Speak or Speaks

Question

Hi!I was answering a quiz when I came across the following sentence :Her uncle wishes that she SPEAK with him  personally.Shouldn't it be SPEAKS?Thanks KRK

Regards · Accepted Answer

Hi,

Her uncle wishes she would speak with him personally.

Regards

BarbaraPA · Answer

It's the subjunctive, which uses the bare infinitive of the verb.

I wish that she...

I require that he...

I demand that you...

The subjunctive is less and less common these days.

Dimsumexpress · Answer

Kartik Raj KannaHi!
I was answering a quiz when I came across the following sentence :

Her uncle wishes that she SPEAK with him personally.

Shouldn't it be SPEAKS?

Thanks
KRK

Hi Kartik Raj Kanna,

This is a subjunctive context, There is a group of verbs in English which are governed by the subjunctive rules. Please do a search query "subjunctive, conditional". For your question, the answer is "speak" which is the base form of the verb.

This is one of the rules in subjunctive which dictates that when a sentence is constructed with the following the verbs (highighted on green), the verb after the "that-clause" reminds in its base form, at least from the AmE perspective.

Excerpt: http://www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/subjunctive.html

That-clause

It is often used with a that-clause, especially in American English, to formally express the idea that something is important or essential.

I demand that he leave at once.

Verbs used with the Subjunctive

Other verbs that are commonly used with the subjunctive are: advise, ask, beg, decide, decree, desire, dictate, insist, intend, move, order, petition, propose, recommend, request, require, resolve, suggest, urge, and vote.

Tom suggested that his friends stay over for the night.

Sam proposed that Tom telephone his accountant.

She recommended that he go and see a doctor.

The manager requested that everyone put their requests in writing.

He insisted that she stay until the end of the week.

The Queen commands that he attend the ceremony.

He urged that a business manager be hired to help things run more smoothly.

I simply requested, politely, that she refrain from smoking in my house.

Sam recommended that you join the committee.

The professor asked that Tim submit his research paper before the end of the week.

The verb ‘be’

‘Be’ has special subjunctive forms: I be, you be, she be, they be, etc.

It is vital that you be truthful about what happened.

He suggested that she be more vocal in the next meeting.

She urged that the matter be resolved in a family court.

Hadrian decreed that a new temple be built in the honour of Jupiter.

Speak or Speaks

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