[Music]
Hello and welcome, everyone to this lesson, this presentation, which is about the Subjunctive. Let
me share my screen and get started. So, the Subjunctive. A very common question I get is:
Do we use the Subjunctive in spoken English? Well, first of all, there are two types of Subjunctive:
Present Subjunctive and Past Subjunctive . When it comes to Present Subjunctive, we very rarely
use it in spoken English, especially in British English. When it comes to the Past Subjunctive,
we do use it but only in a few cases. So, before we look at the different cases where we do use
it or don't use it, let's have a brief look at how we formulate the Subjunctive, the formulation. Now
the Subjunctive is a form; it's not a tense. and it is used after certain verbs and expressions,
and that's why it's called the Subjunctive Mood. Now, I'm not going to use the word
'mood' throughout this presentation. We'll just call it 'the Subjunctive'. Formulation
is actually very easy for both types: The Present Subjunctive has the same form as the base verb,
which is the 'infinitive without to': do, and the Past Subjunctive has the same form as the
Past Simple, so: did. There's a little note here, important note, that, as you know, the verb 'be'
has two Past Simple forms: 'was' for I, he, she, and it, and 'were' for you, we, and they. But,
the Past Subjunctive has only one form, and that is 'were'. So, that's about the formulation. Now,
let's have a look at the expressions that require the Present Subjunctive. There are two categories:
The first one is 'expressions of importance', for example saying: It is important, essential,
vital, crucial, necessary, or of vital importance. When you start your sentence with expressions like
this, we need to use the Present Subjunctive form, and the situation that we are describing can be in
the present or in the past. That's why it's not a tense; it's a form. And in either case,
we must use the Present Subjunctive. So for example: It is or it was essential that the
president be transparent, not 'is'. Right? So, after the expression of importance 'essential':
be: the Present Subjunctive. That's the first category. And, the second is after certain verbs
we must also use the Present Subjunctive, and the most common and important verbs to remember are:
suggest, recommend, propose, insist, demand, ask, command, and order. For example: The opposition
leader demands or demanded - remember present or past makes no difference - The opposition
leader demands or demanded that she clarify her position. 'clarify' is the base verb here,
not the Present Simple form. Right now, as you can see, these are very formal sentences and therefore
only appropriate in formal situations. So, do we use the Present Subjunctive in informal English?
Well, in British English, not really. In American English, you may occasionally hear the Present
subjunctive in an informal conversation, but even there, it's very rare. So, how do we avoid it in
conversation? There are three ways to avoid this structure. With the expressions of importance,
our first category, we use a different structure which is 'for someone to do',
so using the infinitive. So, instead of saying something like: It is important that she be honest
with you, which sounds very formal and a bit strange, we would say: It is important for her
to be honest with you. We're using 'for someone to do something'. That's with the expressions of
importance. Now with the verbs that we saw, the second category, we use the word, the modal verb,
'should'. So, instead of saying: I hope you insisted that she be honest with you, we say:
I hope you insisted that she should be honest with you. And that sounds a lot more natural,
and we can also drop 'that' because it's informal: I hope you insisted she should be honest with
you. And your third option to avoid the Present Subjunctive is just to completely ignore that the
form even exists and use Present or Past simple tenses. Of course, this would be grammatically
wrong but it is acceptable in spoken English. So, instead of the correct sentence 'It is vital
that she be honest with you.', we just say: It's vital she's honest with you. Or with the past:
I insisted, or 'I hope you insisted that she be honest with you.' 'I hope you insisted she
was honest with you.' So, grammatically wrong - remember that - but in spoken English it has
become an acceptable mistake. So that's about ... Now, I have a little note here: If the verb is
negative, if the Subjunctive verb is negative, the Present Subjunctive form sounds strange,
so it's even avoided in formal English, usually in two ways: either by adding 'should' to avoid the
Subjunctive or by changing the verb to a positive verb. For example, looking at the sentence 'It is
or was crucial that the president not withhold any information.' So here, the verb is negative:
not withhold, it sounds very awkward actually. We usually change with 'should', so for example:
It is or was crucial that the President should not withhold any information. Or,
we find an alternative, a positive verb that makes sense here, for example: It is or was crucial that
the President share all available information. So, that's all about the Present Subjunctive.
Let's look at the Past Subjunctive. What are the Expressions that require the Past Subjunctive.
There are five common ones that I have listed for you here: It is time..., I would rather..., He
looks, behaves or sounds as if or as though..., I wish..., and if only... For example, we would say:
It is time he started - Past Subjunctive - It is time he started saving up for a car. Or: If only
I were 10 years younger. Notice that although the form looks like the Past Simple, this is not the
Past Simple tense. It is the Past Subjunctive for a present situation. A little confusing,
but that's how it is. Okay. Also, we use the Past Subjunctive in the 'if' clause of Conditional 2
sentences, as you very well know. For example: If he started saving up today, excuse me, he
would be able to buy a car next year. Or: I would apply for this job if I were 10 years younger. So,
can we avoid the Past Subjunctive in informal spoken English? Not always. With some Expressions,
it is possible; with others, it isn't. So, from the list that I shared with you, the first two
expressions, for those we can find an alternative. So, for the expression 'It is time he started
saving up for a car.', we can use the 'for someone to do something' structure. So, we can also say,
and it's more natural: It is time for him to start saving up for a car. Also, with 'I would rather
you did not do something.' in this case 'I would rather you did not call me by that name.', we can
use the verb 'prefer' because with 'prefer', we can use the infinitive: I would prefer you
not to call me by that name. So, these two have alternatives. The others don't. So, let's have a
look at what the others were. The first one was: He looks, behaves, or sounds as if or as though...
Now, when we use the Past Subjunctive after these expressions, we have an unreal situation. So if
we say: He behaves as if he owned this place, we know he doesn't. It's hypothetical, it's unreal,
and we are a little annoyed at his behaviour: He behaves as if he owned this place. If we use
the normal tense, the Present Simple tense, then we have a probable situation. We have changed the
context here. If I say: He behaves as though he owns this place. Erm, maybe he does. So,
it's completely now different. Therefore, if your idea is the first one, the unreal situation,
hypothetical, you're a little annoyed, you must use the Past Subjunctive. So, that's that one.
And then the other three situations: two expressions and one structure, with 'I wish',
'if only' and the Second Conditional, you have no alternative; you must use the Past Subjunctive.
So, it's: I wish I were 10 years younger. If only she knew how to sing. If he had a choice, he would
live elsewhere. Now again a little note here that some native speakers may use 'was' with I, he,
she, and it instead of 'were', but good native speakers generally use 'were', so I'd recommend
you stick to 'were' for all pronouns. So, you might hear 'If only I was 10 years younger',
but don't use that. Say: If only I were 10 years young. One final note, and that is: If the action
following 'I wish' and 'if only' - those two phrases: 'I wish' and 'if only' - took place
in the past, and you want to express your regret, you must use the Past Perfect tense, so you would
say something like: I wish I had started saving up last year, or If only I had started saving up
last year. So, just to sum up and answer the question again: Do we use the subjunctive in
spoken English? So, we have two cases: Present Subjunctive: not really. You can always avoid it
when you speak; however, it is important that you're aware of this structure so that you're
not confused when you occasionally see or hear it in formal situations. With the past subjunctive,
excuse me, it's different. There are situations where you cannot avoid it, you must use it,
and we looked at four important cases, that was: after the expressions 'as if / as though',
'I wish', 'if only', and in the 'if' clause of Conditional 2 sentences. What is important here
is to remember that this is the Past Subjunctive form, mood; it is not the Past Simple tense. It
doesn't have anything to do with the past. It's usually a present or future situation - so that
you don't get confused. Right that's the end of the presentation. I hope it has helped
you to review the Subjunctive Mood in English and also become aware of when you can use it,
when you must use it, and when you can avoid it. I hope you've enjoyed this lesson. For
more on this topic, click here. Remember to also check out my complete online course,
and don't forget to like and subscribe. Thank you for watching and happy studies!