Verbal means expressing unreality

Verbal means used to express unreality are treated differently in different classifications; the reasons for this are given above. They have different names: Subjunctive, Conditional, Suppositional, Oblique moods, etc. To avoid misunderstanding let’s refer to them as the verbal means expressing unreality. They are as follows:

· (he) go/be (I insist that he come on time);

· were for all persons (I wish I / he were ten years younger);

· knew/went (I wish he knew it);

· had known/had gone (He behaved as if he had known it)',

· should/would + infinitive (If he could he would go at once),

· should/would + perfect infinitive (If he had been there he would have gone at once),

· should + infinitive for all persons (I insist that he should go now);

· may/might + infinitive (I brought the book so that you might read it);

· would + infinitive (I wish he would come);

· can/could + infinitive (He moved nearer so that we could hear each other).

It is worth mentioning that almost all the verbal means that are used to express unreality have developed from Old English forms of the Subjunctive Mood. Quite a number of grammarians still use this term and apply it to all the above means indiscriminately. In fact, this is the term to find in most English normative grammars where the threefold system is accepted (Жигадло).

The same term is treated differently by O. Jespersen and K.Zandvoort, who refer it only to the forms of the type he be/go and he were.

Professor Smirnitsky refers the form he be/go to Subjunctive I, while he were to Subjunctive II.

Let us now consider each of the above means in detail.