Understanding the Subjunctive and Conditional in English Writing

The confusion between the subjunctive and the conditional form of the verb in "if" clauses is long-lived and not likely to be relieved any time soon. And to add insult to injury, there is the endless disagreement over just when it is required and when it is not.

In order to examine the use of the subjunctive mood, we must first understand just exactly what it is. Consider the sentence "''People treat reason as if it were the most minor and harmful aspect of a whole human being." The "were" is in the subjunctive mood, which is often used after "if" in a clause. BUT, not always.

This is where things get tricky. If the "condition" that the verb is referencing is desired or wished for or hoped for or contrary to fact, use the subjunctive. Even if that wish has the possibility of coming true, if it hasn't yet, use the subjunctive. Completely confused? You are not alone.

Understanding the Subjunctive and Conditional in English Writing

Let's start with a few easy examples.

If Lucy were queen (but she's not), she would have you arrested.

Max wishes he were somewhere warm. (but he's not)

But what if there is no wishing or hoping involved and the possibility exists that the condition will be met? Use the conditional for situations that don't exist but might very well exist.

In each of the following examples, the writer confuses the conditional mood with the subjunctive mood. Writers should reserve the subjunctive form of the verb "to be" for describing things that not only don't exist but probably will not exist.

"The S.E.C., if it were given supervision of these securities, might hope to use the new authority to improve its reputation as a vigilant market watchdog." DealBook, New York Times October 21, 2008

The S.E.C. might be given supervision of the securities. The proper form of the verb is was given.

"It was as if he were so determined not to pander, he left any good ideas he might have had in his briefcase." Opinion, LA Times March 28, 2008

He might challenge Obama on those policy issues. So the sentence should have read Imagine if he was challenging Obama on those policy differences.

The possibility exists that he be determined not to pander. So the proper form is it was as if he was.

"Imagine if he were challenging Obama on those policy differences." Fred Hiatt, Washington Post, October 13, 2008

Here is the conditional used correctly:

"And if I were him, I would ask Al Gore to serve as his vice president, his energy czar, in his administration to reduce our consumption and reliance on foreign energy sources." Top of the Ticket James Carville, Los Angeles Times, June 11, 2008

Of course, Carville should have used the nominative form the the pronoun "he" rather than "him," but let's at least give him credit for assuring us with the use of the subjunctive that he is not now and never will be Al Gore.

"The most maddening part for Texas might be that if it were in one of the other five conferences with split divisions -- the Atlantic Coast, Conference USA, the Mid-American and the Southeastern Conference - it would have advanced ahead of the Sooners." New York Times

Texas is not in one of the other five conferences. The condition is contrary to fact; therefore, we use the subjunctive.

As should be clear by now, proper use of the subjunctive and conditional tenses is no easy feat. The key, as with all things in writing, is to know exactly what the words being used are doing in the sentence.

Understanding the Subjunctive and Conditional in English Writing
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Kellee Weinhold is a former newspaper and magazine editor, publisher and journalism professor. Visit her Web site, The Tongue Untied, http://www.grammaruntied.com for more information on writing, including grammar, punctuation and style.

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Writing And Speaking Good English - How to Use Participles Correctly

Let us see how a misplaced participle spoils the spirit of the meaning of a sentence and how thereby it renders bad English.

1) Sitting on the gate, a serpent stung her. Here the participle 'sitting' appears to qualify a serpent whereas it should rightly qualify 'her' and the sentence should be written as ' while she was sitting on the gate, a serpent stung her'.

2) Driven to fury, the tyrant was charged by the mob. Here the correct relation is between 'driven to fury' and 'mob' and therefore 'driven to fury' should be near to 'mob'. The correct sentence therefore would be, ' driven to fury, the mob charged the tyrant'.

Writing And Speaking Good English - How to Use Participles Correctly

3) Entering the temple, an explosive sound was heard. The correct way here would be, when I entered the temple, an explosive sound was heard.

Proper use of 'shall' and 'will' also help in speaking and writing good English. These words mean either determination or simple future tense depending upon the person.

For instance, in the first person 'shall' denotes simple future and 'will' denotes determination. So it is correct to say ' I will go to Texas'. Another example; I will pay you fifty dollars, denotes promise.

In second and third person, however; 'shall denotes determination and will denotes simple future tense. For example, 'you shall obey my orders' means you must obey my orders. It is a command. So while using 'shall' or 'will' care must be taken about the person to which it refers, as otherwise the English become shabby. In Government resolutions, there is always a command. For instance, 'As from 1st April 2011, the following rule shall come into force for road safety.' This means, every pedestrian must obey that rule. It is a command. If, in such cases, 'will' is used instead of 'shall' then it will not have the force of a command and the persons on whom the order is served may not obey it and no legal action for disobedience can be taken against him.

Second example. You shall have a prize next month. Here 'shall' denotes promise, in short, proper care should be taken in the use of ' shall' and 'will' if good English is to be achieved.

Writing And Speaking Good English - How to Use Participles Correctly
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All the speakers and writers, thoroughly acquire mastery over the use of such words by constantly reading standard books on English literature and by using such words in their speeches or writings from time to time. Speaking Good English, is not as difficult as we feel. If you want to Learn how to speak and write perfect English then Click Here.

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