I'm a native English speaker (midwest USA), who learned English from my mother, whose native language was Lithuanian. She and my grammar school teachers spoke excellent English, so I grew up using the subjunctive correctly. When I began studying French, it was not difficult to grasp the concept, and I then became conscious of when I was and wasn't using it in English. (I hadn't really thought of the "rule" of how to use "be" in the subjunctive, although I used it correctly from hearing it used.) I've tried to teach some close friends/relatives how to use the past subjunctive "were," since so many use the indicative "was." Most people I know(should I upgrade my acquaintance list?) don't get the concept, so I've tried instead to short-cut my lesson by introducing some phrases, using "if," for example. Even then people find it difficult. In French class the teachers have typically introduced the subjunctive with such comments as, "This is difficult," and the students typically dislike learning about it (except me, of course). I still make enough mistakes in French, but at least I do understand the concept; and my study of it in French led me to better understand how it's used in English. It strikes me that your explanation is the same kind of explanation I've seen presented to help English speakers understand the subjunctive in French. I think it's probably very difficult to start from the perspective of the rules (which you've done beautifully, and how else can one do it anyway). But, if I'd not already had some background in this, I think it would have been hard to "get" it just from the rules, at least not without some concentrated study. I think this is the same reason it's harder for an adult to learn a foreign language than it is for a child; namely, our skill at imitating tends to decrease with age. Perhaps I'm in the minority, for I do love to see the mathematical precision in language when the rules are followed consistently. Regarding the distinction between formal and informal language, I remember rules from childhood about not dangling one's prepositions. I noted that you used "whom", but put the "to" at the end of one of your sentences. (The subtitles of that sentence read "who," which, of course, is how most people speak nowadays.) I, however, will take a "whom" wherever I can get it, the dangling preposition notwithstanding. All kidding aside (why do my sons think I'm not funny), thank you for the complete and fascinating presentation.
Thanks for your interesting comment. btw I would normally either put "who" and "to" at the end or sentence or "to" before whom but not mix them. I must have been having a bad day.
It's a delight to see someone correctly teaching the English subjunctive. So many English speakers--even those who teach English--don't know about the subjunctive mood. Thank you!
It's the best explanation I have ever had of the subjunctive mode, it's very important because native English speakers don't use it correctly and it's very tricky for us.
I am a native English speaker, I am a reader, I find writing formal English easy but had never even heard of the subjunctive until I started learning other languages. My sister who doesn't like reading and hated essay writing at school knew all about it....and grammar in general. As she said, though, I use the subjunctive all the time. It is a form I actually like.
www.englishclub.com/grammar/subjunctive.htm In Spanish and French it is easy to recognize the subjunctive mode. If you know French or Spanish, you can easily identify the subjunctive mode in English.
In the UK grammar is not taught well. I met several people with a master's in English literature who completed their course without taking a grammar exam. I used to explain grammar rules to my native English speakers colleagues when I worked in schools in London.
@@danhope77 I may be wrong but I think of the subjunctive as only surviving in English in phrases (such as 'if need be' and 'If I were you') rather than as a part of the grammar. What do you think? I struggle to think of examples, though 'if there were some mythical planet' would be subjunctive, and it comes more naturally than 'if there was some mythical planet'. I have now totally destroyed my own argument. Arrggghhh!
@@MrMartibobs yes, the subjunctive is not used much. Even in French and in Italian more and more people don't use it. For me it is a beautiful verbal tense but I do agree that it is not crucial in order to make yourself understood, it's interesting and it definitely has its own flavour. In Italian it's definitely used more than in French and much more than in English especially by well spoken people.
Your video is great! I’m a French learner, and learning about the subjonctif/subjunctive in my native English really helps me to use it correctly in French , where it is a bit more common and complex. Thank you for teaching this subject so clearly. In English, I use the subjunctive /subjonctif without even realizing it. You made me aware if it now. Again, many thanks ! 🙏🇺🇸🇬🇧🇫🇷👍😉🎈I love your humor and your engaging style of teaching. I’m so glad I found your TH-cam channel today. I’ll be a new regular follower, especially since this will help me with French to English and English to French translation. I’ll be recommending you to all my language nerd friends ! À la prochaine fois et merci de tout ce que tu fais. 🙏💚💙😌
Most Americans can not make the difference between an adjective and an adverb. Grammar is very important. Most teachers teach languages without teaching the Grammar. What a mistake!
@@elisabethdakak878 I disagree with your response on two levels. Firstly, I take problem with your trying to point out Americans as stupid. I'm American. I happen to know an overwhelming number of very intelligent, educated Americans. I find this comment offensive. Also if your "statistic" about half of Americans not being able to tell the difference between an adjective an adverb is true, it's certainly true about other English-speaking countries as well, such as the UK or Canada. Secondly, you're touting prescriptivism, which I'll let you look up.
@@everestwitman such a elegant response. That shows americans are not stupid at all. And you both are correct. In average more English speakers care less about grammatical rules compared to other people, specialy Latin language speakers.
Always so good and informative! Thanks Gideon.Some native speakers tried to correct me when I used “if I were you”, I learned it at language school but just as a conditional, they never explained the subjuctive or why we use “ were” and not “was” so I could not counter-argue people who tried to hiper-correct me.Now I know why, so I can explain.thanks!
THE BEST EXPLANATION EVER!!! I'm Spanish teacher and has been extremely difficult to me explain the spanish subjunctive because I didn't handle well these rules in english and I couldn't make a close equivalence. Now I have a great tool. Thank you! Greetings from Venezuela!!!
Thank you for this, I had no idea the subjunctive even existed. I actually used it quite often without even knowing it, mostly in the form of "... be it X or Y...". My high school teacher never told us about it, explaining the past subjunctive "were instead of was" as just a more socially accepted and common way of saying "was" in the past tense, with no further elaboration on that. Whether or not she told us or even knew about it herself, I now do, thanks to your fantastic video!
I am a native speaker who is interested in English grammar. I try to be correct in my writing as well as in my speech. I like to be clear and to use my language well but was always rather uncertain about the subjunctive. I find your videos extremely helpful and easy to follow . Thank you.
When I learned French, one of big realizations there was that the subjunctive in French led to a whole different set of verb tenses (and a whole different set of irregular verbs). I believe that many Francophone people avoid using that tense in their language when possible, to avoid all this extra word salad in the mouth.
That's not true. Native french speakers use it without realizing it. Besides, they feel the need to use it otherwise the sentence doesn't sound correctly. One example is the tendency to use the subjunctive after "après que" when the correct way, according to the Real Académie Française, is the indicative
thank you for this video, as a speaker of english as a second language this is somehow a taboo subject in school, teachers barely talk about the subjunctive. you cleared a lot of misconceptions.
A more advanced note about the subjunctive, that is particularly helpful for understanding the fixed expressions or for reading poetry and literature: when used with hypotheticals like "if" and "whether", the subjunctive can actually invert with the subject, and drop the "if" or "whether". So, for "be that as it may", "be that" is actually an inversion of "(if) that be". "Whether it be by X or Y" is frequently inverted to "be it by X or Y", with the "whether" implied, even in Modern English. There is also a "future subjunctive", sort of, with "were to X". "If I were to go" is an example. This can also be subject to inversion, so "were I to go to England, would it be expensive?" is an inversion of "if I were to go". This usage is actually not too uncommon, but is not highly common either. Inversions are especially favored in poetry, because they make the sentence more concise and have a pleasant sound to them. John Dryden in his play Oedipus writes "were the world mine..." instead of "if the world were mine", because the former is much more pleasing to the ear.
One particularly masterful usage of the subjunctive and subject inversion is this passage from The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut: "Constant laughed to himself, thinking how delighted Mrs. Rumfoord would be were the vulgar parvenu Mr. Constant of Hollywood to spend his entire visit treed on the fountain by a thoroughbred dog." The subjunctive here is "were the vulgar parvenu Mr. Constant of Hollywood to spend", which is an inversion if "if [...] were to spend". The inversion is set up by another inversion "how delighted Mrs. Rumfoord would be", (instead of Mrs. Rumfoord would be delighted), which itself is set up by the participle "thinking", which is then wrapped up with one final participle phrase "treed on the fountain by a thoroughbred dog". Inversion upon inversion upon inversion, masterfully connected clause by clause. Notice that this is all contained within one nominative absolute!
Hello, firstly, I thank you for this tremendous goodness of knowledge. Even though I am interested in linguistics, and grammar generally, not once have I thought that "be that as it may" be an inversion. I would like to ask a question regarding replacement of the subjunctive with the infinitive. I do think that I do it wrongly. I either use "to" as in “I suggest you TO go to somewhere else.” or, I use "It is good FOR you to do..." to point out to whom I am talking whilst still using infinitive yet, the latter sounds repetitive since I use this structure all the time and I don't know how to replace it properly and how the native speakers do it. Would you mind explaining the alternatives used in the spoken and the written language? Also, were that be weird would I use subjunctive in if clauses where the conditional is used, and if it is (be?) possible then how can one use the subjunctive for the conditionals properly? For example If I were is an subjunctive structure as 2nd conditional but 1st conditional uses indicative mood with present and future tenses and 3rd conditional uses mostly modals, so I don't know if it is possible to replace them somehow. On top of that, I cann fathom what is the difference between "If I did..." vs. "If I were to do..." in 2nd conditional. I generally perceive the structure "be to-infinitive" as a future tense so this seems like future in the past rather than subjunctive.
I'm a retired translator who, for a few years, worked as a teacher of English as a foreign language. I discovered your channel only recently, and have come back to enjoy a number of your lessons and commentaries, which are interesting and entertaining. Having watched this lesson, I offer the following for your consideration: It could be misleading to characterize these two types of subjunctive in terms of "present" and "past" because both types can refer to present or past time. The first type of subjunctive you discussed (with the infinitive minus "to") expresses requirements or suggestions, and is based on the kinds of preliminary phrases you described. This first subjunctive form is the same for present time, future time, past time, or to express a general principle. "It's important that the union's demands be met (i.e. now, in the near future, or in general)", "It was important that the union's demands be met (e.g. during last week's negotiations)". The other kind of subjunctive, which describes "contrary-to-fact" conditions, expresses a hypothetical, unreal condition. It has a present tense form and a past tense form, which are different. The present-tense form is based on the past indicative (as you described), while the past-tense form is based on the past-perfect indicative. Present: "If I were you, I'd ...". But I'm not you. Past: "If I'd known then what I know now, I would have ...". But I didn't know then what I know now. Incidentally, though I maintain a distinction between the two contrary-to-fact subjunctive tenses, it seems that, generally speaking, the past tense form is on the way out, with the present-tense form now being used for both present and past contrary-to-fact conditions. Many now say "If I knew then what I know now ..." instead of "If I'd known then what I know now...".
This is what happened to French. The past subjunctive disappeared. Now they use the imperfect instead. The present subjunctive is still commonly used in French though.
Thank you for that video. I teach French to English speakers and they really struggle with the subjonctif. Part of the problem is that most programs I have to follow introduce the rule way too early when the students don't have enough experience with the language. (I believe that at the beginning, grammar should be used only to explain how the language work, without any expectation that the student master it, or even understand it all. When they get more advanced, then it is time to revisit the rules and to more in depth.) The other part of the problem is that my students don't know the rule for the use in English (some believe there is no subjonctive in English). I usually give them a few example, but I realize with your video it is more commun than I thought (sometimes we don't recognize it, and sometimes the speakers simply use a different structure). So I guess from now on I will start my lesson with your video. They will see it in English and it should ease the learning process for the French rule. Thank you!
Finally such a pretty clear video!! Thanks for the explanation, I am Italian and I couldn't make it until this lesson!! If I had seen this video before, I would have understood the subject earlier!!
The common uses of the subjunctive, shown toward the end, are fossilised: whether it be (nobler in the mind -- Hamlet); if need be (which usually comes out as if needs be); be that as it may. The verbs and phrases that take the subjunctive are generally imperative, which we cringing Brits are likely to avoid; maybe that's why Americans are better at it. Still the comparison with the infinitive and the third person test are great subjunctive-detectors. Thanks Gideon, I've learned something.
Marvellous. I like using the subjunctive. It seems a bit more complicated in Spanish which have been trying to learn for sometime (on-line resources). There is a phrase I use which may be either a pet phrase or just wrong. For example, if I have been nominated to take on a particular role, I am tempted to confirm by saying, "That be me, then".
great channel to improve english skills! so glad i discovered it and thank you very much for share it. It’s a very interesting site, love the stories about history, people, culture, accents, etc. Regards from Chile :)
Some of you commenters need to clam down ... Language is art; not science ... You are somewhat free to express yourself in the terms you want to use so long as it doesn't affect understanding.
Wonderful lesson, sir, I have to watch it some more times - not only because it's informative (and It certainly is, indeed!) But your T-shirt is so informative, too, that It took me half of the time to explore its content, you know.
I get a real kick out of binge-watching episodes of LetThemTalkTV on and on. I only wish we had TH-cam when I was at school and tried to learn Russian. They taught us many things but not to communicate with Russians. Now I rediscover the beautiful language watching Russian serials, for instance "Кухня", on YT. Мышонку шепчет мышь: - Ты все шуршишь, не спишь ! Мышонок шепчет мыши: - Шуршать я буду тише.
I've been studying English language for about 20 years now and honestly, I had never heard about the right use of this tense 🙄!!! So amazing.. Thank you so much for this great lesson! Thank you!
I'd thought there was a fixed rule before I watched this video, now that you recommended that we learn the fixed phrases, I feel less confused. Thanks.
Interesting, I'm a native English speaker from the UK and many of the examples here sound like how lawyers speak, and some grammarians too! Apart from expressions like "Wish you were here" and "I wouldn't do that if I were you", I'd say the subjunctive is pretty much superfluous in most English conversations. However, it will be encountered more in literature and other types of published articles and reports. I live in Spain, where the subjunctive is very much part of daily speech, no matter what level of society you may come from. It conveys more than just doubt or uncertainty, it also adds an emotional aspect to the phrase that uses it. Interestingly, in Spanish the formal conjugations and negative imperatives are the same as the present subjunctive. All this grammar does make one wonder why it has been made unnecessarily complicated. I imagine it could be due to the origins of much of the grammatical structure being strongly influenced by the ruling classes and law makers. As the language evolves, I think that it's quite possible that the subjunctive might become extinct, like the dinosaur it appears to be.
Thanks for all your grate efforts you are making to help learn English to a more advanced level and plz continue providing us an advanced grammar level or phrases like these to improve our English skills. Thank you very much 😊
I loved this video! subjunctive is a great mood 😎 you should see how misunderstood and misplaced it is in Spanish in my country (usually mixed up with the conditional: I'd be I were 🙁)
This content has got me to subscribe! I didn't know anything about the subjunctive (even though I had been using it) until I started learning Spanish. I really had been using it without realising. But one thing that still gnaws away at me is that I cannot help but think that the subjunctive (in English) is a little redundant and that the meaning would always be conveyed as intended by the non-standard use of the indicative. I would absolutely love a video that gives a concrete example of a statement that is perhaps ambiguous if it's given in the indicative mood but the meaning of which is completely clear in the subjunctive mood.
The subjunctive appears to be more common in American English, and most speakers don't seem to realize that there's anything unique about it when they say it. However, I have seen among the younger generations that "object + infinitive" seems more common. For instance, I have heard people say "I recommend him to go" instead of "I recommend he go". I don't think it's because "he go" sounds strange, but rather that people expect verbs like "recommend" and "suggest" to take an object (like "can I recommend a movie?") and so when they go to form a sentence, it seems more natural to use the object pronoun with an infinitive instead of starting an entirely new clause with a mood they never learned in their own English classes growing up. But still, people use the subjunctive here without even realizing it most of the time. It always surprises me when I hear it properly despite it not really being a part of English education, since it's one of the trickier aspects of English grammar.
Hello Gideon, Thank you for such a thorough lesson on this tough subject in English. I have recently found out in our English textbook for junior high students here in Vietnam, suggest struture is used with should, to avoid using subjunctive altogether. It's written as below: Suggest + (that) + S + should I know this is a less formal way of using and I personally do not recommend it to students as i want them to learn the proper way of speaking. Also, subjunctive is very common in English, so I'm not sure how students are taught when it comes to other verbs, such as recommend, advise and so on. As an experienced English teacher, may I ask what's your opinion on this? Again, you have my utmost gratitude and respect for sharing your wisdom openly. You are making changes in lots of people's lives.
You can avoid the subjunctive but why? I suggest (that) you should not do this (no subjunctive) I suggest (that) you not do this (subjunctive) The subjunctive version is actually easier. Why complicate peoples lives? And in the first sentence you are adding a would that is redundant. 'should' adds nothing and can be omitted.
@@LetThemTalkTV Students don't get subjunctive for some reasons. And I agree it's actually easier as suggest already means offering advice so why add should? Only if I could explain 😆
I’m English and I didn’t even realise that we use the subjunctive. I only heard the word subjunctive once I started learning Spanish. I don’t remember it being taught at school. Thanks anyway!
Thank you Sir for this presentation on subjunctives. It is clear, it is said in a very understandable tempo of speech, it is easy to follow your explanations and you give very good sample sentences. No one before you has managed to make me understand this part of grammar. So am really greatful for you work and enthusiasm to teach people in an easy way. Greetings to you and your team from Budapest. God bless you with good health! :)
Come what may, whether it be in good times or bad...isn't the subjunctive rather expressive? If need be, I will watch this video again to better inform myself about the subjunctive. Many thanks 😊 🙏.
Thank you sou much for the great explanation! However I still have some doubts regarding the subjunctive. What about the verbs want, need or hope. Isn't it correct to say sentences such as: "I want you to come here", I need her to do it", or "I hope it is enough"? Thanks a lot in advance.
■ Whether it *be* (08:58) 09:11 I'll take an appointment *whether it be* during the week or the weekend. 09:25 I've got to get to London tomorrow *whether it be* by train or by donkey. ■ *Be* that as it may (09:34) 09:41 You say you don't have the virus, *be that as it may,* you should still take a test. 09:53 The quote by BigWig Systems is much cheaper than Van Liebling *be that as it may* I'm going to take the Van Liebling quote. ■ If need *be* (10:04) 10:10 I must release this video tomorrow. I'll work all night *if need be.* 10:24 I'll go to prison *if need be* but I'm not paying this fine, no. ■ *Come* what may (10:30) 10:37 I'm going to move to the big city next summer *come what may.* 10:47 I'll be here for you *come what may.* ■ Usage 02:03 rare 07:45 more common in US ■ Avoid (07:55) 08:01 should 04:50 Ving 08:16 to V 08:28 ignore ■ Form 00:42, 01:06, 01:21 ■ Verb·Adjecctive 03:13 ■ Example 03:34(03:52), 04:07, 04:31(04:38), 05:44, 06:00, 06:36, 07:31, 07:35 ■ Wrong example 05:16 ■ Etc 10:51~
I'm a native English speaker (midwest USA), who learned English from my mother, whose native language was Lithuanian. She and my grammar school teachers spoke excellent English, so I grew up using the subjunctive correctly. When I began studying French, it was not difficult to grasp the concept, and I then became conscious of when I was and wasn't using it in English. (I hadn't really thought of the "rule" of how to use "be" in the subjunctive, although I used it correctly from hearing it used.) I've tried to teach some close friends/relatives how to use the past subjunctive "were," since so many use the indicative "was." Most people I know(should I upgrade my acquaintance list?) don't get the concept, so I've tried instead to short-cut my lesson by introducing some phrases, using "if," for example. Even then people find it difficult.
In French class the teachers have typically introduced the subjunctive with such comments as, "This is difficult," and the students typically dislike learning about it (except me, of course). I still make enough mistakes in French, but at least I do understand the concept; and my study of it in French led me to better understand how it's used in English.
It strikes me that your explanation is the same kind of explanation I've seen presented to help English speakers understand the subjunctive in French. I think it's probably very difficult to start from the perspective of the rules (which you've done beautifully, and how else can one do it anyway). But, if I'd not already had some background in this, I think it would have been hard to "get" it just from the rules, at least not without some concentrated study. I think this is the same reason it's harder for an adult to learn a foreign language than it is for a child; namely, our skill at imitating tends to decrease with age. Perhaps I'm in the minority, for I do love to see the mathematical precision in language when the rules are followed consistently.
Regarding the distinction between formal and informal language, I remember rules from childhood about not dangling one's prepositions. I noted that you used "whom", but put the "to" at the end of one of your sentences. (The subtitles of that sentence read "who," which, of course, is how most people speak nowadays.) I, however, will take a "whom" wherever I can get it, the dangling preposition notwithstanding. All kidding aside (why do my sons think I'm not funny), thank you for the complete and fascinating presentation.
Thanks for your interesting comment. btw I would normally either put "who" and "to" at the end or sentence or "to" before whom but not mix them. I must have been having a bad day.
It's a delight to see someone correctly teaching the English subjunctive. So many English speakers--even those who teach English--don't know about the subjunctive mood. Thank you!
It's the best explanation I have ever had of the subjunctive mode, it's very important because native English speakers don't use it correctly and it's very tricky for us.
It tends to be used more by Americans, who probably don't realize they're using it. The British have more problems with it and use it less.
I am a native English speaker, I am a reader, I find writing formal English easy but had never even heard of the subjunctive until I started learning other languages. My sister who doesn't like reading and hated essay writing at school knew all about it....and grammar in general. As she said, though, I use the subjunctive all the time. It is a form I actually like.
www.englishclub.com/grammar/subjunctive.htm
In Spanish and French it is easy to recognize the subjunctive mode. If you know French or Spanish, you can easily identify the subjunctive mode in English.
In the UK grammar is not taught well. I met several people with a master's in English literature who completed their course without taking a grammar exam. I used to explain grammar rules to my native English speakers colleagues when I worked in schools in London.
@@danhope77 I may be wrong but I think of the subjunctive as only surviving in English in phrases (such as 'if need be' and 'If I were you') rather than as a part of the grammar. What do you think? I struggle to think of examples, though 'if there were some mythical planet' would be subjunctive, and it comes more naturally than 'if there was some mythical planet'. I have now totally destroyed my own argument. Arrggghhh!
@@MrMartibobs yes, the subjunctive is not used much. Even in French and in Italian more and more people don't use it. For me it is a beautiful verbal tense but I do agree that it is not crucial in order to make yourself understood, it's interesting and it definitely has its own flavour. In Italian it's definitely used more than in French and much more than in English especially by well spoken people.
@@danhope77 Thanks for taking the trouble to reply. Lovely to get a nice, informed comment.
I was born and live in England am English, and I was never taught all of these good tips and guidance! Thank you !!
I am a learner, from the Middle East from Iran ... and I'm so excited to.....find u!
I have been watching videos on Utube for subjunctive mood and this is the best video on the topic
Good work 👍
Your video is great! I’m a French learner, and learning about the subjonctif/subjunctive in my native English really helps me to use it correctly in French , where it is a bit more common and complex. Thank you for teaching this subject so clearly. In English, I use the subjunctive /subjonctif without even realizing it. You made me aware if it now. Again, many thanks ! 🙏🇺🇸🇬🇧🇫🇷👍😉🎈I love your humor and your engaging style of teaching. I’m so glad I found your TH-cam channel today. I’ll be a new regular follower, especially since this will help me with French to English and English to French translation. I’ll be recommending you to all my language nerd friends ! À la prochaine fois et merci de tout ce que tu fais. 🙏💚💙😌
Me, a native English speaker watching this whole video
Most Americans can not make the difference between an adjective and an adverb. Grammar is very important. Most teachers teach languages without teaching the Grammar. What a mistake!
@@elisabethdakak878 I disagree with your response on two levels. Firstly, I take problem with your trying to point out Americans as stupid. I'm American. I happen to know an overwhelming number of very intelligent, educated Americans. I find this comment offensive. Also if your "statistic" about half of Americans not being able to tell the difference between an adjective an adverb is true, it's certainly true about other English-speaking countries as well, such as the UK or Canada. Secondly, you're touting prescriptivism, which I'll let you look up.
@@everestwitman such a elegant response. That shows americans are not stupid at all. And you both are correct. In average more English speakers care less about grammatical rules compared to other people, specialy Latin language speakers.
@@everestwitman you taken it to seriously...No offense in his comment just we are all sharing our experiences! 🙏👋
@@alexandrefeitosa100 an elegant response🤪 an with vowels
This is the best explanation about subjunctive mood I've ever seen. Thanks!
Hi! You are a great teacher and a very nice person. Your sense of humour is... something! 💖
His humour is (e.g.) outstanding. Awesome. Impressive. Awe-inspiring. Epic. Groovy
Those are kind words. I thank you for them.
Always so good and informative! Thanks Gideon.Some native speakers tried to correct me when I used “if I were you”, I learned it at language school but just as a conditional, they never explained the subjuctive or why we use “ were” and not “was” so I could not counter-argue people who tried to hiper-correct me.Now I know why, so I can explain.thanks!
THE BEST EXPLANATION EVER!!!
I'm Spanish teacher and has been extremely difficult to me explain the spanish subjunctive because I didn't handle well these rules in english and I couldn't make a close equivalence. Now I have a great tool. Thank you! Greetings from Venezuela!!!
Gideon, You are one of the best teachers of the world.
Thank you for this, I had no idea the subjunctive even existed. I actually used it quite often without even knowing it, mostly in the form of "... be it X or Y...". My high school teacher never told us about it, explaining the past subjunctive "were instead of was" as just a more socially accepted and common way of saying "was" in the past tense, with no further elaboration on that. Whether or not she told us or even knew about it herself, I now do, thanks to your fantastic video!
I am a native speaker who is interested in English grammar. I try to be correct in my writing as well as in my speech. I like to be clear and to use my language well but was always rather uncertain about the subjunctive. I find your videos extremely helpful and easy to follow . Thank you.
interesting that even native speakers watch such kinds of English learning videos. but extra knowledge never hurts indeed
This is an amazing lesson that has cleared up many of my doubts. Thank you very much Gideon 🙏, cheers!
That was my objective. Glad it was useful
@@LetThemTalkTV thank you
'that was my objective' ' this is a new sentence I learnt it now. 😊
Thank you, what a great teacher... I 'd listen to this man the entire day
When I learned French, one of big realizations there was that the subjunctive in French led to a whole different set of verb tenses (and a whole different set of irregular verbs). I believe that many Francophone people avoid using that tense in their language when possible, to avoid all this extra word salad in the mouth.
That's not true. Native french speakers use it without realizing it. Besides, they feel the need to use it otherwise the sentence doesn't sound correctly. One example is the tendency to use the subjunctive after "après que" when the correct way, according to the Real Académie Française, is the indicative
Yes, a great video. Because the subjunctive has almost disappeared in spoken English. And is on its way out in written English.
thank you for this video, as a speaker of english as a second language this is somehow a taboo subject in school, teachers barely talk about the subjunctive. you cleared a lot of misconceptions.
A more advanced note about the subjunctive, that is particularly helpful for understanding the fixed expressions or for reading poetry and literature: when used with hypotheticals like "if" and "whether", the subjunctive can actually invert with the subject, and drop the "if" or "whether".
So, for "be that as it may", "be that" is actually an inversion of "(if) that be". "Whether it be by X or Y" is frequently inverted to "be it by X or Y", with the "whether" implied, even in Modern English.
There is also a "future subjunctive", sort of, with "were to X". "If I were to go" is an example. This can also be subject to inversion, so "were I to go to England, would it be expensive?" is an inversion of "if I were to go". This usage is actually not too uncommon, but is not highly common either.
Inversions are especially favored in poetry, because they make the sentence more concise and have a pleasant sound to them. John Dryden in his play Oedipus writes "were the world mine..." instead of "if the world were mine", because the former is much more pleasing to the ear.
One particularly masterful usage of the subjunctive and subject inversion is this passage from The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut:
"Constant laughed to himself, thinking how delighted Mrs. Rumfoord would be were the vulgar parvenu Mr. Constant of Hollywood to spend his entire visit treed on the fountain by a thoroughbred dog."
The subjunctive here is "were the vulgar parvenu Mr. Constant of Hollywood to spend", which is an inversion if "if [...] were to spend". The inversion is set up by another inversion "how delighted Mrs. Rumfoord would be", (instead of Mrs. Rumfoord would be delighted), which itself is set up by the participle "thinking", which is then wrapped up with one final participle phrase "treed on the fountain by a thoroughbred dog".
Inversion upon inversion upon inversion, masterfully connected clause by clause. Notice that this is all contained within one nominative absolute!
Hello, firstly, I thank you for this tremendous goodness of knowledge. Even though I am interested in linguistics, and grammar generally, not once have I thought that "be that as it may" be an inversion. I would like to ask a question regarding replacement of the subjunctive with the infinitive. I do think that I do it wrongly. I either use "to" as in “I suggest you TO go to somewhere else.” or, I use "It is good FOR you to do..." to point out to whom I am talking whilst still using infinitive yet, the latter sounds repetitive since I use this structure all the time and I don't know how to replace it properly and how the native speakers do it. Would you mind explaining the alternatives used in the spoken and the written language? Also, were that be weird would I use subjunctive in if clauses where the conditional is used, and if it is (be?) possible then how can one use the subjunctive for the conditionals properly? For example If I were is an subjunctive structure as 2nd conditional but 1st conditional uses indicative mood with present and future tenses and 3rd conditional uses mostly modals, so I don't know if it is possible to replace them somehow. On top of that, I cann fathom what is the difference between "If I did..." vs. "If I were to do..." in 2nd conditional. I generally perceive the structure "be to-infinitive" as a future tense so this seems like future in the past rather than subjunctive.
I'm a retired translator who, for a few years, worked as a teacher of English as a foreign language. I discovered your channel only recently, and have come back to enjoy a number of your lessons and commentaries, which are interesting and entertaining. Having watched this lesson, I offer the following for your consideration:
It could be misleading to characterize these two types of subjunctive in terms of "present" and "past" because both types can refer to present or past time.
The first type of subjunctive you discussed (with the infinitive minus "to") expresses requirements or suggestions, and is based on the kinds of preliminary phrases you described. This first subjunctive form is the same for present time, future time, past time, or to express a general principle. "It's important that the union's demands be met (i.e. now, in the near future, or in general)", "It was important that the union's demands be met (e.g. during last week's negotiations)".
The other kind of subjunctive, which describes "contrary-to-fact" conditions, expresses a hypothetical, unreal condition. It has a present tense form and a past tense form, which are different. The present-tense form is based on the past indicative (as you described), while the past-tense form is based on the past-perfect indicative. Present: "If I were you, I'd ...". But I'm not you. Past: "If I'd known then what I know now, I would have ...". But I didn't know then what I know now.
Incidentally, though I maintain a distinction between the two contrary-to-fact subjunctive tenses, it seems that, generally speaking, the past tense form is on the way out, with the present-tense form now being used for both present and past contrary-to-fact conditions. Many now say "If I knew then what I know now ..." instead of "If I'd known then what I know now...".
This is what happened to French. The past subjunctive disappeared. Now they use the imperfect instead. The present subjunctive is still commonly used in French though.
My instant gratification to you for this incredibly elaborate and easily -memorising video. Best of luck from Bulgaria
Thank you for that video. I teach French to English speakers and they really struggle with the subjonctif. Part of the problem is that most programs I have to follow introduce the rule way too early when the students don't have enough experience with the language. (I believe that at the beginning, grammar should be used only to explain how the language work, without any expectation that the student master it, or even understand it all. When they get more advanced, then it is time to revisit the rules and to more in depth.) The other part of the problem is that my students don't know the rule for the use in English (some believe there is no subjonctive in English). I usually give them a few example, but I realize with your video it is more commun than I thought (sometimes we don't recognize it, and sometimes the speakers simply use a different structure). So I guess from now on I will start my lesson with your video. They will see it in English and it should ease the learning process for the French rule. Thank you!
I wish I had a teacher like you when I was at school👍🏻👏🏻 I’m officially addicted to this channel !
Amazing video! Glad to learn the grammar behind this use. Thanks for your precious videos.
Glad you like them!
English subjunctive is a piece of cake for Spanish speakers.It's soooooo easy!
So true
I studied English all my life n never new that we had subjenctive verbs in english.
Interesting...thks
Finally such a pretty clear video!! Thanks for the explanation, I am Italian and I couldn't make it until this lesson!! If I had seen this video before, I would have understood the subject earlier!!
2:00 in German, they use subjunctive regularly and the following verb is inflected.
Thank you for the lesson! You're the best English teacher I've ever met!
The common uses of the subjunctive, shown toward the end, are fossilised: whether it be (nobler in the mind -- Hamlet); if need be (which usually comes out as if needs be); be that as it may. The verbs and phrases that take the subjunctive are generally imperative, which we cringing Brits are likely to avoid; maybe that's why Americans are better at it. Still the comparison with the infinitive and the third person test are great subjunctive-detectors. Thanks Gideon, I've learned something.
Marvellous. I like using the subjunctive. It seems a bit more complicated in Spanish which have been trying to learn for sometime (on-line resources). There is a phrase I use which may be either a pet phrase or just wrong. For example, if I have been nominated to take on a particular role, I am tempted to confirm by saying, "That be me, then".
great channel to improve english skills! so glad i discovered it and thank you very much for share it. It’s a very interesting site, love the stories about history, people, culture, accents, etc. Regards from Chile :)
The pleasure is mine
Some of you commenters need to clam down ... Language is art; not science ... You are somewhat free to express yourself in the terms you want to use so long as it doesn't affect understanding.
A gem of a lesson it is!
I suggest that every English learner watch this million dollar lesson without fail . Thanks Sir.
It's absolutely important that we watch all your videos! They are extremely useful!
I've never read about this matter in any English grammar book. Thank you!
Wonderful lesson, sir, I have to watch it some more times - not only because it's informative (and It certainly is, indeed!) But your T-shirt is so informative, too, that It took me half of the time to explore its content, you know.
I get a real kick out of binge-watching episodes of LetThemTalkTV on and on. I only wish we had TH-cam when I was at school and tried to learn Russian. They taught us many things but not to communicate with Russians. Now I rediscover the beautiful language watching Russian serials, for instance "Кухня", on YT.
Мышонку шепчет мышь:
- Ты все шуршишь, не спишь !
Мышонок шепчет мыши:
- Шуршать я буду тише.
@@frankgradus9474 Compelling!
I thank you for your clarification of the subjuntive , sir.
Whether it be with you or with somebody else I going to speak English.
Be that as it may I will do it. If need be I speak with myself.
Wonderful video! If only every video were as much fun as this one!
I've been studying English language for about 20 years now and honestly, I had never heard about the right use of this tense 🙄!!! So amazing.. Thank you so much for this great lesson! Thank you!
The subjunctive is not a tense like the present or past tense, but a mood of the verb different from the indicative.
Finally I have a good explanation of certain forms of English
Thank you very much, it's the clearest video about subjunctive!
I'd thought there was a fixed rule before I watched this video, now that you recommended that we learn the fixed phrases, I feel less confused. Thanks.
Great video! Thank you so much for this one, it was very clear and much needed.
My pleasure
you are an awesome teacher.
Such a Great teacher... I love your lessons..
I recommend you post more videos! Thank you!
Thank you very much
Thanks a lot!
thanks
Interesting, I'm a native English speaker from the UK and many of the examples here sound like how lawyers speak, and some grammarians too!
Apart from expressions like "Wish you were here" and "I wouldn't do that if I were you", I'd say the subjunctive is pretty much superfluous in most English conversations. However, it will be encountered more in literature and other types of published articles and reports.
I live in Spain, where the subjunctive is very much part of daily speech, no matter what level of society you may come from. It conveys more than just doubt or uncertainty, it also adds an emotional aspect to the phrase that uses it. Interestingly, in Spanish the formal conjugations and negative imperatives are the same as the present subjunctive.
All this grammar does make one wonder why it has been made unnecessarily complicated. I imagine it could be due to the origins of much of the grammatical structure being strongly influenced by the ruling classes and law makers. As the language evolves, I think that it's quite possible that the subjunctive might become extinct, like the dinosaur it appears to be.
Thanks for all your grate efforts you are making to help learn English to a more advanced level and plz continue providing us an advanced grammar level or phrases like these to improve our English skills. Thank you very much 😊
I will do that. Thanks
I loved this video! subjunctive is a great mood 😎 you should see how misunderstood and misplaced it is in Spanish in my country (usually mixed up with the conditional: I'd be I were 🙁)
Argentina?
In Italy as well
It's much simpler in English
This content has got me to subscribe! I didn't know anything about the subjunctive (even though I had been using it) until I started learning Spanish. I really had been using it without realising.
But one thing that still gnaws away at me is that I cannot help but think that the subjunctive (in English) is a little redundant and that the meaning would always be conveyed as intended by the non-standard use of the indicative. I would absolutely love a video that gives a concrete example of a statement that is perhaps ambiguous if it's given in the indicative mood but the meaning of which is completely clear in the subjunctive mood.
Thank you, sir. Your classes have always been impressive!
excellent content, as always! cheers for your dedication and skill in teaching English to us all. have a lovely Sunday, I'm saying hi from Warsaw!
Brilliant
The subjunctive appears to be more common in American English, and most speakers don't seem to realize that there's anything unique about it when they say it. However, I have seen among the younger generations that "object + infinitive" seems more common. For instance, I have heard people say "I recommend him to go" instead of "I recommend he go". I don't think it's because "he go" sounds strange, but rather that people expect verbs like "recommend" and "suggest" to take an object (like "can I recommend a movie?") and so when they go to form a sentence, it seems more natural to use the object pronoun with an infinitive instead of starting an entirely new clause with a mood they never learned in their own English classes growing up. But still, people use the subjunctive here without even realizing it most of the time. It always surprises me when I hear it properly despite it not really being a part of English education, since it's one of the trickier aspects of English grammar.
I like the channel. It brings a huge level up for my English. Bloody sophisticated. Thank you!
You are a great teacher.
Please make more videos on this topic
Great lesson teacher. Thanks for sharing, I appreciate. I suggest that you post another lesson. Thanks a lot.
Hello Gideon,
Thank you for such a thorough lesson on this tough subject in English. I have recently found out in our English textbook for junior high students here in Vietnam, suggest struture is used with should, to avoid using subjunctive altogether. It's written as below:
Suggest + (that) + S + should
I know this is a less formal way of using and I personally do not recommend it to students as i want them to learn the proper way of speaking. Also, subjunctive is very common in English, so I'm not sure how students are taught when it comes to other verbs, such as recommend, advise and so on.
As an experienced English teacher, may I ask what's your opinion on this?
Again, you have my utmost gratitude and respect for sharing your wisdom openly. You are making changes in lots of people's lives.
You can avoid the subjunctive but why?
I suggest (that) you should not do this (no subjunctive)
I suggest (that) you not do this (subjunctive)
The subjunctive version is actually easier. Why complicate peoples lives? And in the first sentence you are adding a would that is redundant. 'should' adds nothing and can be omitted.
@@LetThemTalkTV
Students don't get subjunctive for some reasons. And I agree it's actually easier as suggest already means offering advice so why add should?
Only if I could explain 😆
Hi Mr. Thanks a lot, have a great weekend
You too.
Thank you so much for uploading this video. It is helping me get through the pandemic!
I’m English and I didn’t even realise that we use the subjunctive. I only heard the word subjunctive once I started learning Spanish. I don’t remember it being taught at school. Thanks anyway!
@Tony.... Italians verbs are the very nightmare....
I'm not English but the video did help me to learn subjunctive in Spanish :D
Spanish speakers make a lot of mistakes with the subjunctive mode nowadays, I can't stand it.
@@noemialsur1460 Italians speakers too. 😢😁
@@noemialsur1460 in Portuguese too, principaly Brazilians, everything that is complicated in Portuguese we "get it wrong"
Thank you so much.Keep on teaching sir I am so interested.
Great lesson! Made it really simple!
This will be my first time buying youtuber merch cuz i'm absolutely in love with that tee and i'm buying it for myself! ♥
Sar your tips are really helpful to improve my English
Thank you so much for your teachings!!!!
How cool was that if I were in UK I would ve given u a massive hug virtual hug anyways to all of u
You have the best channel!! Thanks a lot for your perfect content
Excellent video! Thank you!!
Excellent vídeo. We need a sequel.
I really appreciate your Eng Grammar knowledge and the ability to make someone learn easily.
I have a little doubt
( At 6,:39 6:40 ) Caron eat or eats
Thanks so much Teacher! Really groovy video today💕. Best wishes and Farewell! 👍😘♥️
A groovy comment. Farewell
@@LetThemTalkTV Your responses are extremely amusing too.. 😆
I had been wondering for ages what the actual rule for this was. Thank you!
Great class duddy! Love it. I struggle to master english and this video was awesome. Tks
Thanks a lot for this interesting information. It was so useful for me.
Superb...even for native English speakers!
Awesome
thanks
Thank you Sir for this presentation on subjunctives. It is clear, it is said in a very understandable tempo of speech, it is easy to follow your explanations and you give very good sample sentences. No one before you has managed to make me understand this part of grammar. So am really greatful for you work and enthusiasm to teach people in an easy way. Greetings to you and your team from Budapest. God bless you with good health! :)
Thank you Gideon. So helpful for me!
Come what may, whether it be in good times or bad...isn't the subjunctive rather expressive?
If need be, I will watch this video again to better inform myself about the subjunctive.
Many thanks 😊 🙏.
Crystal clear, sir!
Excellent tutor.
Thanks you so much!!!! you use it a lot but in writing, I guess. Now it is so clear!!!
Thank you! Very helpful!
Hi Gideon! Thank you for the lesson I expected for a long time. If you could explain the form "can't help doing smth", please?
Thanks a lot. Very clear.
Very clearly , thank you teacher
Thank you sou much for the great explanation! However I still have some doubts regarding the subjunctive. What about the verbs want, need or hope. Isn't it correct to say sentences such as: "I want you to come here", I need her to do it", or "I hope it is enough"? Thanks a lot in advance.
Marvelous!
yes you are
Hi! I liked the video very much. Can WOULD be used to replace the subjunctive? Could you make some examples, please? Thanks!!!
■ Whether it *be* (08:58)
09:11 I'll take an appointment *whether it be* during the week or the weekend.
09:25 I've got to get to London tomorrow *whether it be* by train or by donkey.
■ *Be* that as it may (09:34)
09:41 You say you don't have the virus, *be that as it may,* you should still take a test.
09:53 The quote by BigWig Systems is much cheaper than Van Liebling *be that as it may* I'm going to take the Van Liebling quote.
■ If need *be* (10:04)
10:10 I must release this video tomorrow. I'll work all night *if need be.*
10:24 I'll go to prison *if need be* but I'm not paying this fine, no.
■ *Come* what may (10:30)
10:37 I'm going to move to the big city next summer *come what may.*
10:47 I'll be here for you *come what may.*
■ Usage
02:03 rare
07:45 more common in US
■ Avoid (07:55)
08:01 should
04:50 Ving
08:16 to V
08:28 ignore
■ Form 00:42, 01:06, 01:21
■ Verb·Adjecctive 03:13
■ Example 03:34(03:52), 04:07,
04:31(04:38), 05:44, 06:00, 06:36, 07:31, 07:35
■ Wrong example 05:16
■ Etc 10:51~
.
!Colosal¡ you are the best teacher.
Regards,