Mood and Voice
Mood shows how the action is viewed by the speaker. There are three moods: indicative, subjunctive, imperative.
The indicative mood
The indicative mood expresses a real action in the present, past, or
future, in the form of statements and questions:
She is in London now.
He asked me to help him.
I will buy a new car soon.
Did he visit her yesterday?
Why are you laughing?
We will be home after seven.
The imperative mood
The imperative mood expresses a command or a request:
An imperative sentence
typically begins with the base form of a verb.
“You” is the common subject
of all imperative sentences but often be hidden: do it; look at me…
Negative: Don't + Verb: don't
do it; don't look at me
Mark, don’t take a taxi. It
is too expensive!
Soldiers, don’t open fire
yet!
Children! Stop making a
noise!
Stop laughing! (Stop
Ving: not continue doing something)
Please help me.
Open the door.
Give me a dictionary, please.
Imperative
sentences include commands, orders, instructions, directions. Commands can be
affirmative or negative. Responses to commands depend on the situation and can
be in the form of statements or questions.
An
imperative sentence typically begins with the base form of a verb: Do it; Look
at me… “You” is the common subject of all imperative sentences but often be
hidden.
Nagative: Don't + Base verb:
Don't do it; Don't look at me
Call me at five o'clock. –
All right. / OK.
Don't call Tom. – All right,
I won't.
Wait here. – Yes, Mr. Carter.
Fill out this form. – All
right.
Don't smoke in here. – Oh,
I'm sorry.
Open the door. – Yes, sure. /
Certainly.
Close the door. – Why? Don't
open the door. – Why not?
Walk two blocks and turn
right at the post office. – Thank you.
Make sure that the device is
placed on a flat level surface.
Do not use rechargeable
batteries for this device.
Always disconnect the unit
after use.
To relieve pain caused by
severe burns, prevent infection, and treat shock, take immediate steps.
To make commands more polite, add
"please" or "will you? / won't you? / would you?" and
pronounce them with the rising tone.
Come in, please. – Thank you.
Please sit down. – Thank you.
Please be quiet. – Oh, I'm
sorry.
Won't you please be quiet? –
Sorry.
Call me at two, please. –
Yes, of course.
Come here, will you? – Just a
second.
Bring me that report, would
you? – Sure.
Commands
are usually pronounced with falling intonation. Adding "please" or
"will you? / won't you? / would you?" with the rising tone on them
softens the command, makes it sound like a request. In the same way,
pronouncing a request with falling intonation makes it sound like a command and
should be avoided in polite conversation.
Commands in the form of signs
Commands are often used in
the form of signs to show directions or instructions.
Follow this sign.
Keep right. Keep out.
Turn left. Walk. Stop.
Use the staircase in case of
fire.
Push. Push to enter. Pull.
Pull to enter. Do not enter.
Fasten your seatbelt.
Do not litter.
Beware of dog.
Pay bills here.
Flammable! Keep off! Fragile!
Handle with care!
For
simplicity, commands in the form of signs may contain only one or two words,
usually a noun or a gerund without a verb.
No smoking. No littering.
Private property. No trespassing.
This way out. Emergency exit!
Fire escape
Warning! Danger! High
voltage!
The
subjunctive is used to express intention or proposal about the future. It
requires use of the verb in its basic form rather than its normal tense form.
We don’t use the subjunctive very much in contemporary English unless we wish
to sound very formal. With verbs like suggest,
recommend, insist and adjectives
like important, essential, imperative,
crucial, vital, we often use
should + infinitive instead of the subjunctive or we can use the normal tense
form. The reporting verbs and adjectives above are normally followed by a
that-clause in which that itself is often omitted.
The doctor recommended (that)
he should give up smoking.
The doctor recommended (that)
he give up smoking. (More formal)
The doctor recommended (that)
he gives up smoking. (Less formal)
It + be + adjective:
desirable/important/essential/imperative/vital/etc
In all of these examples below with should, you
can substitute the subjunctive if you want to make it sound more formal or the
present simple tense if you want it to be less formal:
It is essential (that) you
should be given your medication by a properly qualified nurse. (Or: be given,
or are given.)
For the future well-being of
the company, it is imperative (that) he should resign now. (Or: resign, or
resigns.)
It is desirable (that) he
should be retained in custody, rather than released on bail. (Or: be retained,
or is retained.)
It is vital (that) he should
receive some treatment (or receive, or receives) whether he be (or is) innocent
or guilty of this particular crime.
suggest/recommend/insist/demand
Similarly with these reporting verbs, we can use
should, the subjunctive or the normal tense in the that-clause, depending on
whether it is appropriate to sound formal or not:
The government tried to
insist (that) all firearms should be handed in without delay. (Or: be handed
in, or are handed in.)
The doctors have recommended
(that) he should remain in hospital for a further three weeks. (Or: remain, or
remains.)
I suggested he should leave
right now. (Or: leave, or leaves.)
advise/ask/command/instruct/request/require/warn
Note that
these reporting verbs do not require should or a that-clause and are normally
used instead with a simple infinitive. The issue of whether to use the
subjunctive or not with these verbs does not then arise.
Her mother advised them to be
home by ten o’ clock.
They required me to clean the
house every Saturday.
You asked me to let you know
how much it would cost.
I warned him not to swim
where there were dangerous currents.
Were is
also a kind of subjunctive when it is used with I and he/she/it instead of was
with wish and in if-clauses. If we use the more natural was, it will sound more
informal.
I wish I were (or was) home
now.
I wish it were (or was) the
weekend.
If I were (or was) you, I’d
get in touch with Veronika before she leaves for Australia
If I were (or was) still
living with John, I’d be much better off, but I wouldn’t be so independent.
fixed expressions with the subjunctive
There are a number of fixed
expressions which require the subjunctive, including:
Bless you. (Which means: May
God bless you.)
Long live our gracious Queen.
(The first line of the British National Anthem)
A toast now: long live the
bride and groom.
I have always supported you
financially, but be that as it may, I can no longer support your current
lifestyle.
If I have to pretend that you
no longer exist, so be it.
Be that as it may means whether that is the case
or not So be it means nothing can or will be done to change that .
Let somebody (not) do something: used to make a suggestion
Let + Object Pronoun + Verb
(Object Pronoun: me, you, us, them, him, her, and it.):
Let us (Let’s) + Verb:
Don’t let them do it.
Please, let us the boys come
to see me.
I think you must let your
parents know about it!
Let’s go out to play now. No,
let’s not. I am doing my komework.
Let’s play football. Yes let’s
Look, Chris is waiting for
you. Well, let her wait!
I am thirsty. Yes, let’s
drink some water.
John let me drive his new
car.
