Subjunctive Mood

Question

In the sentence below, I think the choice should be "were" because she is not in a "perpetual state of surprise," thus putting the verb into the subjunctive mood. My computer's grammar corrector, however, disagrees.

Her eyes were wide open all the time as though she were/was in a perpetual state of surprise, and they had a sad, frightened quality even when she smiled.

BarbaraPA · Accepted Answer

Yes, "were" is the better choice.

Ducks1160 · Answer

Thanks again.  Do you get paid to do this?

BarbaraPA · Answer

Only through the love and admiration of our many adoring fans! <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/5.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/5.gif' alt='Emotion: wink'/>

Anonymous · Answer

You are definitely smarter than your computer or its programmers.  It is "were".  It's the last remaining inflection that can be noticed in the English past subjunctive (not to say other verbs don't have a past subjunctive, but the past subjunctive is the same conjugation; thus, "did" is a past indicative and past subjunctive of the verb, "to do."

CalifJim · Answer

Ducks1160Her eyes were wide open all the time as though she were/was in a perpetual state of surprise, and they had a sad, frightened quality even when she smiled.

First, don't trust a computer's judgment on grammar. Second, I don't see anything wrong with either choice. Third, the reason for using the subjunctive is not the falsity of the proposition expressed, as you seem to have inferred. You say the choice should be "were" because she is not (in reality) in a perpetual state of surprise; she only seems to be in that state (as indicated by as though). If your reasoning were correct, we would have to use the subjunctive a great deal more than we actually do. For example, by that reasoning we would have to write these (which are all wrong), because in each case she is not (in reality) in a perpetual state of surprise:

*It seemed that she were in a perpetual state of surprise.
*She had the appearance of a person who were in a perpetual state of surprise.
*Jake mistakenly thought that Jan were in a perpetual state of surprise.

-- not to mention the simple negation:

*She were not in a perpetual state of surprise.

CJ

Dimsumexpress · Answer

Hey Duck,
I know GG already replied your thread. I just want to make a comment. I have always been intriqued, sometimes buffled, and always feeling half full, or empty for that matterabout subjunctives

. However, I feel that in your sentence, "were" and "as though" seemed to have influenced your opinion leaning toward the subjunctive mood, which is arguable either way. "in my opinion "was" is also a reasonable choice. How does it sound to you if the sentence was: Her eyes were wide open all the time as if she was in a perpetual state of surprise, and they had a sad, frightened quality even when she smiled. Without question in my mind, this is a sentence of indicative nature based on the excerpts of this website , which I am sharing with the forum.

http://www.writingcentre.uottawa.ca/hypergrammar/moods.html

The subjunctive mood has almost disappeared from the language and is thus more difficult to use correctly than either the indicative mood or the imperative mood. The subjunctive mood rarely appears in everyday conversation or writing and is used in a set of specific circumstances.

The subjunctive is found in a handful of traditional circumstances. For example, in the sentence "*** save the Queen," the verb "save" is in the subjunctive mood. Similarly, in the sentence "Heaven forbid," the verb forbid is in the subjunctive mood.

The subjunctive is usually found in complex sentences. The subjunctive mood is used in dependent clauses to express unreal conditions and in dependent clauses following verbs of wishing or requesting.

The subjunctive mood is used in a dependent clause attached to an independent clause that uses a verb such as "ask," "command," "demand," "insist," "order," "recommend," "require," "suggest," or "wish."

The subjunctive mood is also used in a dependent clause attached to an independent clause that uses an adjective that expresses urgency (such as "crucial," "essential," "important," "imperative," "necessary," or "urgent").

Each of the highlighted verbs in the following sentences is in the subjunctive mood.

The indicative mood is the most common and is used to express facts and opinions or to make inquiries. Most of the statements you make or you read will be in the indicative mood.

Dimsumexpress · Answer

Sorry Jim,
Your post got posted before mine.

CalifJim · Answer

Ducks1160Her eyes were wide open all the time as though she were/was in a perpetual state of surprise, and they had a sad, frightened quality even when she smiled.

Note also:

"As if" and "as though" were originally always used to introduce
    counterfactuals, but are now often used in "looks as if",
    "sounds as though", etc., to introduce things that the speaker
    actually believes ("It looks as if" = "It appears that").  In
    such cases the present indicative is often used.

http://alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxsubjun.html

CJ

Subjunctive Mood

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