Effect of Organizational Factors on Performance

The Subjunctive Mood

The Subjunctive Mood The Subjunctive Mood The Subjunctive Mood By Jacquelyn Landis No single part of speech gives writers more grief than the mighty verb. Think about all the elements you must take into consideration when forming verbs. They have tense, number, person, voice, and mood. Where things get especially dicey is with a verbs mood, in particular, the subjunctive mood. Take a look at this sentence: I wish I was/were vacationing on a tropical island instead of at my desk working. The correct verb choice is the second one: were. It expresses the subjunctive mood, something we use to convey a wish or a condition that isnt true. And since the speaker isnt actually vacationing on a tropical island, this is a perfect case for using the subjunctive mood. Most writers will intuitively plunk in some form of a past-tense version of the verb to be in a sentence like our example. The important thing to remember about the subjunctive mood is to choose the correct version. When using the subjunctive mood, the correct version is were. One good test is to mentally add but Im not to the sentence. If that makes it a true statement, then its a likely candidate for the subjunctive mood: I wish I were vacationing on a tropical island instead of at my desk working (but Im not). If he were ten feet tall (but hes not), he could wash the windows without using a ladder. You might hear that the subjunctive mood is fading from common use, and thats probably true (Maeve wrote about that on The irrealis â€Å"were†). However, its still a hallmark of correct usage, and savvy writers will try hard to get it right. Tevye, from Fiddler on the Roof, got it right in the song If I Were a Rich Man. So did Bobby Darin in If I Were a Carpenter. It might be one of the worst songs of all time, but the grammar is spot-on. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Is She a "Lady" or a "Woman"?Hyper and Hypo"Wracking" or "Racking" Your Brain?

Urban Sociology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Urban Sociology - Essay Example n Factor: Is Afghanistan Next in Line for an Ethnic Civil War?’; the religious implications of the Iraq war will be thoroughly examined and discussed. Since the September 2001 terrorist attack, the United States had been very active in extending its support by sending some of its troops and its allies to Iraq. Aiming to provide justice to American individuals who had lost their lives during the terrorist attack, President Bush declared the launching of a campaign against terrorism. In reality, Bush’s statement and strong declaration to go against the terrorism was not only focused on political and social dimension of the case scenario. It also suggests a long-term war between Christianity against the Arab and Islamic world. (Fawzy, 2003) When President Bush made his statement to go into war with the Iraqi people, he has violated the real concept of Christianity in the sense that we should spread love and peace around us – not war. The only people who can be considered a victim of the situation are the U.S. solidiers who were sent to Iraq with the risk of losing their lives and fight against individuals who were merely protecting themselves from being attacked by the U.S. troop members. Eventhough the war in Iraq was not literally known to be a war between two religious sectors, it remains a fact that there is a strong political and religious aspect behind the war in Iraq. One political reason why U.S. is very much determined to attack Iraq is the fact that the country is rich in natural resources especially with oil which is very important to the U.S. future economic growth. (Escobar, 2007) On the other hand, war in Iraq is also considered a religious civil war. Since Islam is widely used as a transnational faith which unites its community (Toft, 2008), attacking the Islamic religion could weaken the unity of its community which could easily make the U.S. and its allies take over Iraq. The oil reserve of Iraq is second biggest in the world.