common mood
- noun
- Specialized
- Most English sentences are in the common mood, such as 'He goes to school.'
Examples
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Unlike the subjunctive, the common mood does not express wishes or hypotheticals.
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The sentence is in the common mood.
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In many languages, the common mood is used for simple statements of fact.
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In English, we often use the common mood for statements.
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The author used the common mood to describe the events in a straightforward manner.
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In her speech, she adopted a common mood to emphasize the facts without any bias.
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The story was written in a common mood, indicating that the characters were facing everyday challenges.
Synonyms
The verb mood used to state facts and ask questions
A form of a verb that shows a statement is a fact
A sentence that states a fact or gives information, like 'The sky is blue'
A sentence that states a fact or gives information
A verb form that shows facts or asks questions
Antonyms
- Specialized
A verb form used to show wishes, suggestions, demands or unreal situations
Surface Forms
Morphology
The constituent words 'common' and 'mood' give a partial clue — a B1 learner could infer this refers to an ordinary or basic verbal mood, so there is some compositional signal. However the specific technical sense ('unmarked' and 'used to state objective fact') is specialist and not directly derivable from the everyday meaning of 'common', so understanding the exact definition would likely require prior linguistic knowledge.
Etymology
Common mood: The name comes from calling the ordinary way a verb shows action common and that way a verb appears a mood. So the common mood is the normal verb form we use 'to state facts', which is why it means saying something as an objective fact.