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Peter Sokolowski,
Editor at Large

The Subjunctive

Posted Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Comments (18)

Reader Adam Cruge came across the following sentence:

"I suggest that he have everything ready ahead of time."

His question is why the verb have is used instead of has. Editor Emily Brewster responds:

The sentence you're wondering about is in the subjunctive mood. This is the mood that's used to express wishes, proposals, suggestions, or imagined situations. The subjunctive verb (in this case, have) usually appears in one clause in a sentence while an indicative verb (in this case, suggest) appears in another clause.

Verbs that often (but not always) are followed by a verb in the subjunctive include: advise, insist, propose, require, ask, intend, recommend, suggest, demand, order, regret, urge, desire, prefer, request, and wish.

Here are a few additional examples:

He insisted that she stop smoking.
The governor is demanding that he resign.
They asked that you be on time tomorrow.
We recommend that he be punished.
She wishes the teacher were more helpful.

As you can see, the subjunctive forms look like ordinary past and present verb forms; thus, they are often called the past subjunctive and present subjunctive. These differ from the simple past and simple present in only two ways: (1) In the present subjunctive, the third-person singular takes no inflection. (2) The verb be has only two subjunctive forms: be for the present subjunctive (as in the third and fourth sentences) and were for the past subjunctive (as in the last sentence).

The present subjunctive actually refers mostly to the future. It is generally used in a clause beginning with that (though that may often be omitted).

She suggested (that) he arrive early.
He desires that the carpenter leave space for another bookcase.

The past subjunctive may refer to the present or the past. Like the present subjunctive, it often occurs in a that-clause.

I wish (that) you loved me.
She wishes (that) she were younger.
They talked about him as if he weren't even in the room.

The English subjunctive has always been used inconsistently. Native English-speakers often use "should" instead of the present subjunctive and use "was" instead of the past subjunctive's were.

She suggested (that) he should arrive early.
He desires that the carpenter should leave space for another bookcase.
She wishes she was younger.
They talked about him as if he wasn't even in the room.

As for the sentence that prompted Adam to write, some native English-speakers would prefer "I suggest that he should have everything ready ahead of time."

Join the discussion!

Jan 20, 2010 02:12:22 pm, xCHRISTIANPAULx:

This is a very nice blog. Thanks for the information.

Jan 20, 2010 03:00:24 pm, vam:

What form should "say" and "cross" take in the following sentences?

I heard him (say/saying/said) yes.

I watch/saw him (cross/crossing/crossed) the street.

Thanks!

Jan 20, 2010 07:36:00 pm, xCHRISTIANPAULx:

I heard him say yes.

I saw him crossing the street.

Jan 20, 2010 07:36:47 pm, xCHRISTIANPAULx:

Just correct me if i am wrong. I wrote what I think is right. :)

Jan 21, 2010 11:46:05 am, Connie:

THANKS!!!

It's so practical!!!

I would like to ask, can the verb "recover" be used in passive voice??

THANKS A LOT!!!!

Jan 21, 2010 03:58:11 pm, Real The King Of:

Hi! What is different between "Who did say" and "Who said"? Another question, Why we say "What happened?" and why don't we say "What did happen?" ?

Jan 22, 2010 10:01:42 am, Emily Brewster:

vam and xCHRISTIANPAULx, there will be a blog post next week about the sentences you've been discussing. In the meanwhile, I'll tell you this: xCHRISTIANPAULx's sentences are correct, but there are other correct options too.

Jan 22, 2010 12:14:33 pm, vam:

Hi Emily - I really thought so. And I'm all confused by the many options that we can possibly use. I'll be looking forward to next week's blog. Thanks!

Jan 22, 2010 12:48:20 pm, Emily Brewster:

Real The King Of: An answer to your question is also forthcoming.

Jan 22, 2010 12:49:12 pm, Emily Brewster:

Connie, the verb "recover" can certainly be used in the passive voice. Here are some examples:

The missing wallet was eventually recovered.

Very little was able to be recovered from the accident site.

It's not clear if the deleted computer files can be recovered.

Jan 27, 2010 10:17:23 am, Connie:

hi Emily,

So i can't write "His injuries were recovered.", right?

thanks a lot!!

Jan 28, 2010 12:05:49 pm, Steve:

Thank you very much. This is very hard, especially for an ESL person.

Regarding to the original sentence, would adding "should"changes the meaning or makes the sentence grammatically incorrect?

"I suggest that he should have everything ready ahead of time."

What about "would adding 'should' changes... makes"? Should it be change/make? As you can see, I have a hard time with this.

Thanks

Jan 30, 2010 10:35:54 am, Adam Cruge:

Thank you very much for your answer.

Feb 02, 2010 04:10:15 pm, Emily Brewster:

No, Connie. One wouldn't say "His injuries were recovered." Instead we'd say "He recovered from his injuries."

Feb 02, 2010 04:14:55 pm, Emily Brewster:

Steve, "I suggest that he should have everything ready ahead of time" is perfectly fine.

I'm afraid I don't understand the second part of your question. Can you rephrase it for me? The subjunctive is a very difficult and complicated subject, by the way--even for native English speakers--so it's perfectly understandable that you have a hard time with it.

Feb 03, 2010 08:43:50 am, Connie:

Thanks a lot, Emily!

Aug 09, 2010 04:34:26 am, shoppingtiffany:

Sep 09, 2010 05:50:14 am, hanlyone:

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