![]() ![]() ![]() ✗Īlthough a fairly minor error, it’s worth looking out for this in your work. Were we to go to bed now, we would sleep soundly. In the subjunctive mood, however, “were” can be both singular and plural. One common error related to the subjunctive mood is mixing up “were” and “was.” The confusion here is rooted in their past tense uses, where “was” is singular and “were” is plural. ![]() This is distinct from the conditional example above, where going to bed is a concrete possibility. As such, the possibility of going to bed is only raised hypothetically, not as a likely course of action, so the sentence is in the subjunctive mood. Here, for example, the speaker is not tired. Typically, they are also “if” statements, such as: The subjunctive mood concerns hypotheticals, such as wishes or suggestions. In other words, one part of the sentence is conditional on another part. The sentence above is conditional because it refers to an outcome (i.e., going to bed) that depends on something else (i.e., wanting to go to bed). Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter! The Conditional MoodĬonditional sentences typically use the modal verbs “could,” “might,” “should,” or “would.” This is because they express something that is uncertain or depends on something else. Sentences like this can be very short because, as in the first sentence above, the person being asked or told to do something is often left out. The Imperative MoodĪ command or a request is an example of the imperative mood: Depending on who you ask, though, questions can be classed separately as being in the interrogative mood. The indicative mood is thus the most common grammatical mood by far, covering most statements. We use the indicative mood whenever we express an opinion, make a factual statement or ask a question. And the lines between grammatical moods are sometimes blurred in English, which can be confusing.*īut understanding the basics of mood can help you avoid errors in your writing, so we suggest checking out our guide to the basics below. Strictly speaking, you don’t need to know which mood you are using at all times to write effectively. Some sentences also have the Moody Blues, but that’s a different issue. And every sentence has a “mood” accordingly. Consequently, we use slightly different sentences to do different things. Asking a question, for example, is different to giving a command. Grammatical mood refers to how a sentence is constructed to reflect what we’re trying to do. So to help explain what a grammatical mood is, let’s look at the indicative, imperative, conditional, and subjunctive moods. But a grammatical mood is something else. If you’re in a good mood, for example, you’re feeling happy. In humans, a mood is a feeling or an emotional state. Grammar Tips: An Overview of Grammatical Mood ![]()
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