Verbs and Mooooood
Read Chapter 4, BFLAN
Topics
- five verb moods
- interrogative mood
- imperative mood
- indicative mood
- conditional mood
- subjunctive mood
- Verb tenses (past, present, future | simple, perfect, continuous)
Lesson, Readings, and Examples
- Indicative mood verbs communicates facts, opinions, and statements.
- Imperative mood verbs give commands
- Interrogative mood verbs ask questions
- Conditional mood verbs describe what would happen if something else happens
- Subjunctive mood verbs express a hypothetical (imaginary) situation, wish, dream, hope, or desire, especially if it's unlikely or impossible. Look for "were" and "if", and for suggestions and considerations.
Verb Tenses
We all know past, present, and future, but what about simple, perfect, continuous, and perfect continuous??
- Simple is the most straightforward use of a verb tense. It doesn't add any new information beyond the verb's meaning.
- Perfect is related to some other point in time, and is either completed or ongoing. I have played pathfinder for over five years. Look for the have along with a past-tense verb.
- Continuous (Progressive) is used for things that will happen for a while before they're done. We'll be studying all night for the test. These usually involve a be verb along with the -ing suffix
- Perfect Continuous is a thing that will continue for a time, and that started at some other time. *I will have been flying kites for sixteen hours by the end of the day"
| Past | Present | Future | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple | I helped my neighbor yesterday. | I help my neighbor every day. | I will help my neighbor tomorrow. |
| Perfect | I had helped my neighbor clean his attic before I fixed his car. | I have helped my neighbor too much this week. | I will have helped my neighbor a hundred times by the end of the month. |
| Continuous | I was helping my neighbor when he brought me iced tea. | I am helping my neighbor while he fixes up his house. | I will be helping my neighbor next month when he moves. |
| Perfect continuous | I had been helping my neighbor for a year before he finally thanked me. | I have been helping my neighbor since I moved in. | I will have been helping my neighbor for a year next month. |
Who Cares? It's all about reaching agreement
This matters mostly so that you can avoid awkward sentences that have "mood shifts." A mood shift happens when you start a sentence with the verb in one mood, and then switch to a different mood in the same sentence.
Don' t forget to feed the dogs, and you should take them for a walk.
"Don't forget" is imperative, "should take them" is indicative. Instead, the sentence would be better if you stuck with one mood:
Don't forget to feed the dogs and take them for a walk.
The verbs in the different parts of your sentences need to agree - they should have the same mood and tense, otherwise your sentence is weak or even incorrect.
Media resources
- Youtube search for "five verb moods"
- Youtube search for "interrogative mood"
- Youtube search for "imperative mood"
- Youtube search for "indicative mood"
- Youtube search for "conditional mood"
- Youtube search for "subjunctive mood"