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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:
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.
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:
come what may
Far be it from me to…
God save the Queen!
Heaven forbid!
Perish the thought!
so be it
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done...
suffice it to say...
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.
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.