English Subjunctive: When Is It Used?

English subjunctive
The subjunctive is a specific verb form. It usually expresses something that you wish for, or
a hypothetical rather than actual situation:
If only I were ten years younger.
I only wish that what you say were true.
It is also used to indicate that something is being suggested or demanded:
The report recommends that he face the tribunal.
It is important that they be aware of the provisions of the Act.
In modern English it is distinguished from other verb forms only

a) by the use of be and were instead of the indicative forms (am/is/are/was) as in the
example above; and
b) by lacking the final letter -s of the third person singular (he/she/it) in the present
tense (in the example above he face, not he faces).
When is it used?
You are most likely to encounter the subjunctive in formal writing or speech. You’ll also
encounter it in the following scenarios:
1. In that-clauses
Nowadays it is probably most frequent in that-clauses with verbs such as demand, insist,
pray, recommend, suggest, and semantically related nouns/ adjectives, e.g. essential,
important, insistence, proposal, etc.
She declined a seat beside Charles on the sofa. She insisted that Jane sit there.
It was suggested that he wait until the next morning.
It is important that they be aware of the provisions of the Act.
Note: In most such cases it can be replaced by should + infinitive or by the indicative form
of the verb:
She declined a seat beside Charles on the sofa. She insisted that Jane sat there.
It was suggested that he should wait until the next morning.
It is important that they are aware of the provisions of the Act.
The use of the subjunctive instead of those alternatives is very frequent in American
English.
In constructions of this type, any negation not (or never etc.) is normally placed before the
subjunctive verb:
One essential quality for a holiday novel is that it not be too light.
I recommend that we not approve this letter.
This construction is routine in American English, but less common elsewhere.
2. As if…, as though…, if…
After if (or as if, as though, unless) in hypotheses or comparisons:
If that were so, things would be very different.
It was as if Sally were disturbed in some way.
His voice strained as though he were walking on a wire above a pit of sharks.
The indicative may also be used, i.e. was instead of were, in all the examples above, but
the subjunctive arguably conveys the hypothetical sense more forcefully.
3. If I were you…
Usage seems to be changing in phrases such as if I were you, if it were up to me, etc.
People often say if I was you and if it was up to me, but the subjunctive is preferable in
writing, especially any formal or academic prose. The phrase as it were, however, cannot
be modified:
Having to ask permission, as it were, to see her friends
Suddenly, as it were overnight, the weather became hot and sultry.

4. Set phrases
For categories 1–3 using the subjunctive is optional. However, there are many set phrases
which contain a hidden subjunctive as part of the phrase:
Be that as it may.
Blessed be!
Come what may.
Far be it from me to…
Far be it from me.
God bless you!
God help us!
God save the Queen!
Heaven forbid that that should happen to me.
Heaven forbid!
Heaven help us!
If it please the court.
If need be
Long live the King!
Perish the thought!
So be it.
Suffice it to say he escaped with only a caution.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.
Thy will be done.
Truth be told
Woe betide.
Possibly, it is failure to recognize that suffice it to say is subjunctive, with it as the

grammatical subject, that leads many people to say suffice to say.
5. At the head of a clause
This kind of construction, with the subject after the verb, is more typically found in writing
than in speech, where it might be considered rather formal.
Were I to get drunk, it would help me drown my anguish.
Unlike rival international fairs, be they in London, New York or Maastricht, the
Biennale has enormous popular appeal.
Inversion
As 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. The principal constructions are:
• Inversion with should: Should you feel hungry, …

(equivalent to If you (should) feel hungry)
• Inversion with were as simple past subjunctive: Were you here, …
(equivalent to If you were here, …)
• Inversion with were in compound forms of the past subjunctive: Were he to shoot,
… (equivalent to If he were to shoot, i.e., If he shot)
• Inversion with had in the pluperfect, referring to usually counterfactual conditions in
the past: Had he written, … (equivalent to If he had written)
• Inversion with were in compound forms of the pluperfect subjunctive: Were he to
have lied, … (equivalent to If he were to have lied)
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).
• Be he called on by God, …
(equivalent to "If he be (i.e. If he is) called on by God, …")
• Be they friend or foe, …
(equivalent to "(No matter) whether they be friend or foe, …")
• Be he alive or be he dead (from Jack and the Beanstalk).
• Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home
(from "Home! Sweet Home!"; meaning "even if" or "even though")
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.). 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!
Examples of subjunctive uses in archaic English:
I will not let thee go, except [=unless] thou bless me.
(King James Bible, Genesis 32:26)
Though he were dead, yet shall he live. (John 11:25)
Murder, though it have no tongue, will speak. (Shakespeare, Hamlet)

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English subjunctive

If only I were ten years younger.

I only wish that what you say were true.

It is also used to indicate that something is being suggested or demanded:

The report recommends that he face the tribunal.

It is important that they be aware of the provisions of the Act.

In modern English it is distinguished from other verb forms only

It was suggested that he wait until the next morning.

It is important that they be aware of the provisions of the Act.

It was suggested that he should wait until the next morning.

It is important that they are aware of the provisions of the Act.

I recommend that we not approve this letter.

This construction is routine in American English, but less common elsewhere.

2. As if…, as though…, if…

After if (or as if, as though, unless) in hypotheses or comparisons:

If that were so, things would be very different.

It was as if Sally were disturbed in some way.

Having to ask permission, as it were, to see her friends

Suddenly, as it were overnight, the weather became hot and sultry.

Possibly, it is failure to recognize that suffice it to say is subjunctive, with it as the

5. At the head of a clause

Were I to get drunk, it would help me drown my anguish.

• Inversion with should: Should you feel hungry, …

Examples of subjunctive uses in archaic English:

Though he were dead, yet shall he live. (John 11:25)

Murder, though it have no tongue, will speak. (Shakespeare, Hamlet)

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