subjunctives

   The subjunctive, one of the four moods of verbs, has been slipping from use in English for decades. It is the mood seen in sentences like "Although he die now, his name will live forever." Though once very common, it scarcely features in English now except in three types of construction. These are:

   1. In certain stock phrases: be that as it may, far be it from me, so be it, as it were, Godforbid, and many others. These are well established as idioms and normally cause no trouble.

   2. In expressions involving suppositions or hypotheses: "If I were you, I wouldn't go"; "If she were in my position, she'd do the same thing," etc. These are the most problematic form of the subjunctive for most users and are discussed at some length under will, would and if.

   3. Following verbs of command or request. Interestingly, this problem scarcely exists in the United States or Canada, where this form of the subjunctive has never lost its currency, but it is endlessly encountered in Britain at all levels of writing-to such an extent that a foreign visitor could well conclude that sentences such as those that follow are correct in British usage. (They are not. In each, I have given the correct form of the verb in brackets.) "The Senate has now rewritten the contract insisting that the Navy considers [consider] other options" (Daily Mail)', "OPEC's monitoring committee has recommended that the cartel's output ceiling remains [remain] unchanged" (Observer)', "No wonder the Tory Party turned him down as a possible candidate, suggesting he went away [go away] and came back [come back] with a better public image" (Guardian). It might help to imagine placing a shouldjust before the problem verb (e.g., "suggesting he should go away"). Gowers in fact points out that such sentences would be better in British usage if should were inserted in every instance. It certainly wouldn't hurt.