The subjunctive mood is the verb form used to express a wish, a suggestion, a command, or a condition that is contrary to fact. These activity sheets will provide short sentences and prompts in order to help your students learn how to use subjunctive verbs and phrases correctly in both present and past tense. Answer sheets have been provided for worksheets for instructors, but please note that in some cases, your students' answers will vary.
When you are trying to draw emotion into your work, this is the type of word that you want to start pushing for. The can help or hurt your story once they are in play. When grammar lessons begin to turn more complex, you want to work with a teaching tool that keeps your students motivated to learn. Past and present subjunctive moods can be a difficult grammar concept to grasp. That is, unless you download 15 interactive worksheets that implement different approaches to teaching the complicated grammar subject. Some of your students might prefer more traditional teaching methods, while other kids decide to expand their learning horizons. One lesson asks students to write down the different subjunctive moods for "to be" and "as if."
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Printable Subjunctives Worksheets
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The present subjunctive is formed with the
base form of a verb. It only occurs in noun clauses beginning with
the word "that." They follow nouns, verbs, or adjectives that express
suggestions, commands, or requests. To make a subjunctive clause
negative, add not before the subjunctive verb.
The past subjunctive is formed with the
past form of a verb that describes a state, condition, or
habit. It is used to talk about hypothetical or imaginary
situation.
Rewrite the sentences using the second conditional (using if and the past subjunctive.)
What Are Subjunctives?
Did you know that languages also have moods? Etymologically speaking, it's not the kind of mood that relays emotions; rather, it's a grammatical mood concerning verbs and what they express. It might be hard to grasp the concept when we put it like that, but we're talking about subjunctives.
Learning about them can help young students to develop a firm grasp of a particular language, which in this case is English. So, let's start by understanding the concept behind subjunctives.
How Does Mood Play Into This?
Subjunctives are rare and specific verb forms used to express wishes, demands, desires, or suggestions in a sentence – the subjunctive mood. These sentences typically have two clauses, and the subjunctive verb helps us understand what the sentence is doing, whether it's giving suggestions, commands, or simply making a statement.
To understand what subjunctives are, think of them as base forms of verbs that are not inflected for different persons or things, such as: be, were, visit, work, and do. Let's look at the following sentence:
It is important that they are present at the meeting
Here, the verb be is replaced by the third person plural indicative are. We can write the same sentence using subjunctives:
It is important they be present at the meeting
Here, the verb be is not inflected to an indicative form and functions as the subjunctive.
The most common examples of subjunctives include the verbs be and were, which are used to explore hypothetical situations (if that were to happen) or make demands, wishes, and suggestions (I demanded that she be present).
Examples
It is important to understand that the subjunctive mood is not only established by using different verbs. Several adjectives also attract the subjunctive mood, enabling the use of subjunctive verb forms like be and were.
Let's look at a few examples.
Verbs Affecting Mood
The subjunctive mood can be attracted using the following verbs: to insist, to demand, to suggest, and to wish. Here are some examples of subjunctives being used with these indicative verbs:
- Oh, how I wish I were a famous athlete.
- They insisted that he be aware of the charges pressed against him.
- Gandalf suggested that they take the mountain pass.
- The protesters demanded that the councilperson be present at the conference.
Here, the subjunctive forms be, were, and take have been used instead of the following normal forms: was, is/are, should take.
Adjectives and Nouns Affecting the Mood
Using the following adjectives can also change the mood from indicative to subjunctive: essential, necessary, imperative.
- It is imperative that the students learn the first chapter of human anatomy.
- She said it was necessary that Rob be present at the annual meeting.
- I'm telling you guys, it's essential to take your time learning this concept.
Are There Other Moods?
Now that you have some grasp over the subjunctive mood, let's briefly discuss some other examples. The English language has three moods. We've learned about the first one, so let's explore the other two:
Indicative Mood
While the subjunctive mood shows a wish or doubt, the indicative mood is used to state facts or answer questions, such as:
- He's playing baseball.
- She has gone out with her friends to the party.
- Has she gone out with her friends?
- Is he playing baseball?
Note how the sentence does not make a suggestion, demand, or wish like in the subjunctive mood.
Imperative Mood
The imperative mood can be used interchangeably with the subjunctive mood to express a command or a request. Here are some examples:
Imperative Mood
Subjunctive Mood
Please join the company!
They requested that they join the company.
Tara, do not go to the park after nightfall!
Tara was instructed not to visit the park after nightfall.
Conclusion
We use the subjunctive mood quite frequently in our daily conversations, but it can be difficult to grasp our heads around the concept. We hope our article better helps you understand what subjunctives are and how they can be used to increase our understanding of the English language. Subjunctives are essential learning tools that help children develop a better grasp of the language!