| 词条 | English subjunctive | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 释义 |
The subjunctive mood in English is used to form sentences that do not describe known objective facts, but rather wishes or hypothetical suppositions. These include statements about one's state of mind, such as opinion, belief, purpose, intention, or desire. The subjunctive mood, such as She suggests that he speak English, contrasts with the indicative mood, which is used for statements of fact, such as He speaks English. In Modern English, the subjunctive form of a verb often looks identical to the indicative form, and thus subjunctives are not a very visible grammatical feature of English. For most verbs, the only distinct subjunctive form is found in the third person singular of the present tense, where the subjunctive lacks the -s ending: It is necessary that he see a doctor (contrasted with the indicative he sees). The verb be, however, has not only a distinct present subjunctive (be, as in I suggest that he be removed) but also a past subjunctive were (as in If he were rich, …). These two tenses of the subjunctive have no particular connection in meaning with present and past time. Terminology varies; sometimes what is called the present subjunctive here is referred to simply as the subjunctive, and the form were may be treated just as an alternative irrealis form of was rather than a past subjunctive. Another case where present-subjunctive forms are distinguished from indicatives is when they are negated: compare I recommend that they not enter the competition (subjunctive) with I hope that they do not enter the competition (indicative). FormsEnglish has present subjunctive and past subjunctive forms, which are often similar to the present indicative and past indicative forms (the familiar present and past tense forms of verbs). Note that these terms are used here merely as names for forms that verbs take; the use of "present subjunctive" and "past subjunctive" forms is not limited to referring to present and past time. (Sometimes the term subjunctive is used only to refer to what is called here the present subjunctive.) The present subjunctive is identical to the bare infinitive (and imperative) of the verb in all forms. This means that, for almost all verbs, the present subjunctive differs from the present indicative only in the third person singular form, which lacks the ending -s in the subjunctive.
With the verb be, however, the two moods are fully distinguished:
Note also the defective verb beware, which lacks indicative forms, but has a present subjunctive: (that) she beware… The two moods are also fully distinguished when negated. Present subjunctive forms are negated by placing the word not before them.
The past subjunctive exists as a distinct form only for the verb be, which has the form were throughout:
In the past tense, there is no difference between the two moods as regards manner of negation: I was not; (that) I were not. Verbs other than be are described as lacking a past subjunctive, or possibly as having a past subjunctive identical in form to the past indicative: (that) I owned; (that) I did not own. Certain subjunctives (particularly were) can also be distinguished from indicatives by the possibility of inversion with the subject, as described under {{slink||Inversion}} below. Compound forms, auxiliaries and modalsThe subjunctive forms be, have, and were can also be used as auxiliaries, e.g., It is important that he be cured. The English modal verbs do not have present subjunctive forms. A construction with the modal should is frequently used as an alternative to the simple present subjunctive, e.g., It is important that he should be cured. The should form, in certain conditionals, can undergo inversion as described below. Use of the present subjunctiveThe main use of the English present subjunctive, called the mandative or jussive subjunctive,[1] occurs in that clauses (declarative content clauses; the word that is sometimes omitted in informal and conversational usage) expressing a circumstance that is desired, demanded, recommended, necessary, [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vel_sim. vel sim.]. Such a clause may be dependent on verbs like insist, suggest, demand, prefer,{{efn|Other verbs after which subjunctives may be used include propose, suggest, recommend, move (in the parliamentary sense), demand, ask, mandate, prefer, request, desire, advise, urge, specify, instruct, order, insist, require, rule, necessitate, suffice, advocate, vote, would rather.}} adjectives like necessary, desirable,{{efn|Other adjectives after which subjunctives may be used include imperative, important, adamant, necessary, preferable, optional, permissible, acceptable, okay, all right, satisfactory, desirable, advisable, sufficient, necessary, mandatory, urgent, vital, crucial, essential, fitting, right, appropriate, better, expedient, legitimate.}} or nouns like recommendation, necessity;{{efn|Other nouns after which subjunctives may be used include insistence, proposal, preference, request, desire, advice, suggestion, option, alternative, recommendation, demand, requirement, necessity, imperative, condition, mandate, specification, rule, ruling, edict, instruction, principle, prerequisite, order, qualification, ultimatum, vote, motion.}} it may be part of the expression in order that… (or some formal uses of so that…); it may also stand independently as the subject of a clause or as a predicative expression. {{Citation needed span|text=The form is called the present subjunctive because it resembles the present indicative in form, not because it need refer to the present time.|date=December 2015}} In fact this form can equally well be used in sentences referring to past, future or hypothetical time (the time frame is normally expressed in the verb of the main clause).Examples:
Note that after some words, both indicative and subjunctive are possible, with difference in meaning:
This dual statement/directive use of verbs like insist, suggest and propose can lead to confusion in cases where some, mainly British, speakers informally use the indicative and not the subjunctive, strongly preferred by many, especially Americans.{{efn|For more on the increasing use of the mandative subjunctive in British English as influenced by American English, see §3.59 in Quirk, Randolph; Greenbaum, Sidney; Leech, Geoffrey; Svartik, Jan (1985). A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. Longman. {{ISBN|0-582-51734-6}}. However, grammars rarely point out this source of confusion for Americans.}} Examples:
In example 1, many American speakers, after reading the second sentence, will be jarred into thinking the indicative spent in the first sentence is a mistake for the subjunctive spend, because the second sentence makes it clear that insist was used as a directive and not a statement. Examples 2 and 3 may similarly perplex some readers: context suggests the verbs are directives, which clashes with the indicative mood the authors use. Example 4 is a curious mix of both British alternatives to the subjunctive: the indicative (underwent) and the modal (should be warmed… be transfused). Examples 5 and 6 show that some non-verbal constructions can have similar mandative force. American versions of the above examples would use the subjunctive: (1) spend; (2) go; (3) study; (4) undergo [and delete should]; (5) check out; (6) bring in. Notice that the subjunctive is not generally used after verbs such as hope and expect, or after verbs that use a different syntax, such as want (it is not usual to say *I want that he wash up; the typical syntax is I want him to wash up). Another use of the present subjunctive is in clauses with the conjunction lest, which generally express a potential adverse event:
The present subjunctive is occasionally found in clauses expressing a probable condition, such as If I be found guilty… (more common is am or should be; for more information see English conditional sentences). This usage is mostly old-fashioned or excessively formal, although it is found in some common fixed expressions such as if need be. Perhaps somewhat more common is the use after whether in the sense of "no matter whether": Whether they be friend or foe, we shall give them shelter. In both of these uses, it is possible to invert subject and verb and omit the conjunction; see {{slink||Inversion}} below. Analogous uses are occasionally found after other conjunctions, such as unless, until, whoever, wherever, etc.: I shall not do it unless I be instructed;{{efn|Another example: Your purpose, then, plainly stated, is that you will destroy the Government, unless you be allowed to construe and enforce the Constitution as you please on all points in dispute between you and us. —George Haven Putnam}} Whoever he be, he shall not go unpunished. In most of the above examples a form with should can be used as an alternative: I insist that he should leave now etc. This is more common in British English than American English. In some cases, such as after in order that, another alternative is to use may or (especially with past reference) might:
A present subjunctive verb form is sometimes found in a main clause, with the force of a wish or a third person imperative (and such forms can alternatively be analyzed as imperatives). This is most common nowadays in established phrases, such as (God) bless you, God save the Queen, heaven forbid, peace be with you, truth be told, so be it, suffice it to say, long live…, woe betide… It is used more broadly in some archaic or literary English.{{efn|An example is America, America, God shed His grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood (from "America the Beautiful"). Similarly the traditional English text of the Aaronic blessing is cast entirely in the subjunctive, with jussive force: The Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make His face to shine upon thee. The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee and give thee peace.}} An equivalent construction is that with may and subject-verb inversion: May God bless you etc. See also {{slink||Archaic uses}} below. Use of the past subjunctiveThe only distinct past subjunctive form in English (i.e., form that differs from the corresponding past indicative) is were, which differs when used with a first or third person singular subject (where the indicative form is was). As with the present subjunctive, the name past subjunctive refers to the form of the verb rather than its meaning; it need not (and in fact usually does not) refer to past time. The main use of the past subjunctive form, were, which is also known as the irrealis{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002|p=86}} is in counterfactual if clauses (see {{slink|English conditional sentences|Second conditional}}):
The simple (indicative) past form was is very common in sentences of this type,{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002|p=86}} though the Random House College Dictionary states "Although the [were] subjunctive seems to be disappearing from the speech of many, its proper use is still a mark of the educated speaker."[2] When were is used, an inverted form without if is possible (see {{slink||Inversion}} below); this is not possible with was. A common expression involving were is if I were you. The same principles of usage apply to the compound past subjunctive form were to…, which appears in 'second conditional' condition clauses, usually with hypothetical future reference:
The past subjunctive form may be used similarly to express counterfactual conditions after suppose, as if, as though, unless, imagine etc.
There is also the set expression as it were. The past subjunctive can also be used in some that clauses expressing a wish contrary to fact or unlikely to be fulfilled (see also {{slink|Uses of English verb forms|Expressions of wish}}):
However, the use of the subjunctive with words such as wish is seldom obligatory.[3] The example with would rather can be cast in the present subjunctive, expressing greater confidence that the action is feasible: I would rather she be released. See also {{slink||Archaic uses}} below. Distinguishing from past indicative after ifConfusion sometimes arises in the case of if clauses containing an ordinary past indicative was. When if means when, the indicative is the proper mood.
compared with:
Compare also:
The first if clause contains a simple past indicative, referring to past time (it is not known whether or not the circumstance in fact took place). The second, however, expresses a counterfactual circumstance connected with the present, and therefore contains (or should contain) a past subjunctive.{{citation needed|reason=Subjunctive in that usage expresses a hypothetical, not a necessarily counterfactual, and this in indicated in the very next paragraph - which does have a source - even if the usage isn't very common today.|date=November 2014}} The "past subjunctive" (irrealis) form were is also used by some as an alternative to the backshifted indicative was following if or whether in indirect speech or thought,{{sfn|Huddleston|Pullum|2002|p=87}} for example:
InversionAs noted in the sections above, some clauses containing subjunctive verb forms, or other constructions that have the function of subjunctives, may exhibit subject–auxiliary inversion (an auxiliary or copular verb changes places with the subject of the clause). The most common example of this is in condition clauses, where inversion is accompanied by the omission of the conjunction if. This is described in more detail at {{slink|English conditional sentences|Inversion in condition clauses}}. The principal constructions are:
Inversion is also possible in the case of the (rarer) use of the present subjunctive in condition clauses, and in other clauses with somewhat different meaning, where the omitted conjunction would be something like whether, although or even if. These are generally archaic, except for some instances where the meaning of the clause is "no matter whether … or … " (second and third examples below).
In some examples, preserved in set expressions and well-known phrases, inversion may take place with non-auxiliary verbs: come what may; come Monday (etc.). (See also {{slink||Archaic uses}} below.) There are also imperative-type (jussive) uses such as Long live the King! A more common way of expressing such jussives is with inversion of the auxiliary may: May they always be happy! Historical formsThe first table below shows the present and past subjunctive endings in use at various stages of the development of English: in Old English, Middle English, Early Modern English and Modern English.[5] Forms which differ from the corresponding indicative are bolded. -∅ denotes zero ending.
For comparison, the corresponding indicative endings are also given:
The irregular verb be has a larger number of distinct forms, these being derived from different stems (a case of suppletion). See the Wiktionary articles on be, am, is, were, etc. As the tables show, in Early Modern English the past subjunctive was distinguishable from the past indicative not only in the verb to be (as in Modern English), but also in the informal second-person singular (thou form) of all verbs. For example: indicative thou sattest, but subjunctive thou sat. The -(e)st ending was also absent in principle in the present subjunctive; nonetheless, it was sometimes added; for example, thou beëst appears frequently as a present subjunctive in the works of Shakespeare and some of his contemporaries. Archaic usesSubjunctive verb forms were formerly used more widely in English than they are today. Cases of such usage can be encountered in samples of archaic or pseudo-archaic English, and in certain set expressions that have been preserved in the modern language. Examples of subjunctive uses in archaic English:
Examples of set expressions that preserve "fossilized", archaic subjunctive uses:
See also
Notes{{Notelist}}References1. ^Quirk, Randolph; Greenbaum, Sidney; Leech, Geoffrey; Svartik, Jan (1985). "A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language". Longman. {{ISBN|0-582-51734-6}} 2. ^{{cite book|author=Stein, Jess, Editor in Chief|title=Random House College Dictionary, Revised|publisher=Random House|year=1989|page=1308}} 3. ^{{Cite book|title=The New Fowler's Modern English Usage|last=Burchfield|first=Robert|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|location=|pages=748}} 4. ^{{Cite book|last1= Murdoch |first1= Iris |authorlink1=Iris Murdoch|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=nLvDCfa6GQsC|title= The Good Apprentice |date=2010|origyear=1985 |publisher= Random House |isbn=9781407019758}} 5. ^The Cambridge history of the English language. Richard M. Hogg, Roger Lass, Norman Francis Blake, Suzanne Romaine, R. W. Burchfield, John Algeo. (2000). Bibliography
|title=The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language |date=2002 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge; New York |isbn=0-521-43146-8}}
External links
2 : Grammatical moods|English grammar |
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