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25 Apr 2012, 19:21
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English verbs have four moods: indicative, imperative, subjunctive, and infinitive.
- Mood is the form of the verb that shows the mode or manner in which a thought is expressed.
- The mood of a verb is the manner in which the action or condition is conceived or intended.
- Indicates what the writer believes about, or wants to do with, the action.
1. Indicative Mood: expresses an assertion, denial, or question:
Little Rock is the capital of Arkansas.
Ostriches cannot fly.
Have you finished your homework?
2. Imperative Mood: expresses command, prohibition, entreaty, or advice:
Don’t smoke in this building.
Be careful!
Don’t drown that puppy!
3. Subjunctive Mood:
- Expresses doubt or something contrary to fact.
- A verb expressing a doubt, desire, supposition, or condition contrary to fact.
A verb is in the subjunctive mood when it expresses a condition which is doubtful or not factual. It is most often found in a clause beginning with the word if. It is also found in clauses following a verb that expresses a doubt, a wish, regret, request, demand, or proposal.
These are verbs typically followed by clauses that take the subjunctive:
ask, demand, determine, insist, move, order, pray, prefer, recommend, regret, request, require, suggest, and wish.
In English there is no difference between the subjunctive and normal, or indicative, form of the verb except for the present tense third person singular and for the verb to be.
The subjunctive for the present tense third person singular drops the -s or -es so that it looks and sounds like the present tense for everything else.
The subjunctive mood of the verb to be is be in the present tense and were in the past tense, regardless of what the subject is.
Incorrect: If I was you, I would run.
Correct: If I were you, I would run.
(The verb follows if and expresses a non-factual condition.)
Incorrect: I wish he was able to type faster.
Correct: I wish he were able to type faster.
(The second verb is in a clause following a verb expressing a wish. It also suggests a non-factual or doubtful condition.)
Incorrect: His requirement is that everyone is computer literate.
Correct: His requirement is that everyone be computer literate.
(Subordinate clause follows main clause with a demand.)
Incorrect: He recommended that each driver reports his tips.
Correct: He recommended that each driver report his tips.
Sometimes we may use the conditional auxiliary verbs of could, should, or would to express the same sense.
Subjunctive: I wish he were kinder to me.
Conditional: I wish he would be kinder to me.
Note: In modern English, the subjunctive is found only in subordinate clauses.
4. Infinitive Mood: expresses an action or state without reference to any subject. It can be the source of sentence fragments when the writer mistakenly thinks the infinitive form is a fully-functioning verb.
When we speak of the English infinitive, we usually mean the basic form of the verb with “to” in front of it: to go, to sing, to walk, to speak.
Verbs said to be in the infinitive mood can include participle forms ending in -ed and -ing. Verbs in the infinitive mood are not being used as verbs, but as other parts of speech:
To err is human; to forgive, divine. Here, to err and to forgive are used as nouns.
He is a man to be admired. Here, to be admired is an adjective, the equivalent of admirable. It describes the noun man.
He came to see you. Here, to see you is used as an adverb to tell why he came.
- Mood is the form of the verb that shows the mode or manner in which a thought is expressed.
- The mood of a verb is the manner in which the action or condition is conceived or intended.
- Indicates what the writer believes about, or wants to do with, the action.
1. Indicative Mood: expresses an assertion, denial, or question:
Little Rock is the capital of Arkansas.
Ostriches cannot fly.
Have you finished your homework?
2. Imperative Mood: expresses command, prohibition, entreaty, or advice:
Don’t smoke in this building.
Be careful!
Don’t drown that puppy!
3. Subjunctive Mood:
- Expresses doubt or something contrary to fact.
- A verb expressing a doubt, desire, supposition, or condition contrary to fact.
A verb is in the subjunctive mood when it expresses a condition which is doubtful or not factual. It is most often found in a clause beginning with the word if. It is also found in clauses following a verb that expresses a doubt, a wish, regret, request, demand, or proposal.
These are verbs typically followed by clauses that take the subjunctive:
ask, demand, determine, insist, move, order, pray, prefer, recommend, regret, request, require, suggest, and wish.
In English there is no difference between the subjunctive and normal, or indicative, form of the verb except for the present tense third person singular and for the verb to be.
The subjunctive for the present tense third person singular drops the -s or -es so that it looks and sounds like the present tense for everything else.
The subjunctive mood of the verb to be is be in the present tense and were in the past tense, regardless of what the subject is.
Incorrect: If I was you, I would run.
Correct: If I were you, I would run.
(The verb follows if and expresses a non-factual condition.)
Incorrect: I wish he was able to type faster.
Correct: I wish he were able to type faster.
(The second verb is in a clause following a verb expressing a wish. It also suggests a non-factual or doubtful condition.)
Incorrect: His requirement is that everyone is computer literate.
Correct: His requirement is that everyone be computer literate.
(Subordinate clause follows main clause with a demand.)
Incorrect: He recommended that each driver reports his tips.
Correct: He recommended that each driver report his tips.
Sometimes we may use the conditional auxiliary verbs of could, should, or would to express the same sense.
Subjunctive: I wish he were kinder to me.
Conditional: I wish he would be kinder to me.
Note: In modern English, the subjunctive is found only in subordinate clauses.
4. Infinitive Mood: expresses an action or state without reference to any subject. It can be the source of sentence fragments when the writer mistakenly thinks the infinitive form is a fully-functioning verb.
When we speak of the English infinitive, we usually mean the basic form of the verb with “to” in front of it: to go, to sing, to walk, to speak.
Verbs said to be in the infinitive mood can include participle forms ending in -ed and -ing. Verbs in the infinitive mood are not being used as verbs, but as other parts of speech:
To err is human; to forgive, divine. Here, to err and to forgive are used as nouns.
He is a man to be admired. Here, to be admired is an adjective, the equivalent of admirable. It describes the noun man.
He came to see you. Here, to see you is used as an adverb to tell why he came.
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27 Sep 2018, 05:34
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Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!
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Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).
Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.
Archived Topic
Hi there,
This topic has been closed and archived due to inactivity or violation of community quality standards. No more replies are possible here.
Where to now? Join ongoing discussions on thousands of quality questions in our Verbal Questions Forum
Still interested in this question? Check out the "Best Topics" block above for a better discussion on this exact question, as well as several more related questions.
Thank you for understanding, and happy exploring!
