The Use of the Subjunctive Mood (II)

The Subjunctive mood may be used in simple sentences; of unreal wish and in complex sentences.

In simple sentences:

If it were not so dark! - Если бы не было так темно!

If only I knew it for sure! Если бы я знала это наверняка!

If only I had told her the truth! - Если бы я только сказал ей правду!

In complex sentences:

1) in subordinate clauses of unreal condition which are usually introduced by the conjunction "if (the use of tenses is absolute in this case: when reference is made to the present or future the Present Subjunctive and the Present Conditional are used; when reference is made to the past the Past Subjunctive and the Past Conditional are used):

If I had more time I should learn French.

Note 1: The modal verbs "can" and "may" have no special forms for the Conditional mood. They have only one form of the oblique mood - the form of the Subjunctive mood present:

If he came now he could help us.

could help- the Present Subjunctive mood of the modal verb "can" and the indefinite infinitive of the verb "to help"

If the whole situation refers to the past the perfect Infinitive is used:

If he had come yesterday he could have helped us.

could have helped- the Present Subjunctive mood of the modal verb "can" and the perfect infinitive of the verb "to help"

could/might do it – (могла)бы (to the present or future)

could/might have done it – (могла) бы (to the past)

Note 2:The conjunction "if "may be omitted and the inversion is used:

a) for the Present Subjunctivewith the verbs "be", "have" and modal verbs:

If she were here she would help us. – Were she here she would help us.

If I could swim I should go to the river with you. – Could I swim I should go...

If we had time we should go to the cinema. – Had we time we should go...

b) for the Past Subjunctive it isalso possible:

If we had known about it yesterday we should have informed you.

Had we known about it yesterday we...

Note 3:The unreal condition can also be expressed by the phrase "but for + a noun/a pronoun"

But for the rain (if it were not for the rain) they would go to the country.

But for the rain (If it had not been for the rain) they would have gone to the country.

"But for" in rendered in Russian as " еcли бы не".

2) In subordinate clauses of concession introduced by "even if", "even though" (the use of tenses is absolute in this case):

Even if you were right I shouldn't defend you.

Even if (even though) he had come he wouldn't have helped us.

Даже если бы...

3) in object clauses after the verb "to wish" the Present Subjunctive or the Past Subjunctive may be used to express a wish which cannot be fulfilled or a hardly realizable wish

I wish it were true.

I wish you had asked me anything but this.

The use of tenses is relative in this case:

a) If the action of the subordinate clause is simultaneous with the action of the principal clause the Present Subjunctive is used:

I wish he were with us. - Мне жаль, что его нет с нами.
I wished he were with us. - Мне было жаль, что его не было с нами.

I wished I knew it for sure.

b) If the action of the subordinate clause precedes the action of the principal clause the Past Subjunctive is used:

I wish you had stayed at home. - Мне жаль, что ты не осталась дома.

I wished you had stayed at home. - Мне было жаль, что ты не осталась

дома.

c) If the action of the subordinate clause follows the action of the principal clause the Present Subjunctive is used:

I wish/ I shall wish/ I wished you got there in good time.

To make the sentence more emphatic one can use "would + an infinitive" after an expression of wish, but only if the subjects in both clauses are different and if the wish refers to the present or to the future.

I wish/ I shall wish/ I wished he would (not) do it.

Note 1:When the verb in the object clause isaffirmative in English it is negative in Russian and vice versa.

I wish I had told him the truth. - Жаль, что я не сказал ему правду.

I wish I had not told him the truth. - Жаль, что я сказал ему правду.

4) in subordinate clauses of unreal comparison introduced by the conjunctions "as if, "as though" the Present Subjunctive or the Past Subjunctive may be used. The use of tenses is relative in this case:

a) If the action of the subordinate clause is simultaneous with the action of the principal clause the Present Subjunctive is used in the subordinate clause:

The house is so quiet as if there were nobody there. - В доме так тихо, как будто там никого нет.

The house was so quiet as if there were nobody there. - В доме было так тихо, как будто там никого не было.

Her eyes are (were) sparkling as though she were laughing at us. - Ее глаза сверкают (сверкали), как будто она смеется (смеялась) над нами.

b) If the action of the subordinate clause precedes the action of the principal clause the Past Subjunctive is used in the subordinate clause:

Our life goes on as if nothing had happened. - Наша жизнь продолжается, как будто ничего не произошло.

Our life went on as if nothing had happened. - Наша жизнь продолжалась, как будто ничего не произошло.

Our life will go on as if nothing had happened. - Наша жизнь будет продолжаться, как будто ничего не произошло.

She is breathing deep as if (as though) she had been running. – Она дышит тяжело, как будто она бежала.

She was breathing deep as if (as though) she had been running. - Она дышала тяжело, как будто она бежала.

c) If the action of the subordinate clause follows the action of the principal clause "would + an infinitive" is used:

He moved towards me as though he would strike me. - Он двинулся на меня, как будто собирался меня ударить.

Note 1:Clauses introduced by "as if'", "as though" are treated as predicative clauses when they follow the verbs "to look", "to feel", "to sound", "to seem", "to be":

She looks as if she were ill.

She looks as if she had been ill for a long time.

She looked as if she would cry.

He felt as if he didn’t know her.

It will be as if nothing had happened.

5) in attributive clauses after the phrases "It is time ...", "It is high time ..." only the Present Subjunctive is used:

It is/was time smb did smth.

It is time we had lunch.

It was time we bad lunch.