04. Imperatives, Subjentives, and Conditions.doc

8/14/2019 04. Imperatives, Subjentives, and Conditions.doc

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/04-imperatives-subjentives-and-conditionsdoc 1/7

CHAPTER 4

IMPERATIVES, SUBJUNCTIVES, AND CONDITIONS

☻Imperative

A sentence with an imperative verb is usually a command, an order, a suggestion, advice or invitation

and is formed of the verb base without endings for number or tense:

Open the window, please!

Commands can sound rude unless they are accompanied by markers of politeness such as please.

There are no auxiliaries in commands except do, which must occur in negative commands. It may also occur

in positive commands:

Don’t stay too late, Mary! negative command

Do sit down! emphatic or persuasive command

Do take care of yourself !

Do can be followed by be only in commands:

Don’t be noisy!

"lthough imperatives usually have no sub#ect, we can say that there is an implied sub#ect you. This is

noticed when a reflexive pronoun or a tag $uestion is used:

Be quiet, will you!

Behave yourself !

%owever, a sub#ect you does sometimes occur in commands, being always stressed:

You just listen to me!

The first and the third person commands also occur, but less fre$uently than the second person

commands. " first person command begins with let followed by me in the singular and us often shortened to

‘s in the plural:

Let me have a look at your drawing.

Let’s have dinner.

" third person command has a third person sub#ect, which is preceded by let in formal style:

Somebody let me out ! informal

Let somebody else attempt this task ! formal

☻Subjunctives

Sub#unctive verb forms are little used in &odern 'nglish. (e can distinguish three categories of

sub#unctive, according to )eech and *vartvik:

+. The mandative sub#unctive is used in that clauses after verbs referring to proposals, suggestions,

re$uests and orders propose, demand , require, insist , suggest , and expressions like be

necessary-obligatory-essential etc. It has only one verb form, the short infinitive. Thus there is not an s

ending in the third person singular present tense, and past tenses are indistinguishable. It occurs mainly in

/



formal style and especially in "m'. In other contexts, that clauses with should 0 infinitive or toinfinitive

are more common:

!is father suggests that he take the job. formal

!is father suggests that he should take the job.

!is father suggests him to take the job.

1. The formulaic sub#unctive also consists of the base and is used only in certain expressions like

Come what may2,

Suffice it to say2,

Be that as it may2,

Bless you!

"od save the #ueen!

$ong live the %resident !

!eaven help us all !

/. The weresub#unctive uses were instead of was and occurs in clauses expressing condition or

contrast and in subordinates after verbs like wish, and the con#unction as if . &as is also used and is more

common in informal style:

'f she were/was to do something like that, ' am not on her side.

!e shouted at me as if ' were/was deaf .

' wish ' were/ was on holiday, but we use &ere ' to find a treasure(trove ,2 not &as ' to2. The

sub#unctive is also used after if only, it)s *high+ time:

'f only the sun were/was to shine now. 't)s high time he were/was taught a lesson.

3egatives are not used after 't)s *high+ time, 't)s about time. The sub#unctive can also be used after

lest :

!e avoided mentioning her name lest her wife be upset .

' asked him to ring first lest the manager were away.

☻Conditions

Conditions express imaginary actions that can, could or could have happened before other events can,

could or could have happened. 'f , meaning 4provided that5, is sometimes followed by then, which can be only

implied:

f something happens, then give me a call .

f it)s nice weather, we can go to the seaside .

Conditions are often introduced by if , but can be also introduced by other words, such as: assuming

*that+, as- so long as, even if , if only, on *the+ condition *that+, provide *that+, providing *that+, unless used in

Type +, suppose *that+, supposing *that+, otherwise * if not+, but for 0 gerund-noun , and, or *else+, in case

of-in the event of 0 present for the present or past for the past, since etc. &hat if and ay can be used in

the same sense as $et us suppose:

6



!hat if/Say he wins the lottery and buys a new car 7 (e can shorten a condition if we begin a new

sentence with if so, in that case, or if not or if we continue with in which case:

he may not be at home in which case ')ll come later .

!e may be busy. f so *in that case+ ' won)t stay long . &hether or not introduces alternative

conditions:

!hether ' feel well or not ')ll do the job.

There are three main types of conditional sentences:

Type 1. will 0 if + present:

' will pass the e/am if ' work harder . It is used to express real, possible or very probable situations in

the present or future.

Type 2. would 0 if + past tense:

' would pass the e/am if ' worked harder . It is used to express imaginary situations contrary to the

facts in the present. It is also used to give advice.

Type 3. would have 0 if + past perfet:

' would have passed the e/am if ' had worked harder . It is used to express an impossible condition,

regrets or criticism.

(hen the facts are-were always true we use present 0 present-past 0 past. In this case if can be

replaced with when*ever+ and is also called conditional Type 8.

'f ' wake up early ' finish my work .

'f it was raining we stayed indoors.

"ccording to ). 9. "lexander, we can use any tense se$uence if the context re$uires it. Thus we canhave:

Type 1 0 Type 3:

'f she is as rich as people think, she would have bou"ht a bigger house.

Type 2 0 Type 3:

'f he knew how to handle it, he wouldn’t have broken it .

Type 3 0 Type 2:

'f my uncle had been the manager, ' would have a better position in the business.

Type 2 0 Type 1:

'f usan didn’t write her name, nobody will know it . +6: 16

Conditions can be sometimes implied, not directly introduced by if . Thus we have:

Type 1: "iven time, they)ll probably agree. If we give them time, 2 &ith luck, we can get there in

time. If we have luck, 2

Type 2: 0o hear him talk, you)d think he was the %rime Minister . If you could hear him talk, 2; But

for her pension, she would starve. If it wasn5t her pension, 2

Type 3: &ithout your help, ' couldn)t have done it . If you hadn5t helped me, 2 'n different

circumstances ' would have said ‘yes) . If circumstances had been different, 2

<



&ill and would are not normally used after if . (hen we want to express +. a polite re$uest or 1.

insistence on doing or not doing something, we use both will and would . It is also used to express /. doubt

and not condition. In this case if means whether . 6. hould is also used after if to express something possible

but not very likely to happen.

+. 'f you will wait a minute, ' will tell you the time of departure.

1. 'f you will miss *insist on missing+ classes, you1ll fail the e/ams.

/. ' doubt whether he will be here on time.

6. 'f you should see %aul, give him my regards.

In formal 'nglish if is sometimes omitted and then we have an inversion.

!ere he to give a lecture, everybody would be attending.

#ad they promised more, their party would have been elected.

&ish-if only 0 past tense is used to express the desire that we would like something to be different in

the present.

wish/f only ' didn1t have to listen to you complaining.

&ish-if only 0 past perfect expresses regret that something happened or did not happen in the past.

!e wishes he hadn$t married that dreadful woman.

&ish-if only 0 would is used for a polite imperative or shows annoyance about a certain activity.

' wish you would write more legibly.

' wish-'f only he wouldn$t be always late for the meetings with the boss.

= "fter ' and we, could is used instead of would .

' wish ' could *2would+ go with you. !ad better 0 short infinitive is used to give advice or warning in a particular situation and is stronger

than should or ought to.

3ou had better lock all the doors and windows at night.

&ould rather or would prefer to are used to express preference. (hen the sub#ect of would rather is

also the sub#ect of the second verb, there are the following constructions:

+. would rather 0 present infinitive

$d rather do the washing in the afternoon.

1. would rather 0 perfect infinitive

$d rather not have told her the whole truth.

/. would rather 0 short infinitive 0 than 0 short infinitive

$d rather stay at home than "o out with him.

(hen the sub#ect of would rather is different from the sub#ect of the second verb, there are the

following constructions:

+. would rather 0 past tense refers to present or future:

$d rather %eter bou"ht another car.

1. would rather 0 past perfect refers to past:

$d rather he hadn$t sat on my hat.

>



(hen we want to express preference we can use prefer :

+. prefer 0 ing 0 to 0 ing refers to general preference:

I prefer playing tennis to playing chess.

1. prefer 0 long infinitive 0 rather than 0 short infinitive refers to general preference:

I prefer to read a book rather than watch a film.

/. prefer 0 noun 0 to 0 noun refers to general preference:

&other prefers meat to fish.

6. would prefer 0 long infinitive 0 rather than 0 short infinitive refers to specific preference:

I!d prefer to go to 9reece rather than go to Turkey.

'?'@CI*'*

2". Put the ver#s in #ra$ets into the orret tense.

+. They would have built a new house if they 2had had 2have enough money.

1. If you had told her the truth she 2not be upset now.

/. (ere I you, I 2not drive in such bad weather.

6. Aill 2can find a #ob easily if she knew how to work on the computer.

<. Bour son 2ruin his toy if he is so hard on it.

>. &ona 2.drop in on us if she had known our new address.

. If you like adventure stories, you 2en#oy reading this book.

. Dnless you 2know *panish, you will find a hard time in *pain looking for a #ob.

. BouEd better own up, otherwise you 2be punished.+8. I 2cannot lend him my car even if he begged me a thousand times.

2%. Choose the orret answer.

+. I canEt find my purse. F If I were you, I 2 B2in the wardrobe.

" shall look G would look C am looking

1. (here are my car keys7 F If you 2them in the right place, you would have found them by now.

" had put G would have put C put

/. 2we get a taxi, we wonEt get to the station on time.

" *uppose G Dnless C Hroviding

6. Can I go to the cinema with oris7 F If you 2your homework, you can go.

" finished G would finish C have finished

<. I am the last in my class. F (ell, if you 2harder, you wouldnEt have fallen behind so much.

" had worked G will work C have worked

>. (hen water boils, it 2into steam.

" will change G changed C changes

. IEm going to the skating rink. F If I wasnEt busy, I 2with you.

" came G will come C would come



. %ave you met %elen7 F If I had, I 2her.

" would know G knew C would have known

. *usan has caught a cold. F (ell, if she 2properly, she wouldnEt be in bed now.

" had dressed G have dressed C dressed

+8. 2we miss the train, when does the next one leave7

" Hroviding G *upposing C (hen

2&. Corret the 'ista$es.

+. If the weather will get 4gets4 better, weEll go for a walk in the woods.

1. *am should prefer to see "nn rather than *ue.

/. If I knew your address I would have sent you a postcard.

6. Dnless you donEt practise daily, youEll never become a good piano player.

<. Heter wishes he didnEt miss the bus; now he has missed the train too.

>. Aohn would prefer eating Indian food rather than Chinese.

. Bou would better not tell everybody about your failure.

. *upposing I invited you on a trip, will you accept7

. IEd rather you hadnEt been late when you come to my parties.

+8. %e wouldnEt finish his report if you hadnEt told him how to write it.

2(. )inish the followin* sentenes without han*in* the 'eanin* of the sentenes printed #efore the'.

+. If I were her, I would not wear such a short skirt at the interview.

*he had ..better not wear such a short skirt at the interview2

1. *hould the priJes go down, we will buy a new car.

If 22222222222222222222222

/. Bou wonEt be expelled provided you admit to your outrageous behaviour.

"s long as 2222222222222222222.

6. *uppose you phone her first7

(hy 222222222222222222222.

<. If Tommy were cleverer, he would have married )iJ.

(ere 222222222222222222222

>. If I had been him, I would have delivered the parcel earlier.

If I had been in 22222222222222222

. If she isnEt more careful, sheEll get hurt.

Dnless 22222222222222222222..

. %e filled in the application form because he wanted to get the #ob.

*ince 22222222222222222222..

. If you should have any spare time, please go through my essay and tell me your opinion.

*hould you 2222222222222222222

+8. *tudy hard or you may fail the exam.

"s long 22222222222222222222..



Documents

04. Imperatives, Subjentives, and Conditions.doc