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The English subjunctive is used to form sentences that do not describe known objective facts. These include statements about one's state of mind, such as opinion, belief, purpose, intention, or desire. The subjunctive mood is also used for statements that are contrary to fact, such as ''If I were a giraffe, …'' (subjunctive), as distinguished from ''I was a giraffe''. Subjunctive statements often occur in dependent clauses, such as the subjunctive example in the preceding sentence. It contrasts with the indicative mood, which is used for statements of fact, such as ''He speaks English''. In Modern English, the subjunctive form of a verb often looks identical to the indicative form, and thus subjunctives are not a very visible grammatical feature of English. For most verbs, the only distinct subjunctive form is found in the third person singular of the present tense, where the subjunctive lacks the ''-s'' ending: ''It is necessary that he see a doctor'' (contrasted with the indicative ''he sees''). However, the verb ''be'' has not only a distinct present subjunctive (''be'', as in ''I suggest that he be removed'') but also a past subjunctive ''were'' (as in ''If he were rich, …''). These two tenses of the subjunctive have no particular connection in meaning with present and past time. Terminology varies; sometimes what is called the present subjunctive here is referred to simply as the subjunctive, and the form ''were'' may be treated just as an alternative irrealis form of ''was'' rather than a past subjunctive. Another case where present subjunctive forms are distinguished from indicatives is when they are negated: compare ''I recommend they not enter the competition'' (subjunctive) with ''I hope they do not enter the competition'' (indicative). ==Forms== English has ''present subjunctive'' and ''past subjunctive'' forms, which can be compared with the corresponding ''present indicative'' and ''past indicative'' forms (the familiar present and past tense forms of verbs). The distinction between present and past is one of tense; the distinction between indicative and subjunctive is one of mood. Note that these terms are used here merely as names for forms that verbs take; the use of present and past forms is not limited to referring to present and past time. (Sometimes the term ''subjunctive'' is used only to refer to what is called here the present subjunctive.) The present subjunctive is identical to the bare infinitive (and imperative) of the verb in all forms. This means that, for almost all verbs, the present subjunctive differs from the present indicative only in the third person singular form, which lacks the ending ''-s'' in the subjunctive. ;Present indicative: ''I own, you own, he owns, we own, they own'' ;Present subjunctive: ''(that) I own, (that) you own, (that) he own, (that) we own, (that) they own'' With the verb ''be'', however, the two moods are fully distinguished: ;Present indicative: ''I am, you are, he is, we are, they are'' ;Present subjunctive: ''(that) I be, (that) you be, (that) he be, (that) we be, (that) they be'' Note also the defective verb ''beware'', which lacks indicative forms, but has a present subjunctive: ''(that) I beware''… The two moods are also fully distinguished when negated. Present subjunctive forms are negated by placing the word ''not'' before them. ;Present indicative: ''I do not own, you do not own, he does not own''…; ''I am not''… ;Present subjunctive: ''(that) I not own, (that) you not own, (that) he not own''…; ''(that) I not be''… The past subjunctive exists as a distinct form only for the verb ''be'', which has the form ''were'' throughout: ;Past indicative: ''I was, you were, he was, we were, they were'' ;Past subjunctive: ''(that) I were, (that) you were, (that) he were, (that) we were, (that) they were'' In the past tense, there is no difference between the two moods as regards manner of negation: ''I was not''; ''(that) I were not''. Verbs other than ''be'' are described as lacking a past subjunctive, or possibly as having a past subjunctive identical in form to the past indicative: ''(that) I owned''; ''(that) I did not own''. Certain subjunctives (particularly ''were'') can also be distinguished from indicatives by the possibility of inversion with the subject, as described under below. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「English subjunctive」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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