When to Use the Subjunctive

When you have a sentence that’s contrary to reality!

I’ve mentioned this in the past (use the search box on the right) but I thought this example was clear (funny) enough to justify a repeat:

Anyway, he should have said, “I wish I were less gullible.” I know a few people who could use one of those rocks…

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Second panel. It’s not past tense! Can you name the tense the dog used? (Answer after the comic., so don’t look.)

It’s present perfect subjunctive! (Yes, it’s past tense in the first panel.)

I picked this up on Memorial Day, hence the topic. But it’s a good example of not using the subjunctive when you’re supposed to.

The “if” makes the sentence contrary to reality, so you should use the subjunctive form of the verb, “were.” If only it were this easy.

Speaking as a pedant, using a pronoun (it) is frequently bad writing, even when using a pronoun is grammatical. What would you supply in place of the “it”?

The key to the subjunctive is that the subjunctive is contrary to reality. This is not about lies (lies pretend to be reality), but about correctly describing something that isn’t. The gradeschooler in the first panel of  this Frazz gets it right:

She even says it’s a wish. Don’t say something like, “I wish there was…” when you aren’t referring to something that doesn’t exist.

On a side note, I’ll add that the Greeks had a mood even stronger than the subjunctive, used only for wishes. It’s called the optative. We have to make the subjunctive work for both wishes and contrary-to-fact things.

Need a non-wish subjunctive: How about “He would go on vacation, but he’s too busy.”

At the risk of being repetitious, here’s another example of the difference between the indicative and the subjunctive.

Here’s the rule: The subjunctive is contrary to reality. Not true; hypothetical, if you will. With the indicative, you are presumably describing reality, in other words, the truth.

Dustin’s friend is not good with words, so the subjunctive, “were better” is correct. Too bad he didn’t get the girl.