We continue to study English grammar, and today we want to introduce you to a curious grammatical phenomenon in English language... This is a conditional mood or Conditional Mood ... We will consider the types of this mood, examples of sentences with it, etc. How is the conditional mood built in English?
The conditional mood in English is a very interesting thing. As in Russian, the conditional mood in English indicates that an action can or should be performed under some condition. But there are still significant differences from the Russian one.
Conditional sentences are complex sentences, usually consisting of two simple ones, of which one is the main, and the second is dependent. The main clause expresses the condition of the action in the dependent clause.
The catch is that in English there are three cases or types of conditional mood, while in Russian there are only two. But if you understand it carefully, you will understand that everything is not so difficult.
In Russian: the first type expresses a real condition in the present tense; the second type expresses an unreal condition in the past tense.
- If I go home, I will have lunch.
- If I went home, I would have lunch. (And since I didn't go home, I didn't have lunch, that is, the action is unrealistic under this condition)
In English: the first type expresses a real condition in the present tense; the second type expresses the real condition in the past tense; the third type indicates an unrealistic condition in the past tense. Let's follow the same sentence, but in English:
- If I go home, I will have lunch
- If I went home, I would have lunch
- If I had gone home, I would have had lunch.
Now let's consider each type of Conditional Mood in the language we are studying separately.
The lightest is the first type!
It's really as easy as shelling pears. Here we are dealing with a real condition in the present tense.
Pay attention to the phrase If I have money, I buy a car (If I have money, I will buy a car)... The main part of this sentence may be in the future tense as well: If I have money, I will buy a car.
For example:
- If you drink a lot of coffee, you have problems with your heart. Or: If you drink a lot of coffee, you will have problems with your heart. - If you drink a lot of coffee, you will have heart problems.
But a subordinate clause in English can by no means be in the future tense. After the word If the verb must be in the present tense Present Simple... That is, the subordinate clause stands in the present tense, and most importantly - in the future.
Sample sentences:
- If you eat a lot of sweets, you will have problems with your teeth. - If you eat a lot of sweets, you will have dental problems
- I will speak with Tom, if I find him. - I'll talk to Tom if I find him
- If we go home, we will have a rest. - If we go home, we will rest.
As we can see, in each sentence there is a real action under a real condition. 
Three types of English conditional mood
The second type of conditional mood
The second type expresses the real condition in the past tense. And here, as in the first case, we are dealing with a real action under a real condition. In this case, the subordinate clause must be in Past simple , and most importantly - in Future in the past.
Pay attention to the example sentences:
- If I had money, I would buy a flat. - If I had money, I would buy an apartment
- If you did your homework, you would get a good mark. - If you did homework you would get a good grade.
Instead of would in the main sentence there may be should, could, might... For example:
- If you met Jim, you should speak with him. - If you met Jim, you would talk to him
- You could read the whole book, if you wanted. - You could read the whole book if you wanted
- You might take my notebook, if I brought it. - You could take my laptop if I brought it.
Don't be intimidated by the third type!
The third case of the conditional mood is not found in Russian. But if you get acquainted with the scheme according to which it is built, then there is nothing complicated.
Please note: in subordinate clause the verb is in Past perfect , and in the main circuit would + have + verb + ending -ed (or third form of the verb).
This type expresses an unreal, impossible condition in the past tense. Note:
- If you had won the competition, you would have gone to France. - If you won the competition, you would go to France. (But you didn’t win, so you won’t go, that is, action under this condition is impossible)
- If we had come on time, we would have met Ann. - If we had arrived on time, we would have found Anna. (But we didn’t come on time, so we didn’t find her, the action is unrealistic under this condition).
Here, as well as in the second type, verbs can also be in the main sentence should, could, might... For example:
- If she had spoken with her brother, he could have given his car. - If she talked to her brother, then he could give his car
- You should have been more polite with mr Anders, if you had wanted. - You could be more polite with Mr. Anders if you wanted
- If I had found Tom, I might have spoken with him about that case. - If I found Tom, I would talk to him about that incident.
The third type, Conditional, expresses an unrealistic action under an unrealistic condition.
Well, as we have seen, the conditional mood in English plays a very important role, and is an important component English speech... Use it to express a condition in action. You will definitely make friends with him. We wish you every success!
The verb has an important denotation function different actions... In Russian, as in any other language, it is extremely difficult to do without it. What are its main forms, how are they formed and what are they used for?
About the verb
They can be static or dynamic, but they all express some kind of action. Of course, we are talking about verbs, which are an important part of the language. As a rule, they have a huge number of different forms, denoting different time periods, activity or passivity, the subject and some other features. There are many such variants in Russian, although Europeans, as a rule, do not lag behind, but their grammatical constructions are built somewhat more logically. In addition, modality or linking verbs play a much smaller role for us, their use is not always clear and regulated.
Forms
Conjugation, that is, a change in persons and numbers, as well as an indication of the period of time when an action is performed, is what the majority thinks about when it comes to the metamorphosis of verbs. But these are not the only options. In addition, there are still active and as well as the infinitive, participle and gerunds, and the latter two are sometimes singled out in separate parts of speech, but more often they are considered special forms of the verb expressing side effects.
And, of course, do not forget that there is such a category as the indicative, imperative, subjunctive mood. Thus, they divide the whole set of verbs into three large groups and have serious differences between themselves. They will be discussed further.
About moods
One of the most important grammatical categories or classifications has its special property as a criterion. It's just about inclination. The subjunctive is when it is spoken of events that may or could have happened. It is this form that is used, as is the case, for example, of dreams. In another way, it is called conditional. The indicative, or indicative, is used simply to describe what is happening or what was and will be, it is to it that most of the forms refer, including those obtained by conjugation. It is the most neutral. Finally, the imperative, or imperative, is used in incentive sentences, when giving orders, formulating requests, and for other similar purposes.
Thus, each of the moods has its own function and role, which is extremely difficult to transfer to other constructions, that is, to express the same thing, but in different ways. They all have their own characteristics, but the most interesting is the subjunctive. After all, it is with its help that unrealized events are expressed.
Signs of the subjunctive
First of all, it is the particle "would", which in this case is an integral part of the verb form. Sometimes it can be attached to other words, forming a slightly different construction, for example, "to sing," "to be," etc. Both of these forms are complex compared to the others, which consist of only one grammatical unit.
In addition, the subjunctive mood is a construction that is easy to define by meaning, because it denotes events that did not come true, that is, that are in the area of unrealizable. Thus, it is not difficult to distinguish this form in the text.
Also, the subjunctive (or conditional), like the imperative, is an impersonal form of the verb. This means that it has only one shape with minor changes in the endings. What else is characteristic in it?
Peculiarities
The subjunctive inclination is, although not a unique construction for the Russian language, but it has some interesting features and methods of use.
It seems rather strange that even if the subjunctive mood of the verb is used in relation to events at any time, the form still expresses the past, although historically it had a slightly different meaning. On the other hand, this is quite logical, because we are talking about a situation that did not take place in the past and, perhaps, will not take place either in the present or in the future, that is, it has not been realized. From this perspective, the subjunctive mood of the verb in dependent sentences such as "I want him to sing" also looks appropriate, since the action expressed with its help has not yet happened. All this is worth remembering when writing sentences, as well as when translating conditional constructions from foreign languages into Russian.
Unlike other languages, it is this verb form that is used in both parts of a complex conditional sentence - both in the main and in the dependent.
There are other interesting constructions, and philologists argue about whether they can be attributed to the subjunctive mood. An example could be like this:
Eh, I would have money, but more!
He should marry.
In the first example, there is not even a verb, although its residual presence is obvious. Nevertheless, such a construction still belongs to the borderline and cannot be unambiguously determined. The second more clearly refers to the conditional mood, although the infinitive is used instead of the past tense form. There are many such constructions, and this only confirms the richness and variety of techniques in the Russian language.
In the past time
Whatever events are discussed, conditional sentences use the same form - the subjunctive mood. The table in this case would be inconvenient, so it is easier to explain it with examples.
If it hadn't rained yesterday, we would have gone to the movies.
He would have called if he knew your phone number.
Here, as you can see, the situation can illustrate both a completely unrealizable event due to the fact that there were no suitable conditions in the past, and something that can still be implemented, but this has not happened yet.
Present
The subjunctive mood can also be used to express the current situation. The examples below have a slight tinge of the past tense, but this is more likely due to the fact that a different situation was once implemented, which led not to the circumstances that were assumed in the present.
If I had a dog now, I would play with it.
If I had not been injured then, I would now be a famous footballer.
Thus, the subjunctive mood can also serve to denote possible development events in case something had not happened, or vice versa - happened in the past.
In future
In relation to events that have yet to be realized, but it is not known whether this will happen, the subjunctive mood is not directly used. It may be present, but then the relationship to the future will be clear only from the context. In the usual case, instead, it simply turns out conditional sentence, in which there are no difficulties or peculiarities:
If it's sunny tomorrow, we'll go to the beach.
If in next year we will go to London, you have to learn english.
There is no question of the subjunctive mood here, although, perhaps, the events in question will never be realized. This is the drawback - the inability to accurately express confidence or doubt as to whether this or that will happen.
Analogues in other languages
In English, there is no strict concept of mood, but there are constructions expressing convention, that is, having the same function. They are called conditional or if clauses and come in several types. The first two varieties do not carry the same meaning as the subjunctive mood in Russian, but the rest are a complete analogue. In this sense, English is somewhat richer.
The "zero" and the first types, in fact, reflect events that can be and possibly will be implemented. Here they refer to the subjunctive mood, but they will be translated through ordinary conditional sentences.
The second type expresses an action that seems unlikely, but still real. But the third is not, since it falls on the past. This also differs from the Russian language, because in English degree confidence in whether the event will take place is present. We do not. Both of these varieties are translated into Russian, and for this, the subjunctive mood of the verb is used. In other European languages, similar constructions are also present and are actively used in speech. Moreover, the variety of verb forms in them, as a rule, is higher than in Russian.
There are also adverbs in which there are no moods at all or there are more than a dozen of them. Russian cannot be called a rich language in this respect, however, for the needs of a sufficiently accurate expression of one's thoughts, this set is still quite enough. In the future, new forms may appear for even more suitable formulations, but so far the subjunctive mood is a somewhat reduced form of what can be.
The inclination of the verb is a very important characteristic of it. At morphological analysis it must be indicated. The mood also affects other signs of this part of speech, for example, time. Do not forget that certain spelling norms are associated with this category, which we will touch on in this article. We will also consider in detail what forms of mood the verb has, we will give examples so that this constant morphological feature did not cause difficulties.
What does the mood category express?
The verb gives our speech liveliness, makes it dynamic. It is not for nothing that our ancestors, the Slavs, called their entire speech in principle the word "verb". Sentences without these parts of speech are rare.
One of the characteristics of the verb is its ability to express the relation of the object of speech to reality: an action with the object takes place either in reality or simply desirable, imaginatively. This characteristic is also called modality. It is she who is realized through the mood of the verb.
Thus, it is this important category of the predicate that contains the main meaning. What forms of mood does the verb have? Let's give the answer right now: indicative, conditional and imperative. Each of them is designed to inform about the correspondence of the action to reality. Let's prove it.
For example, let's compare the sentences: I will drink tea. - I would drink tea. - Have some tea. It is easy to guess that all three verbs in these sentences are used in different moods. And if the first of them speaks about a specific action that will take place in the future, then the other two speak either about the conditionality of an action or an incentive to action (events may not take place).
Indicative
The most common form of mood, which speaks of the reality of what happens to the object, is indicative. Distinctive feature- the presence of a form of time, this indicates that the action took place earlier or will be in the future, or maybe it is being performed at the moment.
The verb in the form changes not only in tenses, but also in persons, also in numbers.
This type of mood is closely related to the predicate type. So, they have all three temporal characteristics. Moreover, the future tense of such words is complex, i.e. formed by adding to the verb to be, used in the simple future of the infinitive, containing the main meaning.
For example: I study for the exam all day. (present) - I have been preparing for the exam all day. (past tense) - I will be preparing for the exam next days.
What forms of mood has If we talk about the indicative, then such predicates are presented in two tenses: the past and the simple future.
I prepared very well for the exam. (past tense). - I will prepare for the exam very well.
The indicative mood category is found in all types of speech with various speech situations... Reasoning, narration, description, dialogue or speech to a large audience - everywhere these predicates will be the main ones, they are universal and emotionally neutral.
Conditional mood
The verb in the form speaks of the action that will occur if certain conditions are met. Otherwise, it is impossible.
For example: With your help, I would cross the gorge. You would have crossed this small bridge yourself. The second sentence expresses not so much the presence of a certain condition as the desire to perform an action.
It is very easy to shape this mood. It is enough to put the verb in the past tense and attach the particle to (b): I would call, I would come, I would see it out, I would take it.
The role of this is to logically isolate the necessary word. It can appear anywhere in the sentence. For example, let's compare: Would you bring the goods today. - You would have brought the goods today. You would bring the goods today. In the first sentence, the emphasis is logically placed on the predicate verb, in the second on the subject, and in the third on the circumstance of tense.
Imperative mood
Speaking about what mood forms the verb has, it should be said about the latter - the imperative. From its name it becomes clear that such a predicate contains some kind of motivation for the listener's action. Depending on the design, grammatical and emotional, this meaning can range from a polite request to an order.
Please solve the problem. - Write the following example. - Get the notebooks!
If there is a particle not in front of the verb in the imperative, then such a sentence will express the undesirability of the action. For example: Don't hurt animals! This is a request that the action "offend" not be performed.
Formation of the imperative mood
To make a polite request, often verbs imperative mood special introductory words are attached: please, be kind, please. Do not forget that these constructions are separated by commas: Please, provide your last name and first name.
Also, for a polite inducement to action, you must put the verb in the form plural: Ekaterina Valerievna, please hand over the book.
From verbs singular, the imperative mood is formed using the suffix -i. He joins the base of the present tense: bring - bring, put - put, take - take. The use of this suffix is optional: get up - get up, pour - pour.
Particular attention should be paid to close - close - close; but close - close - close. In the first case, imperfective verbs are used, in the second - perfect.
An imperative mood can be formed and with the help of particles let them, let them: Let the boys clean the class today.
If you want to reach a rude order, you should form this mood with the help of the infinitive: Everyone, go to bed!
As a rule, in sentences with verbs of the imperative mood, the subject is absent, but this does not apply to those in which the form is formed using let / let. Let Natasha set the table. The subject Natasha, the predicate - let it cover.
How to determine the inclination?
To distinguish what forms of mood a verb has (we gave examples of them above), you must follow the algorithm:
However, it should be remembered that one mood can be used in the form of another. For example, indicative in the sense of imperative: Brought me coffee! Take a newspaper with you. The opposite situation may also be: Take it and jump out of your hands. In this case, what forms of mood the verb has, we determine exclusively by the meaning of the entire sentence.
Conditional mood
Conditional mood(conditioned (is), lat. modus conditionalis) - mood, denotes actions that are desired or possible under certain conditions.
In Slavic languages
the mood was historically formed in two ways - with the help of the l-participle and a special conjugated form with the stem * bi- (for example, in Old Church Slavonic bim walked; probably etymologically related to the Indo-European optative) and with the help of the l-participle and the form auxiliary verb matching the stem of the aorist verb to be (went bykh). In most of the ancients Slavic dialects only the second form was presented, the coexistence of the two forms, their mutual influence and contamination are characteristic mainly of the southern dialects. There is a hypothesis according to which the aorist form of the auxiliary verb historically represents one of the forms of the Slavic pluperfect.The aorist-conjugated form of the auxiliary verb has survived in modern Czech (čítal bych), Upper Sorbian (čitał bych), Serbo-Croatian (čitao bih), Bulgarian (bih cel). In the Croatian Chakavian dialects, a conjugated form, ascending to * bimь, has been preserved: čitao bin... In many languages, the form of the auxiliary verb has become an unchangeable particle: rus. w / b, belor. w / b, ukr. bi, underworld. by, Kashubian. bы / b, maked. bi. This particle can be combined with the present tense conjunction form (Slovak čítal by som, some dialects of Macedonian - bi sum people; shape type would naturally let in Russian monuments of the XIV-XV centuries) or its end (Polish. czytał-by-m).
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See what "Conditional mood" is in other dictionaries:
See the conditional mood (in the article the mood of the verb) ... Dictionary linguistic terms
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Inclination in linguistics grammatical category verb. It represents the grammatical correspondence of the semantic category of modality (reality, hypothesis, unreality, desire, motivation, etc.), but in a number of languages the mood can ... Wikipedia
Inclination, the grammatical category of the verb, expressing the relationship of the content of the statement to reality. V different languages there is different number N. Unmarked (not formally expressed by special features) N., indicating that ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia
INCLINATION, a grammatical category of a verb (see VERB), the forms of which express differences in the attitude of the content of the utterance to reality or in the attitude of the speaker to the content of the utterance (indicative, subjunctive, imperative, ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary
Mood- INCLINATION. The predicate form (see), denoting the speaker's attitude to the reality of the manifestation of a sign expressed by a word or words with this form; that is, the N.'s form indicates whether the speaker represents a combination of a feature, ... ... Dictionary of literary terms
Mood- Inclination is a grammatical category expressing the relation of an action called a verb to reality from the point of view of the speaker. Mood grammatical way expressions of modality (V.V. Vinogradov). Grammatical meaning forms ... ... Linguistic Encyclopedic Dictionary
Morphological category of conjugated (personal) forms of the verb. Total value inclinations - the relationship of an event to reality. Russian. there are three moods of the verb: indicative (come / come / come), conditional (would come) and imperative (come). ... ... Literary encyclopedia
- (lat. modus) a special verb form; expresses one or another shade (the so-called modality) of the action signified by the given verb. The modality of action can be threefold: 1) logical, when the attitude of the predicate to ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary of F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron
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In Russian, there are three types of moods of verbs: indicative, imperative and conditional. The latter is also called the subjunctive. This is a very important classification because each form listed helps to determine how what is mentioned in the sentence relates to reality. The chosen mood of the verb can imply a request or order that an action has taken place, is happening or will happen in reality, as well as that it is only desired or will take place when some necessary conditions are met.
The first type is indicative, which is also called "indicative". This form means that the action has happened, is happening or will actually happen. Verbs in indicative mood change from time to time. Moreover, for imperfective verbs, all three tenses take place: past, present and complex future (for example: I thought - I think - I will think, I did - I do - I will do, I was looking - I am looking - I will be looking), and for the perfect type - only two: the past and the simple future (for example: come up with - come up with, I did - I will, I found - I will find). In the future and present tense, the vowel at the end of the stem of the infinitive disappears in some cases (for example: hear - hear, see - see).
The second type is conditional or subjunctive mood, which is also called "subjunctive". This form means that the action did not happen in reality, but only is desired, is planned in the future, unrealizable or will be realized when some necessary conditions... (For example: I would fly into space to study distant stars. In a year I would like to go to the sea. I would read other people's thoughts. I would go for a walk if the rain stops.) Verbs in the present and future tense are not used to form the conditional mood. It is composed exclusively with the help of the past tense verb (that is, the stem of the infinitive, adding the suffix "-l-" to it), as well as the particle "would" or "b". These particles can be located both before and after the verb, as well as be separated from it by other words. (For example: I would go to the museum. I would love to go to the museum). Verbs in the conditional mood change in numbers, and in the singular also in gender, but they never change in persons and, as already mentioned, in tenses. (For example: I would look, I would look, I would look).
The third type is imperative mood, which is also called "imperative". This form means a request, advice, order or urge to action. Imperative verbs are most often used in the 2nd person. In this case, they have zero ending in the singular and the ending "-te" in the plural. They also do not change from time to time. The imperative mood is formed using the stem of the verb in the present or simple future tense, to which the suffix "-i-" or, in some cases, the zero suffix is added. (For example: Consider, you have to do it! Stop doing nonsense! Watch this movie!)
Possible use and forms of the 1st person plural... It is used to induce joint action in which the speaker will also participate. Then the imperative mood is formed with the help of the infinitive of the imperfective verb or the perfect verb in the future tense, before which are placed following words: come on, come on. (For example: Let's go to the cinema. Let's make breakfast. Let's try this dish.)
The 3rd person singular and plural forms are used to form the imperative mood when it is necessary to express the motivation for action of people who are not participating in the dialogue. In this case, it is formed with the help of a verb in the form of the present or simple future tense and the following particles: yes, let it be, let it be. (For example: Let him buy bread. Let them come to me. Long live the king!)
From time to time, to soften the order, add the particle "-ka" to the imperative verbs (for example: Go to the store. Show me the diary. Bring me a book.)
In some cases, there are exceptions when mood forms are used in figuratively, namely in the meaning that is usually characteristic of another mood.
So a verb in the form of an imperative mood can take on the meaning of a conditional mood (for example: If it had not been his will, nothing would have come of it. If he had not noticed the loss in time, trouble would have happened.) or indicative mood (for example: And she suddenly said that she had already seen this person. And he take it and do it your way!)
A verb in the indicative mood can take on the meaning of an imperative. (For example: Got up quickly, you're going to be late! Let's go digging some potatoes.)
A verb in a conditional mood can also take on the meaning of an imperative. (For example: I would say everything as it is. Would you help your friend in trouble.)
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