Part One

Mood

Mood is a grammatical category of the verb expressing modality, i.e. the relation of the action denoted by the predicate to reality from the speaker’s point of view. The category of mood is made up by the set of forms opposed to each other in presenting the event described as a real fact, a problematic action or as something unreal that does not exist.

In English, as in Russian and Ukrainian, finite verbs have three moods: the Indicative Mood (which represents an action as a fact of reality or as in close relation with reality; the latter refers to conditional sentences expressing a real condition that can be easily realized), the Imperative Mood (which represents an action as a command or request) and the Subjunctive Mood (or the Oblique Moods which represents an action not as a real fact but as something imaginary or desirable, i.e. something problematic).

The Oblique Moods

The function of the oblique moods is to represent something in the speaker’s mind not as a real fact but as a wish, purpose, supposition, doubt or condition, problematic or contrary to fact. When the speaker expresses his wish by using one of the oblique moods (the Subjunctive I, the Subjunctive II, the Conditional or the Suppositional Mood), he merely communicates to the hearer what he considers desirable.

As the use of the Oblique Moods depends on the use of the infinitive, it is important to learn them:

The Form of the Infinitive	Active	Passive
Indefinite	to write to come	to be written
Continuous	to be writing to be coming
Perfect	to have written to have come	to have been written
Perfect-Continuous	to have been writing to have been coming

The Infinitive in English has six forms if the verb is used in the Continuous form and if it is transitive.

The Subjunctive I and the Suppositional Mood

The Subjunctive I and the Suppositional Mood are used to represent an action not as a real fact but as something necessary, important, ordered, suggested, etc, and not contrary to reality. The Suppositional Mood is much more widely used than Subjunctive I in British English where Subjunctive I is used only in official documents, in scientific and technical texts and in poetry. In American English Subjunctive I is used in literary language in general.

The Subjunctive I coincides in its form with the infinitive without the particle to. It has no tense distinctions – the same form may refer to the present, past and future.

Ex. Our lecturer demands that we be more attentive. (The action refers to the present).

Ex. Our lecturer demanded that we be more attentive. (The action refers to the past).

Ex. Our lecturer will demand that we be more attentive. (The action refers to the future).

The Suppositional Mood is formed by means of the auxiliary verb should and the infinitive without the particle to. The Suppositional Mood can be of two kinds: The Present Suppositional and the Past Suppositional.

The Present Suppositional is formed by means of the auxiliary verb should and the indefinite infinitive of the main verb. It refers the action to the future or present.

Ex. It is impossible that he should think so. (The action refers to the present).

The Past Suppositional is formed by means of the auxiliary verb should and the perfect infinitive of the main verb. It refers the action to the past.

Ex. It is impossible that he should have thought so. (The action refers to the past).

The Suppositional Mood and the Subjunctive I are used:

• In subordinate clauses after the expressions: it is necessary, it is important, it is ordered, it is demanded, it is recommended, etc.:

Ex. It is important that they should do it immediately. (The Suppositional Mood).

Ex. It is important that they do it immediately. (The Subjunctive I).

• In object clauses after verbs denoting order, request, suggestion etc.: to order, to suggest, to propose, to demand, to request, to advise, to recommend, etc.:

Ex. He proposed that we should go there as soon as possible. (The Suppositional Mood).

Ex. He proposed that we go there as soon as possible. (The Subjunctive I).

• In subordinate clauses introduced by lest (The Suppositional Mood is more common):

Ex. We got up very early lest we should be late for the train. (The Suppositional Mood).

• The Suppositional mood is used in conditional clauses which refer to the future if the fulfillment of the condition is unlikely:

Ex. If you should meet Mary, tell her I have been missing her much. (The Suppositional Mood) or:

Ex. Should you meet Mary, tell her I have been missing her much. (The Suppositional Mood, the inversion is used).