Subjunctive in noun clauses

Q:
When we teach noun clauses, the question of the subjunctive comes up after
verbs such as insist, as well as after phrases like it is important. We
actually teach our students to write sentences like these:
The football coach insists that each player get eight hours of sleep per night
!t is important that you be on time
"owever, ! #nd that native $nglish speakers often don%t use a subjunctive,
and prefer:
The football coach insists that each player gets eight hours of sleep per
night
!t is important that you are on time
&re they just plain wrong, or is the subjunctive slowly dying'
Julia Cayuso
(oral )ables, *+
&:
There%s no doubt that the subjunctive is being used ,and taught- less and
less in &merican $nglish, and ! believe the same to be true of other varieties
around the world "owever, because it is still considered correct in most
written and formal spoken $nglish, it should be given some attention in
upper.intermediate to advanced courses
Barbara Matthies
&:
! have often wondered the same thing ! agree with /arbara about the
advisability of teaching the subjunctive ! would not describe the subjunctive
as e0actly dying1 it%s just quite formal, and formality in our world is not
increasing2
The subjunctive mood in a noun clause that 3 the subject 3 the simple
form of the verb comes after certain verbs, as in sentence ,a-, and
adjectives, as in sentence ,b-:
,a-
"er father insists that she speak
$nglish well
,b-
it%s absolutely essential that the
meeting begin on time
!t is very e4ective in establishing a sense of urgency in a formal manner
&lternatively, you can use many of these verbs5such as require, urge or
ask5in a less formal manner in this construction: verb 3 the noun or
pronoun object 3 the infnitive, as in the sentence:
,c-
6niversity rules require a player
to keep up in his academic
studies
,d-
! asked him to help me
&nother alternative with some of the verbs is to use a gerund or a gerund
phrase, like this:
,e-
! recommend telling the truth
,f-
! asked him to help me
The adjectives of urgency ,vital, essential, important, etc- are often used
in a less formal way, too: using the construction for 3 noun or pronoun
object 3 infnitive, as in these e0amples:
,g-
!t%s important for you to be on
time
,h-
!t%s essential for the
handicapped to have special
access
!%ve put some of the verbs and adjectives that can be used with the
subjunctive into a chart, which also shows alternative ways to e0press the
same idea 7ote that two of these verbs5suggest and insist5can also be
used with the indicative, with a diferent meaning
A:
The subjunctive in noun clauses in /ritish $nglish is getting rarer and rarer,
being supplanted by the indicative in many cases "ere8s a sample from
/ritish #ction, where the indicative is especially common:
,a- 9oberta had given them directions,
suggesting that they headed
straight for the old barn
,b-
:y dear husband insisted that we
came here for the holidays
&merican $nglish, too, uses the indicative sometimes, but rarely *rom a
recent statement by an &merican politician:
,c-
)iven the situation, it is essential
that their questions are answered
!n contrast, the norm in &merican $nglish is the subjunctive The indicative is
gaining ground, but the subjunctive is well established /ritish $nglish,
however, uses the indicative often and also makes heavy use of should 3
verb, especially in formal style
The indicative usually does not a4ect the meaning of an utterance5that is, it
doesn8t indicate e0tra urgency or necessarily strong will of the subject
There is a very good reason, however, to use the subjunctive if the utterance
can be misinterpreted *or e0ample, both insist and suggest have two
distinct meanings
Suggest can mean:
;- <say indirectly, imply, give an impression,= as in
,d-
She suggested that he didnt tell
the truth to his parents ,She implied
that he really did not tell the truth to
his parents
,e-
The senator suggested that his
opponent stole money from the
people
,The senator implied that his
opponent stole> had stolen money
from the people-
and, it can also mean:
?- <say with the intention of in@uencing someone8s behavior=:
,f-
She suggested that he not tell the
truth to his parents
,She thought that he should not tell
the truth to his parents5they would
be too upset-
,g-
The senator suggested that his
opponent tell the truth about the
money
,The senator thought that his
opponent should tell the truth about
the money-
Insist has the same two kinds of meanings:
;- <say very directly, try to convince,A as in
,h-
"e insisted that his daughter spoke
$nglish well
,"e said very forcefully, against all
evidence to the contrary, that his
daughter spoke $nglish well-
,i-
:y aunt insists that she as born in
;BCD, even though her three older
brothers all remember that she was
born in ;BEE
,:y aunt said very forcefully, against
the statements of her brothers to the
contrary, that she was born in ;BCD-
?- <say with the intention of in@uencing someone8s behavior=:
,j-
"e insisted that his daughter speak
$nglish well
,"e put pressure on her to speak
$nglish well5that8s what he wanted
her to do-
,k-
:y grandmother insists that
everybody come to her house every
7ew Fear8s Gay
,She practically forces the whole
family to be at her house every 7ew
Fear8s Gay
Students should learn to use the subjunctive, but along the way, sooner or
later, they will encounter the indicative & good e0ercise might be to ask
them to notice usages in the printed media, to see just how these verbs are
really used
Marilyn Martin
Subjunctive
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