Download 15.8 Mood of Verbs

15.8
Mood of Verbs
Verbs express mood as well as tense and voice.
■ A verb expresses one of three moods: the indicative mood, the imperative
mood, or the subjunctive mood.
You use the indicative mood to make a statement or ask a question. You use
the imperative mood to express a command or make a request.
INDICATIVE MOOD
IMPERATIVE MOOD
He leaves the house at 7:00 A.M.
Leave the house at 7:00 A.M.
In informal English, the subjunctive mood is frequently replaced by the
indicative. The subjunctive does have two important functions in contemporary
formal English, however.
1. To express, indirectly, a demand, recommendation, suggestion, or statement of necessity.
Verb Tenses, Voice, and Mood
We demand [or recommend or suggest] that he leave the house at
7:00 A.M. [The subjunctive mood drops the -s from the third-person
singular.]
It is necessary that he be here on time. [The subjunctive mood uses be
instead of am, is, or are.]
2. To state a condition or a wish that is contrary to fact. This use of the subjunctive always requires the past tense.
If he were smart, he would leave the house by 7:00 A.M. [The subjunctive mood uses were, not was.]
They spoke to me as if I were a child.
I wish I were class president.
Exercise 25
Expressing the Imperative and Subjunctive Mood in Sentences
The verb in each sentence below is in the indicative mood. Rewrite the sentence to
express the mood shown in parentheses.
Pet Care
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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Pet cats and dogs are fed every day. (subjunctive—suggestion)
She runs to the market to buy cat food. (imperative)
The cat is hungry, and it is clawing your leg. (subjunctive—condition contrary to fact)
A pet’s diet contains all the nutrients needed for good health. (subjunctive—suggestion)
He shows responsibility in caring for a pet. (imperative)
Unit 15 Verb Tenses, Voice, and Mood
Exercise 26
Using the Indicative Mood and the Subjunctive Mood
For each of the ten sentences that follow, first determine whether the verb should express
the indicative mood or the subjunctive mood. Then write each sentence on a separate
sheet of paper, supplying the appropriate form of the verb in parentheses.
A Lesson About Space
Exercise 27
Verb Tenses, Voice, and Mood
1. Ms. Cantilana, the director of the planetarium at the science museum, (lecture) to classes
from local schools about space facts and fiction.
2. During Ms. Cantilana’s visit to our class, my friend Leon wanted to know what would
happen if he (be) to fly near a black hole.
3. Ms. Cantilana said that it was important that he (stay) far away from black holes.
4. She explained that black holes are collapsed stars so condensed that nothing, not even
light, (escape) from their gravitational fields.
5. Alicia, who wishes she (be) an astronaut, asked where Earth is located in space.
6. Ms. Cantilana explained that Earth (be) situated in one arm of the Milky Way galaxy.
7. Dennis asked whether galaxies really (be) thickest along the walls of the gigantic “bubbles” that stretch out for millions of light years.
8. He requested that Ms. Cantilana (confirm) what he saw on a map of galaxies.
9. Ms. Cantilana said Dennis was correct and suggested that he (bring) the map to class.
10. Since the class seemed interested in the subject of space, Ms. Cantilana recommended
that we (join) her at the planetarium.
Understanding the Use of Voice and Mood
Explain the difference in meaning between the sentences in each of the pairs below.
Then identify the voice and mood used in the main clause in each sentence.
SAMPLE
ANSWER
a. When we visited Japan, our group observed a craftsperson making a samurai
sword.
b. A craftsperson making a samurai sword was observed by our group when
we visited Japan.
In sentence a, attention is called to the group.
Active voice, indicative mood
In sentence b, attention is called to the craftsperson.
Passive voice, indicative mood
Samurai Swords
1. a.
b.
2. a.
b.
3. a.
b.
4. a.
b.
5. a.
b.
A samurai sword is made from two different kinds of steel.
Japanese craftspeople make samurai swords from two different kinds of steel.
You do not carelessly run a finger along the edge of the blade.
Do not carelessly run a finger along the edge of the blade!
It is well-known that these swords are both hard and flexible.
It is important that these swords be both hard and flexible.
That is why they are made by sandwiching together two different kinds of steel.
That is why they make them by sandwiching together two different kinds of steel.
It is necessary that the blade be hammered from two red-hot layers of metal.
Hammer the blade, as required, from two layers of red-hot metal.
15.8 Mood of Verbs
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