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Goldfish Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

subjunctives

Dear teachers, I want to know:
1-What subjunctives are and after which verbs or nouns can be used.
2-Are they common or not?
I would appreciate your thorough answer.
  

Top answer

The subjunctive mood is indicated by verb forms that appear in the grammar of many different languages. It has nothing to do with nouns. org/wiki/Subjunctive_mood Old English was a highly inflected language.

— AlpheccaStars

  • The subjunctive mood is indicated by verb forms that appear in the grammar of many different languages.
  • It has nothing to do with nouns.
  • org/wiki/Subjunctive_mood Old English was a highly inflected language.
  • ) The subjunctive verb forms are still used in modern English, but the subjunctive is disappearing.
  • This article has comprehensive details about the present and past subjunctive, both modern and archaic usage.
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5 Answers
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The subjunctive mood is indicated by verb forms that appear in the grammar of many different languages.
It has nothing to do with nouns.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subjunctive_mood

Old English was a highly inflected language. Many of those inflections have been completely lost and there ar
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thanks a lot,it was really informative,I have another question,is it OK if I do NOT use them at all?they are pretty confusing.
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goldfishis it OK if I do NOT use them at all?
Learn to use the subjunctive as it is used in conditional sentences first.

Then you can learn the other patterns, such as the mandative subjunctive in that-clauses after certain verbs (ask, recommend, insist, demand, request..)

He requested that we be silent during the presentation.
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thanks a lot, Is it necessary to use them in formal contexts or everywhere?(about those verbs).I mean are they common in spoken language too or seem weired?
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Native speakers use the subjunctive forms without thinking. It's just part of the language. In informal situations, they might use the indicative where the subjunctive would be called for in formal contexts.

If I was rich, I would travel around the world. (informal)
If I were you, I would get a college education. (informal, formal).
The indicative in this sentence (If I was
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