+63. Mode.+--A statement may be regarded as the expression of a fact, of a
doubt or supposition, or of a command. The power of the verb to show how
an action should be regarded is called _mode (mood_). In our language
there is but a slight change of form for this purpose. The distinction of
mode which we must make is a distinction that has regard to the thought or
attitude of mind of the speaker rather than to the form of the verb.
The _indicative_ mode is used to state a fact or to ask questions of fact:
[I shall write a letter. Shall I write a letter?].
The _subjunctive_ mode indicates uncertainty, unreality, and some forms of
condition: [If she were here, I should be glad].
The _imperative_ mode expresses a command or entreaty: [Come here].
+64. The Subjunctive Mode.+--The subjunctive is disappearing from
colloquial speech, and the indicative form is used almost entirely.
The verb _to be_ has the following indicative and subjunctive forms in the
present and preterite:--
IND. SUBJ. IND. SUBJ.
{ I am I be { I was I were
{ Thou art Thou be { Thou wast Thou were
PRESENT { He is He be PRETERITE { He was He were
{ We are We be { We were We were
{ You are You be { You were You were
{ They are They be { They were They were
In other verbs the indicative and subjunctive forms are the same, except
that the second and third persons singular subjunctive have no personal
endings.
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