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56
Different forms of the verb are employed for this purpose.
The synthetic forms
§ 77. In Old English the subjunctive mood was expressed by a special system of forms with a special set of
inflections, different from those of the indicative. In the course of time, however, most of the inflections were
lost, and the difference between the forms of the subjunctive and those of the indicative has almost disappeared.
In Modern English there remain only two synthetic forms of the old regular system of the subjunctive, which
differ from the forms of the indicative. Although their meaning and use have changed considerably, they are
often called by their old names: the present subjunctive and the past subjunctive.
I. The present subjunctive coincides with the plain verb stem (be, go, see) for all persons in both the
singular and the plural. It denotes a hypothetical action referring to the present or future. Of these surviving
forms only be is always distinct from the indicative forms and is therefore rather current.
I
he
she
it
we
you
they
be, take, resent, etc.
He required that all be kept secret.
Other verbs are rarely used in the subjunctive in informal style, because their subjunctive forms coincide
with the indicative except in the 3rd person singular. They are confined mainly to formal style and formulaic
expressions - prayers, wishes, which should be memorized as wholes.
It is natural enough the enemy resent it.
Heaven forbid! The devil take him!
Long live freedom! God save the king!
II. The past subjunctive is even more restricted in its usage; it exists in Modern English only in the form
were, which is used for all persons both in the singular and plural. It refers the hypothetical action to the present
or future and shows that it contradicts reality.
If I were you!
If you were there!
If it were true!
The modem tendency, however, is to use was and were in accordance with the rules of agreement (he was,
they were).
The non-factual forms of the tenses
§ 78. Owing to the same process of the obliteration of distinctions between the old subjunctive and the
indicative the same forms have come to be used for both purposes in Modern English. To differentiate those
used to express hypothetical actions or states (non-facts) from tenses in the indicative they will be called non-
factual forms of the tenses.
The non-factual past indefinite and past continuous are used to denote hypothetical actions in the present or
future; the non-factual past perfect and past perfect continuous denote hypothetical actions in the past. These
two pairs of forms differ not only in their time-reference but also in their degree of improbability: If I had only
known expresses greater improbability than If I only knew because it refers to a time which has already passed.
In Russian this difference is not reflected in the form of the verb.