes blesses like any other verb.

> These expressions are rarely asked directly, but they teach the idea of this chapter in its simplest form: the base form carries a wish, a need or a hope, and it does not agree with the subject.