[Grammar] Subjunctive Mood : the Modal - should

PENDSE · Dec 2, 2010

Can the Modal " should " be used in a subjunctive mood in a Negative sentence ?

like this

Should you not come, I will give the book to somebody else.

bhaisahab · Dec 2, 2010

PENDSE said:
Can the Modal " should " be used in a subjunctive mood in a Negative sentence ?

like this

Should you not come, I will give the book to somebody else.

Yes, that's a correct sentence.

5jj · Dec 2, 2010

I agree that this is an acceptable sentence.

In answer to your question about should: should is not, IMO, 'in a subjunctive mood'.

If this sentence were to be translated into many other languages, the first clause might well involve a subjunctive mood. In English, however, we frequently use modals instead. The modals themselves are not subjunctive.

corum · Dec 2, 2010

PENDSE said:
Can the Modal " should " be used in a subjunctive mood in a Negative sentence ?

like this

Should you not come, I will give the book to somebody else.

Correct. '(S)hould come' is a putative subjunctive form.

5jj · Dec 2, 2010

corum said:
Correct. '(S)hould come' is a putative subjunctive form.

But, as has so frequently pointed out in various threads on this forum, most writers do not consider should to be a subjunctive form.

Putative, by the way means thought to be, supposed.

corum · Dec 2, 2010

fivejedjon said:
But, as has so frequently pointed out in various threads on this forum, most writers do not consider should to be a subjunctive form.

Putative, by the way means thought to be, supposed.

But I do. And this is my opinion and not that of most writers'. ;-) Please do not come again with this 'most writers' story. I am not interested in your statistics.

bhaisahab · Dec 2, 2010

PENDSE said:
Can the Modal " should " be used in a subjunctive mood in a Negative sentence ?

like this

Should you not come, I will give the book to somebody else.

As you will have seen, it is disputed whether or not "Should you not come..." can be considered to be in the subjunctive mood. However, your sentence is correct.

Pokemon · Dec 2, 2010

Why don't both arguing parties give their definition of "subjunctive form"? It will help us to better understand what they are arguing about. Probably each of them attributes different content to this term, that's why they can't agree. They may both be right but are looking at this phenomenon from different perspectives.

5jj · Dec 2, 2010

Pokemon said:
Why don't both arguing parties give their definition of "subjunctive form"? It will help us to decide whose position is right.

That's surely a question for the Linguistics forum, not Ask a Teacher. Here people normally want a straightforward answer to a question, not a discussion on abstract points of theory.

In this thread, Bhaisahab provided the important information that PENDSE needed. End of thread.

birdeen's call · Dec 2, 2010

corum said:
But I do. And this is my opinion and not that of most writers'. ;-) Please do not come again with this 'most writers' story. I am not interested in your statistics.

Others may be.

Pokemon · Dec 2, 2010

fivejedjon said:
I agree that this is an acceptable sentence.

In answer to your question about should: should is not, IMO, 'in a subjunctive mood'.

If this sentence were to be translated into many other languages, the first clause might well involve a subjunctive mood. In English, however, we frequently use modals instead. The modals themselves are not subjunctive.

Yes, Bhaisahab answered it but then it was you who turned this question into a theoretical issue.

5jj · Dec 2, 2010

Pokemon said:
Yes, Bhaisahab answered it but then it was you who turned this question into a theoretical issue.

Ok. Perhaps I was mistaken in the way I attempted to answer part of the OP's question.

All I am saying now is that perhaps this thread is not the place to discuss definitions of the subjunctive. If you care to start a thread in the Linguistics section, I'll join you there.

5jj · Dec 2, 2010

e2e4 said:
Is this sentence correct? Yes. Bhaisahab has told you this, and Corum and I have both confirmed this.

5

Pokemon · Dec 2, 2010

fivejedjon said:
Ok. Perhaps I was mistaken in the way I attempted to answer part of the OP's question.

All I am saying now is that perhaps this thread is not the place to discuss definitions of the subjunctive. If you care to start a thread in the Linguistics section, I'll join you there.

I've started the thread in the Linguistics section as you suggested. We're looking forward to your message.

[Grammar] Subjunctive Mood : the Modal - should

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