Part 23 (2/2)

3 Very often, instead of the simple subjunctive forht_) and _would_ or _should_--to express the subjunctive idea ”May” (”ht”) is common as an equivalent for the subjunctivea purpose, a wish, a hope, or a fear: as, ”Bring him the book, that he _may read_ to us;” ”_May_ he _rest_ in peace;” ”I hope you _ht lose_ the way” ”Would” and ”should” are common substitutes for all tenses of the subjunctive: as, ”Walk carefully lest you (stumble) _should stumble_;” ”If he (come) _should come_, he will find me at hoo_ alone;” ”If my sister had seen this htened” In these sentences either the forh the latter is more common

NOTE--It does not follow that the verbs ”may,” ”would,” and ”should”

always express the subjunctive idea In the following sentences, for instance, they express the indicative idea: ”You _may_ (_ie_, are perht to) be punctual;” ”Edith _would_ not (_ie_, was unwilling to) come” In such sentences ”may,” ”should,” and ”would” make simple statements of fact

USES of the SUBJUNCTIVE--The indicative for a fact or what is assumed to be a fact: as ”He _thinks_ he _is_ ill;” the subjunctive form indicates some uncertainty or doubt in the speaker's o”

The subjunctive idea occurs most frequently, perhaps, in _conditional sentences_ A conditional sentence is one that contains a condition or supposition A supposition may refer to present, past, or future time If it refers to present or past time, it may be viewed by the speaker as true, untrue, or as aimplied as to its truth; if it refers to the future, it may be viewed as either likely or unlikely A supposition which is assumed to be true, or which is made without any hint as to its correctness, is expressed by the indicative A supposition which is viewed by the speaker as untrue or unlikely is expressed by the subjunctive or a periphrase[87] for the subjunctive When the character of the supposition makes the conclusion untrue or unlikely, the conclusion also is expressed by the subjunctive or a periphrase[87] for the subjunctive The use of tenses is peculiar, as will be seen fro table of a few common forms of conditional sentences The tenses should be carefully noted:--

PRESENT: If it _rains_ (_is raining_) now, I am sorry

_Present indicative_: A simple supposition without any hint as to its correctness

If it _rained_ (_were raining_), I _should be_ sorry

_Past subjunctive, both clauses_: The speaker i

PAST: If it _rained_ (_was raining_), I was sorry

_Past indicative_: No suggestion of doubt

If it _had rained_, I _should have been_ sorry

_Past perfect subjunctive, both clauses_: The speaker implies that it did not rain

FUTURE: If it _rains_, I shall be sorry

_Present indicative_: The coh inexact, form of a simple future supposition

If it _rain_, I shall be sorry

_Present subjunctive_: Less common, but more exact The future is uncertain

If it _should_ (_were to_) _rain_, I _should be_ sorry _Subjunctive, both clauses_: The uncertainty is emphasized by the auxiliary form; the chances of rain seem more remote

NOTE 1--When _if_ is equivalent to ”whenever”, the condition is called ”general”, to distinguish it from ”particular” conditions, which refer to some particular act at some particular time General conditions always take the indicative: as, ”If (whenever) it _rains_, I stay at home”

NOTE 2--Sometimes there is no ”if”, and then the verb or a part of the verb precedes the subject: as, ”Were it raining, I should be sorry;” ”Had it been raining, I should have been sorry”

NOTE 3--In such sentences as ”If thou hadst been here, my brother had not died,” it may perhaps be questioned whether ”had not died” is indicative, as in the Greek, or subjunctive, as in the Latin, idioh_ and _unless_ take the same forms as clauses introduced by _if_

_Wishes_ are naturally expressed in the subjunctive The _present_ subjunctive denotes a wish for the future: as, ”Thy kingdom _come_” The _past_ subjunctive denotes a wish for the present which is unfulfilled: as, ”I wish I _were_ a bird” The _past perfect_ subjunctive denotes a wish contrary to a past fact: as, ”I wish you _had been_ there”

[86] In such sentences the indicative would be, according to e, correct, and it is e 84 The forh they express the subjunctive idea, can hardly be called the ”subjunctive mood” Sometimes they are called the ”conditional mood”

EXERCISE L

_Tell the ti sentences, and whether the speaker regards the condition as true, untrue, or uncertain_:--

1 If all men did their duty, there would be less misery in the world

2 Had I heard of the affair sooner, this misfortune would not have happened