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89
Here out" purely formal, i.e. morphemic consideration of the present stem of the subjunctive comes to an
end. Moreover, remaining on the strictly formal ground in the strictly morphemic sense, we would have to
state that the demonstrated system of the spective mood exhausts, or nearly exhausts, the entire English
oblique mood morphology. See: (, 1975, 129]. However, turning to functional considerations of
the expression of the oblique mood semantics, we see that the system of the subjunctive, far from being
exhausted, rather begins at this point.
§ 4. Observations of the materials undertaken on the comparative functional basis have led linguists to the
identification of a number of construction types rendering the same semantics as is expressed by the spective
mood forms demonstrated above. These generalized expressions of attitudes may be classed into the following
three groups.
The first construction type of attitude series is formed by the combination may/might + Infinitive. It is used
to express wish, desire, hope in the contextual syntactic conditions similar to those of the morphemic (native)
spective forms. Cf.:
May it be as you wish! May it all happen as you desire! May success attend you. I hope that he may be safe.
Let's pray that everything might still turn to the good, after all. May our friendship live long.
The second construction type of attitude series is formed by the combination should + Infinitive. It is used
in various subordinate predicative units to express supposition, speculation, suggestion, recommendation,
inducements of different kinds and degrees of intensity. Cf.:
Whatever they should say of the project, it must be considered seriously. It has been arranged that the
delegation should be received by the President of the Federation. Orders were given that the searching group
should start out at once.
The third construction type of the same series is formed by the combination let + Objective Substantive +
Infinitive. It is used to express inducement (i.e. an appeal to commit an action) in relation to all the persons, but
preferably to the first person plural and third person both numbers. The notional homonym let, naturally, is not
taken into account. Cf.:
Let’s agree to end this wait-and-see policy. Now don't let’s be hearing any more of this. Let him repeat the
accusation in Tim's presence. Let our military forces be capable and ready. Let me try to convince them myself.
All the three types of constructions are characterized by a high frequency occurrence, by uniformity of
structure, by regularity of correspondence to the "pure", native morphemic spective form of the verb. For that
matter, taken as a whole, they are more universal stylistically than the pure spective form, in so far as they are
less bound by conventions of usage and have a wider range of expressive connotations of various kinds. These
qualities show that the described constructions may safely be identified as functional equivalents of the pure
spective mood. Since they specialize, within the general spective mood meaning, in semantic destination, the
specialization being determined by the semantic type of their modal markers, we propose to unite them under
the tentative heading of the "modal" spective mood forms, or, by way of the usual working contraction, the
modal spective mood, as contrasted against the "pure" spective expressed by native morphemic means
(morphemic zeroing).
The functional varieties of the modal spective, i.e. its specialized forms, as is evident from the given
examples, should be classed as, first, the "desiderative" series (may-spective, the form of desire); second, the
"considerative" series (should-spective, the form of considerations); third, the "imperative" series (let-spective,
the form of commands).
We must stress that by terming the spective constructional forms "modal" we don't mean to bring down their
grammatical value. Modality is part and parcel of predication, and the modern paradigmatic interpretation of
syntactic constructions has demonstrated that all the combinations of modal verbs as such constitute
grammatical means of sentence-forming. On the other hand, the relevance of medial morpho-syntactic factor in
the structure of the forms in question cannot be altogether excluded from the final estimation of their status.
The whole system of the English subjunctive mood is far from stabilized, it is just in the making, and all that we
can say about the analysed spective forms in this connection is that they tend to quickly develop into rigidly
"formalized" features of morphology.
Very important for confirming the categorial nature of the modal spective forms is the way they express the
timing of the process. The verbal time proper is neutralized with these forms and, considering their relation to
the present-order pure spective, they can also be classed as "present" in this sense. As to the actual expression
of time, it is rendered relatively, by means of the aspective category of retrospective coordination: the imperfect