Subjunctive Mood | What Is the Subjunctive Mood?

Subjunctive Mood

Part 2

EXERCISE

Write either the subjunctive or the infinitive form of the verb.

1.    Anisha asked her brothers not _________ (tease) her so much.

2.    The dean requests that you _________ (see) him this afternoon.

3.    I demand that they _________ (apologize) immediately.

4.    The teacher will recommend that we _________ (take) the exam on Friday.

5.    It was necessary _________ (write) to the admissions office.

6.    It is imperative that Saud _________ (drive) to class.

7.    It is better _________ (eat) three good meals every day.

8.    We urged them _________ (visit) the museum this week.

9.    My parents insisted that I _________ (live) close to campus.

10. You are requested _________ (appear) at graduation ceremonies.

11. Dana was advised _________ (be) cautious on her trip abroad.

12. You will be urged _________ (accept) the new position.

13. It will be desirable that the Murphy family _________ (move) to a larger house.

14. I was advised _________ (give) up smoking for my health.

15. Mandy required us _________ (arrive) no later than 8 p.m.

16. It is preferable _________ (study) in the library rather than in the cafeteria.

17. It will be important _________ (pay) this bill on time.

18. The old man ordered the reporters _________ (get) off his property before he called the police.

19. Rowena insisted that her boyfriend _________ (dance) only with her.

20. Peter preferred that his friends _________ (swim) in the pool, not in the lake.

Answer Key:

1.    to tease

2.    see

3.    apologize

4.    take

5.    to write

6.    drive

7.    to eat

8.    to visit

9.    live

10. to appear

11. to be

12. to accept

13. move

14. to give

15. to arrive

16. to study

17. to pay

18. to get

19. dance

20. swim

·         Another example of using the subjunctive relates to unreal situations and has the verb wish in the main clause. If the situation were real, you would not wish for a change. The conjunction that is often omitted in spoken English. The subjunctive here looks like the past tense that you studied before. It really is a form of the subjunctive. The only form of the verb be for present wishes is were.

·         The pattern for this use of the subjunctive and a wish in the present is as follows:

S1 + WISH + THAT + S2 + past tense

Tim is in California. I wish that he were here.

Today is Thursday. The children wish that it were Saturday.

I don’t have time. I wish that I had time.

We can’t go surfing. We wish that we could go surfing.

·         It is possible to have the same subject for both the main and the dependent clauses. A wish in the past requires sequence of tenses. It also looks at an unreal situation related either to now or to the past. Follow this pattern:

S + WISH {present / past} + THAT + HAD + past participle

·         Present wishes related to past actions:

Our friends decided not to visit this week.

We wish (now) that they had visited us.

The weather was hot and dry all last week.

I wish (now) that it had rained a little.

The boys went to camp last summer.

Their mother wishes (now) that they hadn’t gone to camp.

·         Past wishes related to past actions:

Joan didn’t study Spanish in college.

After Sally had moved to Mexico, she wished that she had studied Spanish.

In 1982 my son bought a convertible.

Later he wished he had bought a practical car.

The Johnsons wanted a lovely house in the valley.

They wished that it hadn’t been so expensive.