The subjunctive II mood

The Subjunctive II Mood presents an action or state as unreal, contradicting reality. It has two tenses: Present and Past. The Present formally coincides with the Past non-Perfect of the Indicative Mood (the peculiarity is that the form WERE is used for both singular and plural): were, came, went, etc. In other terminology it is sometimes called the Non – Factual (Unreal) Past Simple. The Past Subjunctive II Mood formally coincides with the Past Perfect Indicative: had been, had come, had gone, etc. It is otherwise termed the Non – Factual (Unreal) Past Perfect. The present of the Subjunctive II is used when the time of the action (state), which is imaginary, is simultaneous with the moment of speech, e.g. “If only he were here now! “ or follows it, e.g. “I wish he came tomorrow”. The Past of the Subjunctive II expresses an imaginary action (state) which precedes the moment of speech, e.g. “If only he had been here then!” She looked as if she had been ill for long.

The Subjunctive II is used both in independent sentences (clauses) and sub-clauses. In the first case it denotes:

a) wish (in sentences beginning with “oh, if” and “if only”, e.g. If I were well now! If only I’d listened to my parents.

b) advice (in the set expressions “had better (best)”, e.g. “You had better go home and get your supper, Gertrude”. She’d better not go home alone so late.

c) choice, preference (in the set expressions “would rather (sooner)”, “had rather”, e.g. Which would you rather do, go to the cinema or stay at home? I’d raher not answer this personal question.

The Subjunctive II in subclauses can be presented by the scheme:

Types of clauses	Examples
1. Subject clauses after the expressions “it’s time”, “it’s high time”, “it’s about time”.	It’s high time we went. It’s time she didn’t confuse our names.
2. Object clauses after expressions of wish.6	I wish I were a bird. I wish he hadn’t quarreled with his parents. “I wish this voyage would never end,” Dana murmured.
3. Object clauses after the expression “would rather”.	I’d rather you did the washing up. I’d rather she hadn’t accepted that offer.
4. Clauses introduced by the conjunctions “as if”, “as though”: a) predicative – after the link-verbs to be, to seem, to look, to feel, to sound, to taste, to smell, etc. b) comparative c) attributive appositive	It isn’t as if you were fifteen. She felt as though she were being followed. It smelt as if something had been burnt in the kitchen. “You look at me as if I were talking about nonsense”. He spoke English fluently as though it had been his mother tongue since childhood. He had a feeling as if his wife were in danger. She had a look as though she had been starving for a long time.
5. Clauses of unreal condition.7	If John were here, he would know. (pattern I) Had you listened to me, you would not be in such a trouble now. (pattern II)8, 9
6. Clauses of unreal concession introduced by the conjunctions “even if”, “even though”.	Even if he were here, he wouldn’t help us. Even though he had proposed, she wouldn’t have become his wife. She disliked him at that time.

THE CONDITIONAL MOOD

The Conditional Mood presents an action as a consequence of an unreal condition expressed or implied.

The Conditional Mood has two tenses – Present and Past. The Present Conditional formally coincides with the Future non-Perfect in the Past: I should go, he (she, it) would go. We should go, they would go and is consequently called the Non – Factual (unreal) Future Simple in the Past. The Past Conditional formally coincides with the Future Perfect in the Past: I should have gone, he (she, it) would have gone. We should have gone, they would have gone and is otherwise termed the Non – Factual (unreal) Future Perfect in the Past. The rules of the use of tenses here are the same as those of the use of tenses of the Subjunctive II.

TO BE REMINDED: The tendency is very strong to use “would” in the first person too, e.g.: I would go. But the use of “should” instead of “would” is a bad mistake.

The Conditional Mood is used both in independent clauses and complex sentences. In the first case it is used in simple sentences:

a) with an implied condition, e.g.: “Miss Dombey Florence! I would die to help you”. I would never have thought so.

b) containing “but for”, e.g.: But for my splitting headache I would gladly join you. He would have been there still but for his marriage. Usually “but for” opens the sentence.

c) containing “otherwise/or”, e. g.: He had some spelling mistakes in his test, otherwise he would have got a top mark. The cake has burnt, or it would be delicious.

d) with the subject expressed by an infinitival phrase, e. g.: To be late for the class would be outrageous. To have refused then would have meant to offend the hostess.

In complex sentences the Conditional Mood is used in the main clauses with a sub-clause of unreal condition and unreal concession, e. g.: If he hadn’t left her alone in the street, she wouldn’t have got into a trouble. Even though you were the only girl on the Earth, I wouldn’t marry you.