subjunctive
4
8.9
- noun
- /səbˈdʒʌŋktɪv/
- Specialized
:
subjuntivo
- If he were to fail to use the subjunctive where indicated, I would lodge an objection, for sure.
- the present subjunctive
- use the subjunctive
- subjunctive occurs
Examples
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Where does MWDEU state what the subjunctive is, what it means, and how it should be used?
Blog text (31) -
Whether you use the subjunctive or not is, of course, simply down to personal preference.
Blog text (31) -
Subjunctive - the mood used when something might or might not have happened.
-
Brus: except that, for many of us, especially in the UK, the subjunctive is largely dead.
Blog text (31) -
Journeys into the subjunctive can be highly illuminating.
Academic text (2005) -
One cue to use the subjunctive is the phrase as though or (preferred) as if.
Blog text (12) -
I can say, "We don't use subjunctives in English much," very authoritatively.
Fiction book (1994) -
The teacher explained that the subjunctive mood is often used to express wishes in English grammar.
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In the sentence 'I wish he were here,' the subjunctive form 'were' signifies a hypothetical situation.
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Many languages, like Spanish, use the subjunctive to convey uncertainty or a suggestion in their verb forms.
Synonyms
1
8.8
A verb form used to show wishes, suggestions, demands or unreal situations
A short form for the verb form used to show wishes or imagined situations
Antonyms
Compounds
- Specialized
1
8.8
A verb form used to show wishes, suggestions, demands or unreal situations
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word subjunctive comes from the Latin parts sub- 'under' and jungere 'to join', so it originally meant something 'joined under' another clause. That's a good memory: the subjunctive often shows wishes, suggestions, or things that depend on another idea rather than saying a sure fact.