- relating to or denoting a mood of verbs expressing what is
imagined or wished or possible. Compare with indicative. mid
16th century: from French subjonctif, -ive or late Latin
subjunctivus, from subjungere (see subjoin), rendering Greek
hupotaktikos 'subjoined' ... if I were you; the report
recommends that he face the tribunal; it is important that they
be aware of the provisions of the act. These sentences all
contain a verb in the subjunctive mood. The subjunctive is used
to express situations which are hypothetical or not yet
realized, and is typically used for what is imagined, hoped for,
demanded, or expected. In English the subjunctive mood is fairly
uncommon (especially in comparison with other languages such as
French and Spanish), mainly because most of the functions of the
subjunctive are covered by modal verbs such as might, could, and
should. In fact, in English the subjunctive is often
indistinguishable from the ordinary indicative mood, since its
form in most contexts is identical. It is dist