Slipping into a subjunctive mood
The subjunctive form is one of the trickiest parts of English to get right 鈥� and of course Beyonc茅鈥檚 鈥淚f I Were a Boy鈥� nails it perfectly.
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In 2004, pop star Gwen Stefani sang about 鈥淚f I was a rich girl.鈥� Later, Beyonc茅 struck a blow for proper grammar with her platinum-selling song 鈥淚f I Were a Boy.鈥� 鈥淚f I were鈥� versus 鈥渋f I was鈥� reflects tensions over the subjunctive, a part of grammar that English speakers rarely notice until it trips us up.
The subjunctive is what linguists call a 鈥渕ood.鈥� This is not mood as in 鈥淚 woke up tired this morning, but now I鈥檓 feeling a bit more subjunctive,鈥� although that would be fun. It is a variant of mode, and refers to a speaker鈥檚 attitude. English has three moods/modes that can affect verb forms. Almost everything we say today is in the indicative mood, which is used to state or question what we consider to be facts: 鈥淪he does her homework.鈥� The imperative mood gives commands: 鈥淒o your homework!鈥� The subjunctive is for hypothetical situations, when we imagine how something would be: 鈥淚f she were doing her homework regularly, her mother could relax.鈥�
The subjunctive is also used to express wishes or demands, as in 鈥淭he company mandates that all visitors wear a mask.鈥� But what, exactly, is the subjunctive verb here? Therein lies the rub. The third-person plural verb form wear is the same in the indicative (鈥渧isitors wear鈥�) and subjunctive (鈥渋t is required that visitors wear鈥�). The only time we see verbs changing in the subjunctive mood today is when we use be instead of am/is/are, use were instead of was, and drop the 鈥�-s鈥� in the third-person singular present tense. The examples: 1) 鈥渞ules state that visitors be masked鈥�; 2) 鈥渋f I were masked鈥�; 3) 鈥渋t is required that he wear a mask鈥� (not wears). Otherwise, subjunctive verb forms are indistinguishable from indicative ones.
Fowler鈥檚 Modern English Usage calls the subjunctive mood 鈥渙ne of the great survivors of an earlier state of English grammar.鈥� It made more sense in Old English, which inflected verbs 鈥� changed them according to person, tense, etc. 鈥� much more thoroughly than modern English does. 聽
Some grammarians consider the subjunctive to be 鈥渕oribund, fossilized, and almost extinct鈥� in English, as linguist 脡va Kov谩cs notes. Data scientist Charles Finney, in contrast, argues that it is 鈥渁 beautiful and valuable component of the English language, and instead of dying out 鈥� actually is enjoying a subtle revival.鈥澛�
The revival Mr. Finney refers to occurred in the first half of the 20th century, when use of the subjunctive after 鈥渋f鈥� (鈥渋f I were鈥�) and in mandates (鈥渢hat visitors be masked鈥�) actually increased. 聽
Taken as a whole, however, its use does seem to be on the decline. Fewer and fewer speakers are as meticulous about the subjunctive as Beyonc茅. Would we miss it, if it was gone?