Verbs / Examples

VERB: to take
MODE: Conditional
TENSE: Simple Present back

I	would take
you	would take
he/it/she	would take*
we	would take
you	would take
they	would take

* This was used in "He said that he would take the job for a salary higher than ...".

Conditional statements rest on two clauses set after the IF ... THEN .... pattern:

He said something [pivotal clause]
That something being:
1. IF the salary were higher [dependent clause]
2. THEN he would take the job [dependent clause]

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VERB: to live
MODE: Indicative
TENSE: Simple Present back

I	live
you	live
he/it/she	lives
we	live
you	live
they	live*

* This was used in "Our parents live in Bulgaria". back

VERB: to forget
MODE: Subjunctive
TENSE: Simple Present back

I	forget
you	forget
he/it/she	forget*
we	forget
you	forget
they	forget

* This was used in "We suggest that she forget about such a suitor". back

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Present subjunctive looks like the infinitive form stripped of its "to". For verb "to show", present subjunctive is: (... that I) show, (... that you) show, (...that he/it/she) show etc.

In most cases, subjunctive can be replaced by constructions making use of modal verbs:
I ask that he should be considerate ...
or subjunctive can be replaced by plain present indicative:
I ask that he is considerate ... (instead of subjunctive "that he be considerate")

[see Alexander, p. 239] back

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In English, past subjunctive is the same as past indicative*:
They requested that we played less aggressively.
If she were you, she would not report that to the police.

Forms other than past subjunctive are also allowed:
They requested that we should play less ...
[Modal verb "should is used instead of subjunctive"]
They requested us to play less ...
[A special construction after the pattern "I want you to do ..." "I request somebody to play ..."]

Verb "to be" is exceptional in that its past indicative has more than one shape (I was, you were, ...).
Past subjunctive of "to be" is were for all persons.

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Alexander never mentions a mode called conditional.

In some European languages, a conditional utterance like

He would go there, if only ...

translates into verbal forms of their own kind:

Il y irait, si seulement ...
[This is different from French future: Il y ira (no "s") and from subjunctive too: "(Ils veulent qu'il) y aille".]

Er würde dorthin gehen, wenn nur ...
[German "würde"/"sollte" are marks of conditional and subjunctive alike. Unlike French and like English, German does not have a specific conditional form.]

Ci andrebbe, se solo ...
[Italian future is: Ci andrà; subjunctive is "(Loro vogliono che lui) ci vada".
Like French, Italian has a distinctive form for conditional.]

In spite of missing a formal conditional, English has structured forms signaling conditional statements. Alexander's grammar, Chapter 14, p.273, lists three such forms:

Type I
(possibility which might be faced)

If I lose my job, I will go abroad.

Type II
(imagined possibility linked to choice to be made)

If I lost my job, I would go abroad.

Type III
(imagined possibility linked to choice made when it materialised)

If I had lost my job, I would have gone abroad.

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Present imperative takes one form only. Example:
Go!

Additional forms meke use of "to let":
Let us go! Let them go!

On the border line between imperative and pleading are expressions based on "may":
May you take pity on them! (In literary language, not spoken one)

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It was noted that imperative mode comes only in present tense.

Its past form requires round-about constructions of the kind:
You should have avoided upsetting her. back

Comments on future back

Comments future back

I'm sorry not to have woken you up.
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They appreciate our not spending much money.
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Not finding them, we returned home.

-ing form

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He prefers not to recognise his mistakes.
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Unpaid debts have caused a rift between you and those people.
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She regrets not having helped you.
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Do you feel that to live abroad is a worthy experience?

Since infinitive itself cannot be set in interrogative form (it is too basic a mode for that), "do you feel ..." was added to convey an interrogative tone.
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