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Anonymous Posted 10 years ago
Vocabulary

Work

"Some governments, such as the one in Syria, insist that UN agencies work with a list of authorised implementing partners." (The Guardian.)

Is the verb "work" in the subjunctive mood in the above?
  

Top answer

The subjunctive mood is used when, amongst other things, there is a command or demand. ' is in the subjunctive mood, although this is effectively negated by the fact that 'UN agencies' takes 'work' naturally and so there is nothing visibly different in the sentence, subjunctive mood or not. But yes, it is in the subjunctive mood.

— David Hatton

  • The subjunctive mood is used when, amongst other things, there is a command or demand.
  • ' is in the subjunctive mood, although this is effectively negated by the fact that 'UN agencies' takes 'work' naturally and so there is nothing visibly different in the sentence, subjunctive mood or not.
  • But yes, it is in the subjunctive mood.
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13 Answers
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The subjunctive mood is used when, amongst other things, there is a command or demand. Therefore 'insist that...' is in the subjunctive mood, although this is effectively negated by the fact that 'UN agencies' takes 'work' naturally and so there is nothing visibly different in the sentence, subjunctive mood or not.
But yes, it is in the subjunctive mood.
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David HattonTherefore 'insist that...' is in the subjunctive mood,
That verb is in the indicative mood.
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I'm a bit confused on this then - I've always assumed 'insist that' uses the subjunctive mood therefore the verb which follows it is in the subjunctive? Are you saying that, because the negation of the 'alternative' verb is there through the plural preceding it, the verb has become indicative?
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In that sentence, 'insist' is the verb of the main clause. There is no reason for it to be subjunctive. For those who use the subjunctive it is the verb for the action/state insisted on that is subjunctive.

Mary insists (indicative) that John marry (subjunctive) her.
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So, for this poster, could (s)he change it to
'... insist that he work...' or 'insist that he works...'
should it have been a different agent?
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1. Mary insists that John works six days a week.
2. Mary insists that John work six days a week.

For those who use the present subjunctive, 1 means that (perhaps in response to claims that John does not work six days a week) Mary is very forceful in stating that he does work six days a week. 2 means that Mary is very forceful in stating that she requires
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I agree with what your example shows, but doesn't the context of the original post suggest that the Syrians are forceful in stating that they require the UN to work with the accredited partners? This means it matches up with your second example.
I'm more than happy to be shot down over it though!
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Yes, but that makes 'work' subjunctive, not 'insist'.
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I'm with you.
'Insist' is indicative as it's a word which can herald the use of the subjunctive, while 'work' is actually in the subjunctive.
I think I'm there, thank you!
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fivejedjonYes, but that makes 'work' subjunctive, not 'insist'.
Thank you for the reply.
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