The Great English Subjunctive Mood

I know it has been awhile so I shall try to catch up. Yes, it's been one and a half years since I last wrote in this blog. It seems as though that were an eternity ago, doesn't it? No matter, though. I am glad to be back and I am glad to be writing once again. If only things in my life were going well, all would be fine. Alas, this is not so so I have to make the most of what I can.

Anyway, let's begin with today's topic of grammar---the subjunctive mood. Yes, I know that I've browbeaten this topic in the past, but it's a very important rule in grammar so it must be browbeaten lest the masses forget how it is used. Aha! There is that tricky subjunctive conjugation in "lest the masses forget". Here, the verb "forget" is in its third person plural present subjunctive conjugation. Unfortunately, in Modern English, there is no difference between the plural present subjunctive and indicative unless it be conjugated in a negated form ("unless it be conjugated" is subjunctive, too!!!).

Really, generally speaking, though, the English subjunctive is nominal. It plays a small role in our grammar because our language has syncretized over the last 400 years. In inflectional languages such as French, Spanish, and Latin, it plays an enormous role. In fact, in Old English, the subjunctive played a huge role. This was mainly because of the fact that modal verbs hadn't formed yet and verbs inflected more.

The subjunctive in Modern English is normally considered a relic of the Old English subjunctive---the remnants of a once vast conjugational system that is now virtually extinct. One form that is a virtual relic is the past subjunctive "were" form, which is used often in hypothetical or conditional situations:

Example: If I were in charge of this project, I would fire you.

Of course, normally one would expect to see the conjugation "was" collocated with the pronoun "I", but not here because this is a remnant of the Old English past subjunctive. In Modern English, all other verbs in the past subjunctive look just like the past indicative:

Example: If he ruled England, he would have you hanged for such effrontery.

As you can see, "ruled" looks just like the past indicative, but it really isn't---it's actually a past subjunctive form. In Old English, there was a difference between the past indicative and past subjunctive, but, in Modern English, this is no longer the case except for the verb "to be".

Personally, if you should find this rule to be difficult to understand, then you're in luck. Many grammar books now consider this pedantic rule to be optional. Even though this may be true, it is still considered a sign of an educated speaker. Furthermore, it is used by many literati in an effort to enhance their writing. The subjunctive can give a formal and archaic tone to one's writing so that may be the reason for its being so popular in the literary world. Below are examples of some literary subjunctive forms:

Examples:

O that I were a man!
Far be it from me to tell you what to do.
Be they big or small, I will crush them all!
If this be treason, make the most of it!

There are present perfect and past perfect subjunctive forms, too. Had you asked earlier, I would have posited some examples for you to look at. Aha, again! There's the past perfect subjunctive in that last sentence. Although the past perfect subjunctive is regularly common in modern parlance, this is not so for the present perfect subjunctive. In fact, people usually gasp and cringe at the mere presence of the pure English present perfect subjunctive when it is uttered in a conversation. Here are a few examples of it:

Examples:

It is necessary that each candidate have lived in his respective state for at least five years.
In the event that he have finished all of his work, he may go home.
I won't pay her unless she have completed all of her chores.
I pray that he have seen the error of his ways.

I hope that this might not have been too difficult for you to understand. It is not all that difficult. Well, thanks for listening, my friends and I shall talk to you later. Ciao!