Subjunctive

FORM

Use the simple form of the verb. The simple form is the infinitive without the "to." The
simple form of the verb "to go" is "go." The Subjunctive is only noticeable in certain
forms and tenses.

USE

The Subjunctive is used to emphasize urgency or importance. It is used after certain

expressions (see below).

Examples:

• I suggest that he study.

• Is it essential that we be there?
• Don recommended that you join the committee.

NOTICE

The Subjunctive is only noticeable in certain forms and tenses. In the examples below,
the Subjunctive is not noticeable in the you-form of the verb, but it is noticeable in the
he-form of the verb.

Examples:

• You try to study often. you-form of "try"

• It is important that you try to study often. Subjunctive form of "try" looks the
same.

• He tries to study often. he-form of "try"

• It is important that he try to study often. Subjunctive form of "try" is noticeable
here.

Verbs Followed by the Subjunctive

The Subjunctive is used after the following verbs:

to advise (that)
to ask (that)
to command (that)
to demand (that)
to desire (that)
to insist (that)
to propose (that)
to recommend (that)
to request (that)
to suggest (that)
to urge (that)

Examples:

• Dr. Smith asked that Mark submit his research paper before the end of the
month.
• Donna requested Frank come to the party.
• The teacher insists that her students be on time.

Expressions Followed by the Subjunctive

The Subjunctive is used after the following expressions:

It is best (that)
It is crucial (that)
It is desirable (that)
It is essential (that)
It is imperative (that)
It is important (that)
It is recommended (that)
It is urgent (that)
It is vital (that)
It is a good idea (that)
It is a bad idea (that)

Examples:

• It is crucial that you be there before Tom arrives.

• It is important she attend the meeting.
• It is recommended that he take a gallon of water with him if he wants to hike
to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

Negative, Continuous and Passive Forms of

Subjunctive
The Subjunctive can be used in negative, continuous and passive forms.

Negative Examples:

• The boss insisted that Sam not be at the meeting.

• The company asked that employees not accept personal phone calls during
business hours.
• I suggest that you not take the job without renegotiating the salary.

Passive Examples:

• Jake recommended that Susan be hired immediately.

• Christine demanded that I be allowed to take part in the negotiations.
 • We suggested that you be admitted to the organization.

Continuous Examples:

• It is important that you be standing there when he gets off the plane.
• It is crucial that a car be waiting for the boss when the meeting is over.
• I propose that we all be waiting in Tim's apartment when he gets home.

Should as Subjunctive
After many of the above expressions, the word "should" is sometimes used to express
the idea of subjunctiveness. This form is used more frequently in British English and is
most common after the verbs "suggest," "recommend" and "insist."

Examples:

• The doctor recommended that she should see a specialist about the problem.
• Professor William suggested that Wilma should study harder for the final exam.

Gap-fill Exercise

• Fill in the blanks below with the correct form of the verb in parentheses, then
click the "Check" button to check your answers. Negative, passive and
continuous subjunctive forms are possible. Use the "Hint" button to get a free
letter if an answer is giving you trouble.
• 1. It's important that she (remember) to take her medicine twice a day.

2. I suggest that Frank (read) the directions carefully before

assembling the bicycle. He doesn't want the wheels to fall off while he
is riding down a hill

3. Mrs. Finkelstein demanded that the heater (repair) immediately.

Her apartment was freezing.

4. It's vital that the United States (focus) on improving its public
education system. What we do now will affect our country for
generations to come.

5. The monk insisted that the tourists (enter) the temple until they had
removed their shoes.

6. I am not going to sit here and let her insult me. I demand that she immediately
(apologize) for what she just said.
7. Judy asked that we (attend) her graduation ceremony next week.

8. Was it really necessary that (sit) I there watching you the entire
time you were rehearsing for the play? It was really
boring watching you repeat the scenes over and over again.

9. It is important to remember that Janine (think) very differently from

you. She may not agree to the changes you have made in
the organization of the company.

10. It's a little difficult to find the restaurant. I propose that we all (drive)
together so that nobody gets lost along the way.

11. The woman insisted that the lost child (take) to store's information
desk so his parents could be paged.

12. The nutritionist recommended that Sally (reduce) her daily fat
intake.

13. The environmental leader felt it was extremely important that the people of
the city (allow) to voice their concerns over the
new hotel being built on the bay.

14. She told me that the government (regulate) the airline industry. I
don't know if that is true.

15. The sign at the pool recommended that you (swim) after eating a
large meal.

16. It is necessary that a life guard (monitor) the summing pool while
the children are taking their swimming lessons.

17. The sun is scorching today. I suggest you (put) on sun block
immediately before you get a sun burn.

18. John insists that Sarah (invite) to the wedding; otherwise he will
not attend.

19. I think it's an interesting fact that she (come) from Estonia.

20. It is imperative that the world (work) towards a solution to global

warming before the weather patterns of the world are disrupted irreparably.
 CONDITIONAL SENTENCES

• Conditional Sentences are also known as Conditional Clauses or If Clauses.

They are used to express that the action in the main clause (without if) can only
take place if a certain condition (in the clause with if) is fulfilled. There are three
types of Conditional Sentences.

Conditional Sentence Type 1

• → It is possible and also very likely that the condition will be fulfilled.

Form

• if + Simple Present, will-Future

• Example: If I find her address, I will send her an invitation.
• The main clause can also be at the beginning of the sentence. In this case, don't
use a comma.
• Example: I will send her an invitation if I find her address.
• Note: Main clause and / or if clause might be negative.
• Example: If I don’t see him this afternoon, I will phone him in the evening.

Use
• Conditional Sentences Type I refer to the future. An action in the future will
only happen if a certain condition is fulfilled by that time. We don't know for
sure whether the condition actually will be fulfilled or not, but the conditions
seems rather realistic – so we think it is likely to happen.
• Example: If I find her address, I’ll send her an invitation.
 • I want to send an invitation to a friend. I just have to find her address. I am quite
sure, however, that I will find it.
• Example: If John has the money, he will buy a Ferrari.
• I know John very well and I know that he earns a lot of money and that he loves
Ferraris. So I think it is very likely that sooner or later he will have the money to
buy a Ferrari.

Conditional Sentence Type 2

• → It is possible but very unlikely, that the condition will be fulfilled.

Form
if + Simple Past, main clause with Conditional I (= would + Infinitive)

Example: If I found her address, I would send her an invitation.

The main clause can also be at the beginning of the sentence. In this case, don't use a
comma.

Example: I would send her an invitation if I found her address.

Note: Main clause and / or if clause might be negative.

Example: If I had a lot of money, I wouldn’t stay here.

Were instead of Was

In IF Clauses Type II, we usually use ‚were‘ – even if the pronoun is I, he, she or it –.

Example: If I were you, I would not do this.

Use
Conditional Sentences Type II refer to situations in the present. An action could happen
if the present situation were different. I don't really expect the situation to change,
however. I just imagine „what would happen if …“

Example: If I found her address, I would send her an invitation.

I would like to send an invitation to a friend. I have looked everywhere for her address,
but I cannot find it. So now I think it is rather unlikely that I will eventually find her
address.

Example: If John had the money, he would buy a Ferrari.

I know John very well and I know that he doesn't have much money, but he loves
Ferraris. He would like to own a Ferrari (in his dreams). But I think it is very unlikely
that he will have the money to buy one in the near future.

Conditional Sentence Type 3

• → It is impossible that the condition will be fulfilled because it refers to the
past.

Form
• if + Past Perfect, main clause with Conditional II
• Example: If I had found her address, I would have sent her an invitation.
• The main clause can also be at the beginning of the sentence. In this case, don't
use a comma.
• Example: I would have sent her an invitation if I had found her address.
• Note: Main clause and / or if clause might be negative.
• Example: If I hadn’t studied, I wouldn’t have passed my exams.

Use
• Conditional Sentences Type III refer to situations in the past. An action could
have happened in the past if a certain condition had been fulfilled. Things were
different then, however. We just imagine, what would have happened if the
situation had been fulfilled.
• Example: If I had found her address, I would have sent her an invitation.
• Sometime in the past, I wanted to send an invitation to a friend. I didn't find her
address, however. So in the end I didn't send her an invitation.
• Example: If John had had the money, he would have bought a Ferrari.
• I knew John very well and I know that he never had much money, but he loved
Ferraris. He would have loved to own a Ferrari, but he never had the money to buy
one.
 Exceptions
• Sometimes Conditional Sentences Type I, II and III can also be used with other
tenses.
• So far you have only learned the basic rules for Conditional Sentences. It
depends on the context, however, which tense to use. So sometimes it's possible
for example that in an IF Clause Type I another tense than Simple Present is
used, e.g. Present Progressive or Present Perfect.

Conditional Sentences Type I (likely)

Condition IF Clause Main Clause
refers to:
future action Simple If the book is Future I …I will buy it.
Present interesting, … Imperative …buy it.
Modal …you can buy it.
Auxiliary
action going Present If he is snoring, … Future I …I will wake
on now Progressive him up.
Imperative …wake him up.
Modal …you can wake
Auxiliary him up.
finished Present If he has moved Future I …we will visit
action Perfect into his new him.
flat, … Imperative …visit him.
Modal …we can visit
Auxiliary him.
improbable should + If she should win Future I …I will
action Infinitive this race, … congratulate her.
Imperative …congratulate
her.
Modal …we can
Auxiliary congratulate her.
present facts Simple If he gets what he Simple …he is very nice.
Present wants, … Present

Conditional Sentences Type II (unlikely)

Condition refers IF Clause Main Clause
to:
present / future Simple If I had a lot of Conditional …I would travel
event Past money, … I around the world.
consequence in Simple If I knew him, … Conditional …I would have
the past Past II said hello.

Conditional Sentences Type II (impossible)

Condition IF Clause Main Clause
refers to:
present Past If I had known Conditional …I would not be
Perfect it, … I here now.
past Past If he had learned Conditional …he would not
Perfect for the test, … II have failed it.