shifts in mood
DESCRIPTION
Shifts in Mood. NEC FACET Center. Introduction. Shifts in mood are often closely related to shifts in tense. Both involve verbs. We will begin this lesson by reviewing grammatical mood. What is Grammatical Mood?. The grammatical term mood has nothing to do with frame of mind. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
![Page 1: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Shifts in Mood
NEC FACET Center
![Page 2: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Introduction
• Shifts in mood are often closely related to shifts in tense.
• Both involve verbs.
• We will begin this lesson by reviewing grammatical mood.
![Page 3: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
What is Grammatical Mood?
• The grammatical term mood has nothing to do with frame of mind.
• Instead, it is a variant of the word mode, meaning “manner or method.”
![Page 4: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
What does mood reveal?
• Grammatical mood indicates the manner in which the writer conceives of the sentence--that is, the writer’s idea whether the sentence states fact, expresses doubt, gives a command, or performs some other function.
![Page 5: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
How can we tell the “mood” of a sentence?
• The verb or verbs in each sentence indicate the mood in which the writer wrote the sentence.
![Page 6: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
The Three Moods
• English employs three traditionally recognized moods:– Indicative– Imperative– Subjunctive
![Page 7: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
Indicative
![Page 8: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
Indicative Mood
• Writers most frequently use indicative mood.
• Indicative sentences make statements of fact.
• Example: John will fly to Chicago today.
• Example: Although I can knit, I have never learned to sew.
![Page 9: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
Which of the following sentences is in indicative mood?
• Peace be with you.
• Leave that dog alone.
• Harold was late to his wedding.
![Page 10: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
Answer
• Harold was late to his wedding.
• This sentence makes a simple statement of fact.
• The other two sentences expressed a wish (peace be with you) or gave a command (Leave that dog alone).
![Page 11: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
• Since the majority of English sentences express fact, you should not find it difficult to recognize the indicative mood.
![Page 12: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
Indicative Mood & Verb Tenses
• The indicative mood employs common verb tenses:– Present: I see.– Past: I saw– Future: I will see.– Present Perfect: I have seen.– Past Perfect: I had seen.– Future Perfect: I shall (will) have seen.
![Page 13: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
• Most grammarians classify interrogative sentences, as well as statements of fact, as indicative.
• An interrogative sentence, as you know, asks a question.
• Example: Was Harold late to his wedding?
![Page 14: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
Which of the following sentences is in the indicative mood?
• Eat those beets immediately.
• Has he decided to start lifting weights?
• Heaven help you.
![Page 15: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
Answer
• Has he decided to start lifting weights?
• Remember that questions employ indicative mood, just as do those that state facts.
![Page 16: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
Imperative
![Page 17: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
• Writers use the imperative mood to give commands or to make requests.
• Example: Eat your beets. (command)
• Example: Please forgive me. (request)
![Page 18: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
The “Understood” You
• All imperative verbs are in the second person, present tense.
• Writers generally omit the subject, you, of an imperative verb, but writers understand it as part of the sentence.
![Page 19: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
Which of the following sentences is in the imperative mood?
• Step right this way.
• You should go home now.
• The general commanded his company to charge.
![Page 20: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/20.jpg)
Answer
• Step right this way.
• This sentence makes a request.
• The subject, you, is understood, just as it is in most imperative sentences.
• The omission of you helps make imperative sentences easier to recognize.
![Page 21: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/21.jpg)
Subjunctive
![Page 22: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/22.jpg)
• The third of the three commonly recognized moods is the subjunctive.
![Page 23: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/23.jpg)
What is subjunctive mood?
• The subjunctive mood expresses wishes and suppositions contrary to fact.
• Example: Peace be with you. (wish)
• He speaks French as if he were a Frenchman. (supposition contrary to fact)
![Page 24: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/24.jpg)
• In the second sentence, the main clause—He speaks French—is in the indicative because it states a fact.
• The “as-if” clause uses the subjunctive because it expresses a condition contrary to fact: he is not really a Frenchman.
![Page 25: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/25.jpg)
• When the dependent clause is subjunctive, the main clause is normally indicative.
• This shift is a logical and necessary one and not considered a faulty shift in mood.
![Page 26: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/26.jpg)
Which of the following tests employs the subjunctive?
• Go and get me some cream and sugar.
• When she awoke, she could remember every detail of her dream.
• I wish I were a kid again.
![Page 27: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/27.jpg)
Answer
• I wish I were a kid again.
• The dependent clause—(that) I were a kid again—expresses a wish and is in the subjunctive.
• The main clause—I wish—asserts a fact and is in the indicative.
![Page 28: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/28.jpg)
• In our day-to-day language use, the indicative has, to a large extent, replaced the subjunctive.
![Page 29: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/29.jpg)
• However, writers continue having difficulty with the subjunctive because its few surviving uses require special verb forms.
![Page 30: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/30.jpg)
• You should have little difficulty with the subjunctive once you know the following few forms.
![Page 31: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/31.jpg)
Rule # 1
• The third person singular (he, she, it) of the present tense verb drops its –s or –es ending.
![Page 32: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/32.jpg)
Application of Rule #1
• Therefore, although we would normally write “she leaves,” the subjunctive that se drop the -s.
• Example: The old man asked that she leave him in peace.
![Page 33: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/33.jpg)
Rule # 2
• The verb to be requires special treatment.
• In the subjunctive, the present tense is always be, not the normal am, is, or are.
• Example: Peace be with you. (Not “Peace is with you.”
![Page 34: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/34.jpg)
Rule # 2, Continued: Past Tense of To Be
• Similarly, in the subjunctive, the past tense is always were, never was.
• Example: If I were a millionaire, I wouldn’t eat hamburger every night.
![Page 35: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/35.jpg)
Advice
• The past subjunctive of to be—always were—is the subjunctive form people most frequently use and misuse.
• Therefore, you should pay particular attention to it.
![Page 36: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/36.jpg)
Which of the following sentences employs the subjunctive correctly?
• He be a very interesting person.
• If he were not so lazy, he would go far.
• We would not be talking about her if she was here.
![Page 37: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/37.jpg)
Answer
• If he were not so lazy, he would go far.
• The if-clause makes a supposition contrary to the fact: he apparently is “so lazy.”
• The verb uses the correct past tense subjunctive—were.
![Page 38: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/38.jpg)
• We correctly use subjunctive forms in several main situations.
• The first two come naturally to native English-speakers.
![Page 39: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/39.jpg)
Situations Requiring the Subjunctive
1. In a main clause expressing a wish:– God bless you. [not blesses]
2. In a that-clause expressing a request, a demand, a motion, or a formal resolution:
– The teacher demanded that he leave the room. [not leaves]
– Resolved: that this motion be tabled. [not is]
![Page 40: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/40.jpg)
• Only two subjunctive uses are likely to cause you difficulty.
• The first appears as # 2 on the previous slide.
• If you wish to look back at it, press your keyboard’s “page up” key.
![Page 41: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/41.jpg)
Rule # 3
3. In a that-clause expressing a wish– Example: He wishes that he were in India.
(not was)
Writers may often omit the that in sentences like the one above.
![Page 42: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/42.jpg)
Rule # 4
Here is the other troublesome use:4. In an if-clause expressing a condition
contrary to fact that is impossible or highly improbable.
– Even if he were a millionaire, she still would not marry him.
![Page 43: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/43.jpg)
Remember . . .
• The past tense of the verb to be is were, not was.
![Page 44: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/44.jpg)
Caution
• Not all if-clauses require the subjunctive.
• You should use the indicative if the condition expressed by the if-clause is possible or probable.– The President stated that our forces would
retaliate if the island was bombed.
![Page 45: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/45.jpg)
Reminder
• However, remember to use the subjunctive when the if-clause is clearly contrary to fact or purely hypothetical.
• If I were President, I would not employ our forces to defend the island.
• The person named as “I” is clearly not the President.
![Page 46: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/46.jpg)
Which of the sentences below should employ the subjunctive?
• If he was our father, he’d have a right to tell us what to do.
• The traffic department decided that a motorist should be given a ticket if he was stopped for driving too slowly.
• If I was caught without bus fare, I would simply walk home.
![Page 47: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/47.jpg)
Answer
• Only the sentence below states a supposition contrary to fact.
• If he was our father, he’d have a right to tell If he was our father, he’d have a right to tell us what to do.us what to do.
![Page 48: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/48.jpg)
Revised Sentence
• The sentence should read as follows:The sentence should read as follows:
• If he were our father, he’d have a right to If he were our father, he’d have a right to tell us what to do.tell us what to do.
![Page 49: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/49.jpg)
Further Explanation
• The remaining two sentences correctly used the indicative, rather than the subjunctive, because their if-clauses express possible or probable conditions.– The traffic department decided that a motorist should
be given a ticket if he was stopped for driving too slowly.
– If I was caught without bus fare, I would simply walk home.
![Page 50: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/50.jpg)
• While the subjunctive is becoming increasingly uncommon in speech, in writing it still preserves the fine distinctions of meaning that make English a rich language.
![Page 51: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/51.jpg)
• Places will always exist in your writing where you can and should use the subjunctive to good advantage.
![Page 52: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/52.jpg)
Brief Review
• Indicative--used to state a fact or ask a question• Imperative--used to give a command or make a request (in a main
clause)• Subjunctive--used mainly to express wished and to make suppositions contrary to fact.
![Page 53: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/53.jpg)
Question
• Which of the following sentences is written entirely in the indicative mood?– Get me a basin and some hot water.– Silently the captain was wishing to retreat, but
aloud he ordered his men to make ready for the attack.
– Mr. Billings would be thoroughly likeable if he were not always telling such bad jokes.
![Page 54: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/54.jpg)
Answer
– Silently the captain was wishing to retreat, but aloud he ordered his men to make ready for the attack.
• Though it mentions a wish and an order, the second sentence states fact.
• It says nothing contrary to fact, nor does it give an order for the reader to do anything
• Therefore, it is indicative.
![Page 55: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/55.jpg)
Shifts in Mood
![Page 56: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/56.jpg)
Word of Advice
• Just as you should avoid needless shifts in subject, person, and tense, you should also avoid illogical shifts in mood.
![Page 57: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/57.jpg)
A Correct Shift
• As you have learned, a sentence containing a subjunctive if-clause or that-clause correctly shifts to the indicative in its main clause.
• If I were you, I’d go on a diet.
(subjunctive) (indicative)
![Page 58: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/58.jpg)
Faulty Shift
• However, faulty shifts in mood often involve the indicative and the imperative.– First, preheat the oven; then you should grease
the cake pan. (shift from imperative to indicative)
![Page 59: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/59.jpg)
Possible Revisions
• All in the imperative: First, preheat the oven; then grease the cake pan.
• All in the indicative: You should first preheat the oven; then you should grease the cake pan.
![Page 60: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/60.jpg)
Remember . . .
• Do not shift moods without reason.
![Page 61: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/61.jpg)
Question: Which of the following sentences shifts mood without reason?
• She requested that he darken her door no more.
• Even though the air was warm, the water was too cold for swimming.
• All students should assemble on the main quadrangle at ten o’clock, and don’t be late.
![Page 62: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/62.jpg)
Answer
• All students should assemble on the main quadrangle at six o’clock, and don’t be late.
• The first clause is in the indicative and the second in the imperative.
![Page 63: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/63.jpg)
Possible Revisions
• All students should assemble on the main quadrangle promptly at six o’clock.
• All students should assemble on the main quadrangle at six o’clock; they must not be late.
![Page 64: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/64.jpg)
Summary
• Grammatical mood indicates the manner in which the writer conceives of the sentence: that is, his idea as to whether the sentence states a fact, expresses a doubt, gives a command, or performs some other function.
![Page 65: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/65.jpg)
• The verb or verbs in each sentence indicate the mood in which the sentence is written.
![Page 66: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/66.jpg)
• When writing, we most frequently use the indicative.
• The indicative makes statements of fact.
• Examples: – John is going to Chicago.– Although I can knit, I never learned to sew.
![Page 67: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/67.jpg)
More Indicative Sentences
• Most grammarians classify interrogative sentences, as well as statements of fact, as indicative.
• Example of an interrogative sentence:– Was Harold late to his wedding?
![Page 68: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/68.jpg)
Imperative Mood
• The imperative mood gives commands or makes requests.
• Examples:– Eat your dinner.– Please forgive me.
![Page 69: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/69.jpg)
The “Understood” You
• All imperative verbs are in the second person, present tense.
• The subject of an imperative verb—you—is usually omitted but is understood by the reader as part of the statement.
• Example: Shut the door = (You) shut the door.
![Page 70: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/70.jpg)
Subjunctive Mood
• The subjunctive mood primarily expresses wishes and suppositions contrary to fact.
![Page 71: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/71.jpg)
Subjunctive Forms
• You should have little trouble with the subjunctive once you know the following few forms:
1. With third person singular subjects (he, she, it, or any noun for which one could substitute he, she, or it), present tense verbs drop the –s or –es ending:
The old man asked that she leave him in peace. (not leaves)
![Page 72: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/72.jpg)
Subjunctive Forms, Continued
2. The verb to be: --The present tense (all persons) is be:
Peace be [not is] with you.
--The past tense (all persons) is were:If I were [not was] a millionaire, I
wouldn’t have to eat hamburger every night.
![Page 73: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/73.jpg)
Mood Shifts
• Remember to avoid unnecessary shifts in mood.
• These occur most commonly in sentences using indicative and imperative.
![Page 74: Shifts in Mood](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062408/568135c5550346895d9d269d/html5/thumbnails/74.jpg)
You have now finished the discussion of mood shifts.
Please complete PowerPoint worksheet # 39, and put it in your lab
folder.