Look Good in Print

A sentence's verb can express a variety of what are called moods. The mood indicates how the speaker feels about the sentence. The three most common verb moods in English are the following: 

1. The indicative is the most common mood. It is used to make statements.

2. The imperative mood issues a command. (Note that the subject in imperative sentences is an implied "you".)

3. The subjunctive mood indicates uncertainty. The writer might be articulating a possibility, a hope, a wish, or a hypothetical. This mood presents the greatest challenge to writers. Here are some examples of sentences that call for subjunctive mood:  

In hypothetical statements that use the subjunctive, the "if" condition is presumed to be untrue or unlikely to be true. For example, you can say, "If I were king, I'd wear a crown". But you're not the king; it's an untrue hypothetical. So you wear a baseball cap instead of a crown. 

Note that in subjunctive mood, the correct form of the verb is "were" (e.g., If I were king, . . .) rather than the indicative "was". In an indicative sentence, you would never say, "Back in highschool, I were a nerd".  Without a hope, a wish, or an uncertainty, you would use the indicative:  "I was a nerd".   

Subjunctive mood also is used when describing a "soft" or "implied" command. When the implied command is directed toward a third person (i.e., he, she, or it), the verb is expressed differently than it would normally be expressed. A few examples will help clarify this point.