Subjunctive Mood
Learn how the subjunctive mood uses a special verb form to express a wish, suggestion, demand or hypothetical situation, rather than a plain statement of fact.
Not a fact, but a wish or a demand
The subjunctive mood expresses something other than reality.
Most English sentences use the indicative mood, which states facts. The subjunctive mood is used instead when a sentence expresses a wish, a suggestion, a demand, or a situation that is not real.
Compare He arrives early. with I suggest that he arrive early. The first sentence is a plain fact, stated in the indicative. The second expresses a suggestion, and the verb arrive appears without the usual -s ending, even though the subject is he.
English uses the subjunctive mood in a smaller number of situations than many other languages, but it still appears regularly in both everyday and formal English.
Before you begin
The subjunctive mood is one structure within advanced grammar.
This lesson focuses on the subjunctive mood specifically. If you would like an overview of the other structures covered under advanced grammar, begin with the Advanced Grammar page.
The central idea
Compare a plain fact with a wish or suggestion about the same idea.
01
Indicative Mood
States a fact, using the ordinary verb form.
She is here.
02
Subjunctive Mood
Expresses a wish about something not currently true.
I wish she were here.
The useful question is: Is this a fact, or a wish, suggestion or demand?
He arrives early. → a fact, indicative
I suggest that he arrive early. → a suggestion, subjunctive
The subjunctive mood signals that a sentence is not simply describing what is true, but what is wished for, suggested, required, or imagined.
The present subjunctive
Uses the base form of the verb, with no ending for any subject.
The base form, even for he, she and it
I suggest that he arrive early.
The doctor recommended that she rest for a week.
In ordinary statements, the verb would normally add -s for he or she, as in he arrives. In the subjunctive, that ending is dropped.
Common verbs that trigger the subjunctive
suggest
recommend
insist
demand
require
request
propose
The manager insisted that everyone attend the meeting.
Common expressions that trigger the subjunctive
It is important that…
It is essential that…
It is necessary that…
It is vital that…
It is essential that the report be accurate.
Even the verb be stays in its base form here, rather than changing to is.
The past subjunctive: were
Were is used for all subjects when describing something unreal.
Were instead of was
If I were you, I would apologise.
I wish she were here.
He acts as if he were in charge.
In careful or formal English, were replaces was for every subject, including I, he and she, when the sentence describes something imaginary, hypothetical, or contrary to fact.
This is the same pattern used in the second conditional
This use of were connects closely to conditional sentences describing unlikely or imaginary present situations.
Was is also common in everyday speech
If I was you, I’d apologise.
Was is widely used in relaxed, everyday English, while were remains the more traditional and formal choice.
Formulaic subjunctive expressions
Some fixed expressions preserve the subjunctive as a set phrase.
Common fixed expressions
So be it.
Long live the king.
If need be.
Be that as it may.
Suffice it to say…
These expressions are learned as whole phrases rather than constructed freely, since the subjunctive pattern inside them is fixed by tradition.
A useful decision guide
Ask whether the sentence describes reality, or something else.
01
Does the sentence follow a verb like suggest, recommend or insist?
Use the base form of the verb, with no ending, in the following clause.
02
Does the sentence follow “it is important/essential/necessary that”?
Use the base form of the verb here too, including be rather than is.
03
Is the sentence describing something imaginary or contrary to fact?
Use were for all subjects, especially after wish or if.
04
Is this part of a fixed expression?
Some phrases, such as so be it, keep the subjunctive as a set form.
Common mistakes
Do not use the ordinary present tense after a subjunctive trigger.
Adding -s after a subjunctive trigger verb.
Not: I suggest that he arrives early.
Correct: I suggest that he arrive early.
The verb stays in its base form, without the usual third-person ending.
Using is instead of be after “it is important that.”
Not: It is essential that the report is accurate.
Correct: It is essential that the report be accurate.
The base form be is used, not the ordinary present form is.
Using was in more careful or formal writing.
Less formal: I wish I was taller.
More formal: I wish I were taller.
Both are used in everyday English, but formal or careful writing usually prefers were in this pattern.
Check your understanding
Is this sentence using the subjunctive mood?
Choose the correct answer for each sentence.
The teacher recommended that he study every day.
✅ Exactly! Recommended triggers the subjunctive, and study has no -s ending.
❎ Not quite. Look at the verb study: does it have the usual third-person ending?
Compare with “he studies” versus “he study.”
She arrives at the office at nine every morning.
✅ Exactly! This is a plain statement of fact, with the ordinary verb form.
❎ Not quite. This sentence is simply describing a routine, not a wish or suggestion.
I wish I were on holiday right now.
✅ Exactly! Were after wish expresses something not currently true.
❎ Not quite. Notice the use of were with the subject I.
He was late for the meeting yesterday.
✅ Exactly! This states a fact about the past, with the ordinary past tense.
❎ Not quite. This sentence is describing something that really happened.
Choose the best explanation
Select the sentence that explains the subjunctive correctly.
Why does “I suggest that he arrive early” use arrive rather than arrives?
✅ Exactly! Verbs like suggest trigger the subjunctive mood in the clause that follows.
❎ Not quite. Think about what type of clause follows a verb like suggest.
Why is “If I were you” more traditionally correct than “If I was you”?
✅ Exactly! The past subjunctive uses were across all subjects in careful or formal usage.
❎ Not quite. Consider what this sentence is describing: something real, or something imaginary.
Which sentence uses the subjunctive mood correctly?
✅ Exactly! Attend keeps the base form after the trigger verb insisted.
❎ Not quite. Check whether the verb has been changed to its ordinary present tense form by mistake.
Try it another way
Complete each subjunctive sentence.
Type the correct form of the verb shown in brackets.
✅ Exactly! Require triggers the subjunctive, so the base form is used.
❎ Not quite. Use the base form of submit, with no ending.
✅ Exactly! It is vital that triggers the base form be, not is.
❎ Not quite. Use the base form of the verb be.
✅ Exactly! Were is used after as if for a situation that is not necessarily true.
❎ Not quite. This sentence describes a hypothetical impression, not a stated fact.
Edit the sentence
Rewrite each sentence with the correct subjunctive form.
Use the note in brackets to decide what needs to change.
I suggest that he arrives early. (correct the subjunctive form)
✅ Exactly! The base form arrive is used after the trigger verb suggest.
❎ Not quite. Remove the -s ending from the verb.
It is essential that the report is accurate. (correct the subjunctive form)
✅ Exactly! Be replaces is after the trigger expression it is essential that.
❎ Not quite. Change is to the base form be.
I wish I was taller. (rewrite using the more traditional formal form)
✅ Exactly! Were is the more traditional, formal choice after wish.
❎ Not quite. Replace was with were.
Quick review
The subjunctive marks a wish, suggestion, demand or unreal situation.
The subjunctive mood expresses a wish, suggestion, demand or unreal situation, rather than a plain fact.
The present subjunctive uses the base form of the verb, with no -s ending, after verbs like suggest, recommend and insist, and after expressions like it is important that.
The past subjunctive uses were for all subjects, especially after wish and in unreal if clauses, connecting closely to the second conditional.
A number of fixed expressions, such as so be it, preserve the subjunctive as a set phrase.
Was is common in everyday speech, while were remains the more traditional and formal choice.
Remember
Ask whether the sentence is stating a fact, or something else.
A wish, a suggestion, a demand or an imaginary situation calls for the subjunctive mood rather than the ordinary verb form. Spotting the trigger word or expression is usually the quickest way to know when it applies.