LESSON 1
General Characteristics of the Moods in English
Definitions
Mood is a grammatical means to express modality the speakers attitude towards the event/ activity/ action in reality. Modality can be expressed by several means:
1. Lexical modal words, e.g. certainly, probably, perhaps. These words express various
degrees of certainty or uncertainty or desirability on the part of the speaker in relation to
the action expressed by the predicate of the sentence.
e.g. Perhaps he will come tomorrow.
I'II probably see him at the meeting.
2. Lexico-grammatical modal verbs. They express necessity, obligation, possibility,
probability, desirability, etc. with regard to the fulfillment of the action denoted by the
infinitive which follows modal verbs.
e.g. You should help your friend. You can easily do it.
How could you do it? You may visit him every Monday.
3. Grammatical the category of mood. It is the main means of expressing modality. It
shows whether the speaker perceives an action as a fact or as a non-fact, it expresses the
relation of the action towards reality as stated by the speaker. So, the speaker views an event as real, hypothetical or problematic, and unreal.
e.g. He was here yesterday.
She ordered he should be here tomorrow.
I wish he were here.
If I were you, I wouldnt do it.
You wouldnt have allowed the children to go boating if you were more sensible.
The Number of Moods in Modern English
There are two main Russian grammar schools:
1. The S.-Petersburg (or Leningrad) school of grammarians (V. Kaushanskaya)
2. The Moscow school of grammarians (M. Ganshina, Smirnitskiy)
The S.-Petersburg School of grammarians distinguishes between three moods in ME: the Indicative Mood, the Imperative Mood, the Subjunctive Mood. The Moscow School of grammarians distinguishes between: two direct moods the Indicative Mood and the Imperative Mood; four oblique moods Subjunctive I, Subjunctive II, the Suppositional and the Conditional moods.
General Notions of the Moods in ME
1. The Imperative Mood expresses a command or a request. In ME the Imperative Mood has only one form which coincides with the Infinitive without the particle to. It is used in the second person singular or plural.
e.g. Come to the board! Leave the room!
Be an angel and fetch my newspaper, please!
In forming the negative form the auxiliary verb to do is always used, even with the verbs do, be.
e.g. Don't go there! Don't be so touchy! Don't do it!
To make a request or command more emphatic the subject expressed by the pronoun you is sometimes used. It is a marker of colloquial speech. It is used:
a) with emphatic force:
e.g. You take your things and go away!
b) when orders are given to different persons:
e.g. You go to the station and you call him up.
c) when speaking with children:
e.g. Children listen to me!
Emphatic forms of the Imperative Mood are built sometimes with the help of:
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a) the verb to do followed by the Infinitive:
e.g. Do come to see me tonight!
b) will you which follows the Imperative. In this case the command turns into a kind of request:
e.g. Turn to the right here, will you?
Give me your book, will you?
A command addressed to the third person singular or plural is usually expressed with the help of the verb let. The combination let + Infinitive is also used with the 1-st person
e.g. Let the children go to bed. Let the child go to bed.
Let me go there. Let us stop quarrelling.
2. The Indicative Mood shows that the event/ action or state expressed by the predicate is presented as a fact.
e.g. I live in Novosibirsk.
The verb in the Indicative Mood expresses the meanings of the following grammatical categories: tense, aspect, time correlation, voice, number, person.
The Indicative Mood is used to express a real condition in complex sentences. A complex sentence consists of two parts: the principal clause and the subordinate clause:
e.g. If he comes early, he will ring me up.
The following rules may be observed within. If a real situation is meant and we
think that the outcome is really possible, the present tenses are used in the subordinate
clauses and the future tenses in the principal parts.
e.g. If you keep driving like that, youll have an accident.
If she has finished work by 4 o'clock she will go home.
If he doesnt hurry, the plane will have left by the time he gets to the airport,
(the Perfect form emphasizes completeness.)
If one situation depends on another, if can be replaced by as/so long as, provided or only if.
e.g. Ill do what you say provided the police are not informed.
Even if describes how something will happen whatever the condition.
e.g. Even if it rains, well still go for a picnic.
Other tenses can be used in if-sentences.
1. What is always true: present + present. Both present simple and continuous are possible
after if meaning when.
e.g. If I work late, I get tired (= , ).
If the water is boiling, the food is nearly ready.
2. What was always true: past + past. Both past simple and continuous are possible after
if meaning when.
e.g. We went home early if it was foggy (= , ). If it was snowing, we stayed at home.
3. Possible situations in the present or past can be expressed with the help of modal verbs
in the principal part:
e.g. If you get wet, you should change your clothes immediately.
If I got tired, I could go out with a friend or read a good book.
4. Going to can replace will in the principal clause to express smth inevitable:
e.g. If you fall, youre going to hurt yourself.
Going to can be used to mean intend to after if.
e.g. If youre going to make trouble, well call the police.
5. Will in the subordinate clause can be used as a polite form:
e.g. If you will wait here, Ill see if Mrs. Green is free.
Will can also be used for emphasis, meaning insist on doing.
e.g. If you will stay out late, no wonder youre tired, (insist on staying)
6. If so/if not can refer to a sentence understood but not stated.
e.g. There is a possibility that Jack will be late. If so, I'll take his place.
7. Colloquial omission of if can be observed in an imperative used instead of an if-
clause in everyday speech.
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e.g. Sit down, and I 'II make us a cup of tea. (If you sit down...)
8. In expressions such as if it is necessary/obligatory/impossible)) etc. it is possible to
omit the verb be.
e.g. If interested, apply within. If necessary, take a taxi.
9. Formally if can mean although, usually if + adjective.
e.g. The room was well-finished, if a little badly decorated.
LESSON 2
