well as the independent clause. First- and third-person nouns and pronouns (I,
he, she) take the second-person verb form. The following examples illustrate
these unique features:
- Subjunctive:Contrary-to-Fact Statements
- If Fredwerejust a bit younger, hewould applyfor the position.
- If Iwereyou, Iwould leavetown.
- Theyactedas though Buggsywere watching.
- Subjunctive:Conditional Statements
- Fredwill leaveif Buggsycomesto the party.
- After eating his veggies, little Johnnycould havehis dessert.
- Wewill gainour reward, provided webestrong.
- Subjunctive:Hypothetical Acts
- If Fredboughtthe new BMW, hewould becompletely broke.
- If hewere asked,hewould serve.
- Subjunctive:Expressing a Wish
- Macarenawishedshewererich.
- Fritzrecommendedthat shebepatient.
- Subjunctive:Politeness in Requests
1.Wouldyou open the window?
2.Couldyou close the door?
Usage NoteLinguists have noted a significant change in the use of the subjunctive in
contrary-to-fact statements involving forms ofbe. In spoken English, there has
been a shift in the verb form in the dependent clause to make it agree in number
with its noun or pronoun (although this shift is apparent only in sentences with
personal pronouns and names as subjects). As a result, the example sentences
just cited increasingly are expressed as:
- If Fredwasjust a bit younger, hewould applyfor the position.
- If Iwasyou, Iwould leavetown.
- Theyactedas though Buggsywas watching.
The subjunctive marker is dropped in the verb in the dependent clause, but it is
retained in the independent clause. Again, the question of what constitutes stan-
dard usage is important. Some people argue that standard usage is whatever the
most people use. This argument is off the mark because it fails to take into account
the influences of prestige and acceptability that generally govern standard usage.
Thus, standard usage is not, and never has been, the form used most widely; it is the
PHRASE STRUCTURE GRAMMAR 123