Indirect moods in English. The imperative mood in English

Today we have a rather easy, but important topic. If you want to be true kings and queens, use the imperative mood! The Imperative Mood, that's how they call it. How does that sound!

Imperative mood used to express a request, prohibition, call, advice and order. The main function is an expression of motivation for action.

So, read the article, remember and be proud of yourself. In addition, we order you to enjoy the process. And orders are not discussed! So let's do this!

About moods in English

Mood- this is not when you bend down to pick up something from the ground, but the grammatical form of the verb, showing the attitude of the speaker to the action. There are only three of them:

• indicative ( the Indicative Mood), which means that the speaker considers the action as a real fact in the present (he drinks beer in the evening), past (I saw a horror movie yesterday) or future tense (she will wake up in the morning).
• subjunctive ( the Subjunctive Mood), showing that the speaker considers the action not as a real fact, but as a supposed or desired event. In fact, there are quite a few special forms of this mood left in today's English. Not suggested that the execution of the prisoner be postponed. If the King were here, he would help us.
• imperative mood ( The Imperative Mood), which has one form of the 2nd person and expresses an impulse to action ( open window, bring me some food start the show, don't make me mad). It is convenient because it is easily formed: the verb will always have 1 form: as in the dictionary ( in the form of an infinitive without a particle « to"). Therefore, you need to start studying this Mood as early as possible, because the imperative mood is an essential attribute in everyday speech and can help you achieve what you want.

Forms of the imperative mood

Exists affirmative And negative form of the imperative mood, and different ways to express it in English. The affirmative form coincides with the form of the verb taken without the “to” particle:

to wake up - Wake up! Wake up!
to bring a chair - bring a chair! Bring a chair!

Study English!- Learn English!
look at me!- Look at me!
Give me everything you got!- Give me everything you have!
Come to me!- Come to me!
Wash my car!- Wash my car!

If the speaker wants to strengthen the request and make it more expressive, then you can resort to the auxiliary verb " do", which is placed before the infinitive:

Do brush your teeth!- Brush your teeth (by all means).
Do show us some respect!- Show respect (definitely).
Now, do tell this story again!- Tell this story again (I beg you)!

Don't forget to be polite: please», « just», « if you don't mind". In addition, to "soften" the sentence, you can make it interrogative by adding: " will you», « won't you», « can you" in the end:

Continue to read the article, please, will you?- Continue reading the article, please, okay?

You can also offer someone a cigar or a cookie. Or both together, showing signs of attention and hospitality:

have a cigar. Would you like another cookie?- Take a cigar. Want more cookies?

When using somebody / someone / anybody / anyone / nobody / everybody / no one as the subject, we also get the sentence in the imperative mood:

nobody moves —nobody gets hurt! No one move and no one gets hurt!
Someone call 911! - Somebody call the police!

You can also decorate and make our sentence more powerful with the help of adverbs " always" And " never", which are placed before the verb. This is usually a recommendation or advice:

Always carry a gun with you.- Always carry a gun with you.
Never trust anyone.- Never trust anyone.

The imperative mood is also used in spoken English, sometimes in a figurative sense, and sometimes to express a question or direction.

Bite me.- Get off (bite).
Guess where I live?- Guess where I live?
I "ll do the cooking and you go take a nap.- I'll cook the food, and you go take a nap.

If we want to ask a person not to do something (negative form), then we express the imperative mood in English with: “ don't", yet again without particle« to»:

Don't bother me!- Do not bother me!
Don't look at me!- Do not look at me!
Don't touch me you creep!- Don't touch me, creepy man!

The negative-impact form of the verbs " to be», « to have» is formed in a similar way:

Don't be stupid.- Don't be stupid.
Don't be scared to tell the truth.- Don't be afraid to tell the truth.
Don't have a try.- Do not try.

Such types of sentences, by the way, can have both negative and positive emotional connotations:

Don't you dare!- How dare you! / Don't you dare (threat)!
Don't you cry.- Don't cry (consolation).

It is possible to express the imperative mood, or rather to forbid doing something, in other ways, for example, using the verb “ stop» + V(ing):

Stop talking!- Stop talking!
Stop yelling at me!- Stop yelling at me!
Stop making noise!- Stop making noise!
Stop fake it!- Stop pretending!

Many have heard the phrase: You don't say?!" - Really?! / Come on?! / Can not be! Which is used to express surprise, or, conversely, its complete absence, while showing terry sarcasm. And although, apparently, we have an imperative mood here, this phrase is clearly not translated literally.

Let + imperative

In such sentences, the necessary personal pronoun ( in the object case) or noun ( all in all) is put between the verb« let" And infinitive.

In combination with the 1st person singular, we get a request:

Let me pass.- Allow me to pass.

If you put it with the 1st person plural, you get a call to joint action:

Let's paint the city red!- Let's party!

Well, in combination with the 3rd person, both singular and plural, it expresses an order or permission: Let them laugh. - Let them laugh.

Let him do this work.- Let him do the job.
Let them count up to 10. Have them count to ten.
Let Nick wash your car.- Let Nick wash your car.
Let me pass, I "m a doctor.- Let me in, I'm a doctor.
Let them die.- Let them die.

Don't forget that verb « let» has independent value « allow», « let". But in the examples above, it loses it and is used to encourage joint action. In case of use in its own right, the form " let us» not reduced. Pay attention to the semantic shades:

Let us go.- Let (let) us go.
Let's go(conversational style). let us go(official style). - Went. Let's go/let's go.

In the case of constructing a negative form of the imperative mood with the help of the verb " let» also available without auxiliary verb « do»:

Let's not trust him. Let's not trust him.
Let her not wake up until you count to three.- Don't let her wake up until you count to three.

Indirect speech and the imperative mood

active voice: He said, « Speak louder." He said, "Speak louder."
passive voice: He asked to speak louder. He asked to speak louder.

In indirect speech after the verb « tell» the pronoun is put, but after the verb « say» — No.

active voice: He said, « Touch your nose.»
passive voice: He said to touch my nose.
passive voice: He told me to touch my nose.

And what's about negative form? In indirect speech in the imperative mood, denial is replaced by the infinitive with particle« not».

active voice: He said, « Don't open your mouth.»
passive voice: He asked not to open the mouth.

The rules for constructing the imperative mood in indirect speech are also quite simple. You need to remove the quotes and change the word " say" on the " tell or something else, depending on the context. When we convey advice or a request to someone, for example, it would be more correct to do not use word " say» ( said) to avoid inaccuracies and loss of semantic shades. Therefore, in such sentences, we replace it with the following words: “ told" - said, " asked"- asked, ordered," ordered"- ordered," advised"- advised," allowed"- allowed. For example:

She said, « I advise you to give up." - She said: "I advise you to surrender."

To convey these words to another person, we remove quotes And change « say" on the " advise". It turns out:

She advised me to give up. She advised me to give up.

When we want to name a person who addressed someone, then we put the character after the verb. For example:

He ordered Simon... He ordered Simon ...

Pay attention to how pronouns change:

• I- me;
• we- us;
• they- them;
• he- him;
• she- her;
• you- you;
• it- it.

They told us... - They told us ...
He allowed her... - He let her ...

Also note the need to replace some pronouns in sentences:

• here- there;
• now- then;
• today- that day;
• tomorrow- the next day;
• yesterday - the day before;
• this, these- that, those.

We continue to study English grammar, and today we want to introduce you to a curious grammatical phenomenon in the English language. Is it a conditional or Conditional Mood . We will look at the types of this mood, examples of sentences with it, etc. How is the conditional mood built in English?

The conditional mood in English is a very interesting thing. As in Russian, the conditional mood in English indicates that an action can or must be performed under some condition. But still there are significant differences from Russian.

Three fun types of conditional

Sentences in the conditional mood are complex sentences, usually consisting of two simple ones, of which one is the main one, and the second is dependent. The main clause expresses the condition of action in the dependent clause.

The catch is that in English there are three cases or types of conditional mood, while in Russian there are only two. But if you look carefully, you will realize that everything is not so difficult.

In Russian: the first type expresses a real condition in the present tense; the second type expresses the unreal condition in the past tense.

• If I go home, I will have lunch.
• If I went home, I would have dinner. (And since I didn’t go home, I didn’t have lunch, that is, the action is unrealistic under this condition)

In English: the first type expresses a real condition in the present tense; the second type expresses the real condition in the past tense; the third type indicates an unreal condition in the past tense. Let's trace the same sentence, but in English:

• If I go home, I will have lunch
• If I went home, I would have lunch
• If I had gone home, I would have had lunch.

And now we will consider each type of Conditional Mood in the language we are studying separately.

The easiest is the first type!

It's really easy. Here we are dealing with a real condition in the present tense.

Notice the phrase If I have money, I buy a car (If I have money, I will buy a car). The main part of this sentence can also be in the future tense: If I have money, I will buy a car.

For example:

• If you drink a lot of coffee, you have problems with your heart. Or: If you drink a lot of coffee, you will have problems with your heart. If you drink a lot of coffee, you will have heart problems.

But a subordinate clause in English can never be in the future tense. After the word If the verb must be in the present tense present simple. That is, the subordinate clause is in the present tense, and most importantly - in the future.

Suggestion examples:

• If you eat a lot of sweets, you will have problems with your teeth. - If you eat a lot of sweets, you will have problems with your teeth.
• I will speak with Tom, if I find him. — I'll talk to Tom if I find him.
• If we go home, we will have a rest. If we go home, we will rest.

As we can see, in each sentence there is a real action under a real condition.
Three types of English conditional

The second type of conditional mood

The second type expresses the real condition in the past tense. And here, as in the first case, we are dealing with a real action under a real condition. In this case, the subordinate clause must be in past simple, and most importantly in Future in the Past.

Take a look at the example sentences:

• If I had money, I would buy a flat. — If I had money, I would buy an apartment
• If you did your homework, you would get a good mark. If you had done your homework, you would have received a good mark.

Instead of would in the main clause can be should, could, might. For example:

• If you met Jim, you should speak with him. — If you met Jim, would you talk to him
• You could read the whole book if you wanted. You could read the whole book if you wanted
• You might take my notebook, if I brought it. You could take my laptop if I brought it.

Don't be afraid of the third type!

The third case of the conditional mood is not found in Russian. But if you get acquainted with the scheme according to which it is built, then there is nothing complicated.

Note that in the subordinate clause the verb is in past perfect, and in the main scheme would + have + verb + ending -ed (or the third form of the verb).

This type expresses an unreal, impossible condition in the past tense. Note:

• If you had won the competition, you would have gone to France. — If you won the competition, you would go to France. (But you didn’t win, so you won’t go, that is, action under such a condition is impossible)
• If we had come on time, we would have met Ann. If we had arrived on time, we would have found Anna. (But we did not arrive on time, so we did not catch her, the action is unrealistic under this condition).

Here, as well as in the second type, there can be verbs in the main sentence should, could, might. For instance:

• If she had spoken with her brother, he could have given his car. — If she talked to her brother, he could give his car
• You should have been more polite with mr Anders, if you had wanted. — You could be more polite to Mr. Anders if you wanted to.
• If I had found Tom, I might have spoken with him about that case. — If I found Tom, I would talk to him about that case.

The third type Conditional expresses an unrealistic action under an unrealistic condition.

Well, as we have seen, the conditional mood in English plays a very important role, and is an important part of English speech. Use it to express a condition in action. You will definitely make friends with him. We wish you success!

Inclination is a form of the verb showing the attitude of the speaker to the action.
Indicates an actual, desired, conditional, or intended action.

Indicative (The Indicative Mood) we use when we talk about actions that take place in reality, are feasible. Has two voices, shows whether the action is performed by a person or an object as a subject (active voice Active Voice), or the subject is affected (passive voice Passive Voice).

Emily ran down the stairs.
Emily ran down the stairs.

I'll come over later in the day.
I'll come by later in the day.

She was awakened by the telephone.
The phone woke her up.

Verb in the form The Indicative Mood translated into Russian as a verb in the indicative mood.

Subjunctive, conditional and presumptive moods (The Subjunctive, Conditional, Suppositional Moods) show that the speaker views the action as possible or desirable, rather than real.

The subjunctive mood is most often translated into Russian by a combination of a verb in the past tense with a particle "would"(applies to any time). For example: I would like, I could, I would have been able, I would have known, I would have waited, etc.

Verb to be in the subjunctive mood in all forms of the present tense has the form be, in past tense - form were.

If he were free he would be here.
If he were free, he would come here.

It would be interesting to see him now.
It would be interesting to see him now.

Subjunctive mood(The Subjunctive Mood) denotes an imaginary action that is impossible (in general or in a given situation). This form is formed in the same way as the past tense form ( Past Indefinite And past perfect).

Conditional mood(The Conditional Mood) is used to refer to actions that do not occur or did not occur, because there were or are no appropriate conditions for this, or these conditions are not feasible in this situation, i.e. unreal. Formed with an auxiliary verb should/would and the infinitive of the semantic verb without a particle to.

Assumed inclination(The Suppositional Mood) is used to express an action that may happen in the future, but there is no certainty that this action is real. Formed with an auxiliary verb should for all persons and the infinitive of a semantic verb without a particle to.

Imperative mood(The Imperative Mood) expresses an impulse to action, an order, a request, advice, etc. It has two forms: affirmative and negative, while it does not change over time.

Write it in your notebook.
Write this down in your notebook.

Sit down, please.
Sit down please.

Don't sit down.
Don't sit down.

Conditional moods in English are called Conditional Sentences or simply If Clauses. They show that the action in the main clause can only be performed if a certain condition, indicated in . There are five types of conditional sentences in English.

Zero type

The zero type conditional mood in English (type 0) is used in cases where the situation in question is happening now or always, and when it is real or possible. The union if here can be replaced by when. Often the conditional mood of the zero type is used with well-known truths.

If you live in UK, you know English– If you live in the UK, you know English.
Plants die if they don't get enough water Plants die if they don't get enough water.

Both in the main and in the subordinate clause with a conditional mood of the zero type, actions take place in the Present Simple:

If my husband has a cold, I usually catch it- If my husband catches a cold, I usually catch it from him.

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In this case, a comma is placed after the subordinate clause. But the reverse order is also possible: first the main clause, and after it the subordinate clause, and here the comma is no longer needed:

If babies are hungry, they cry- If children are hungry, they cry.
People die if they don't eat People die if they don't eat.

First type

The first type of conditional in English (type 1) of conditional sentences in English refers to the present or future tense: an action will occur if a specific satisfiable condition is met. Usually in such cases, the subordinate clause is in, and most importantly - in.

If John has the money, he will buy a Ferrari If John has money, he will buy a Ferrari.
If you don't hurry, you will miss the train If you don't hurry, you will miss the train.

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If I find her address, I will send her an invitation If I find her address, I will send her an invitation.

The main clause and the subordinate clause can change places. At the same time, if the main sentence is at the beginning, a comma is not put after it:

I will send her an invitation if I find her address I will send her an invitation if I find her address.

Second type

The second type of conditional in English (type 2) refers to a situation in the present or future tense: an action can occur under an unlikely or unrealistic condition. The speaker does not expect the action to happen, he only assumes what could be.

If I found her address, I would send her an invitation– If I found her address, I would send her an invitation (subtext: but I can't find it). Conditional sentences in English - If John had money, he would buy a Ferrari (subtext: but John has no money). If you went to bed earlier, you wouldn't be so tired– If you had gone to bed earlier, you wouldn’t have been so tired (subtext: but you didn’t go to bed earlier). If I spoke Italian, I would be working in Italy– If I spoke Italian, I would work in Italy (but I don't speak Italian).

When translating from English into Russian, the main sentence is in the form of the past tense, but in terms of meaning it refers to the present.

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If I studied English, I would pass the exam If I had studied English, I would have passed the exam.

The main and subordinate clauses can change places:

I would pass the exam if I studied English I would have passed the exam if I had studied English.

The verb to be in the second type of conditional always takes the form were, regardless of the person:

If I were you, I would not do this“If I were you, I wouldn't be doing this.

Third type

The third type of conditional in English (type 3) refers to a situation in the past: an action could have happened in the past if a particular condition were met. The action will not happen, it's just the speaker's fantasy.

If I had found her address, I would have sent her an invitation If I could find her address, I would send her an invitation.
The subtext of this sentence is that I once wanted to send her an invitation, but I couldn't find her address, so I couldn't do it.

One more example:

If John had had the money, he would have bought a Ferrari If John had money, he would buy a Ferrari.
The point here is that the speaker knows John well and knows that he never had enough money, but that he loved Ferraris. The speaker suggests that if John had money, he would buy a Ferrari. But this did not happen, because he did not have money.

When translated into Russian, both of these examples look the same in form as in the case of the second type of conditional sentences. However, they differ in meaning and context.

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If I had known you were coming I would have baked a cake– If I had known that you would come then, I would have baked a cake.
I would have been happy if you had called me on my birthday– I would be happy if you called me then on my birthday.

Mixed type of conditional mood in English

A mixed type of conditional mood is when in the subordinate clause an action or situation occurs in one tense, and in the main clause in another. From this it follows that the mixed type is divided into two types:

When the condition is in the past and the main action is in the present:

If we had looked at the map we wouldn't be lost If we looked at the map, we would not get lost (now).

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When the condition is in the present and the main action is in the past:

If I didn't have to work so much, I would have gone to the party last night– If I didn’t have to work so much (now), I would have gone to the party yesterday.

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Conjunctions in the conditional mood in English

Conjunctions are needed in the conditional mood to open the subordinate clause in which this condition is located. These unions include:

After- after

After he gets the promotion, he will get a new office After the promotion, he will get a new office.

As long as- till

As long as I am capable, I will ride my bike to work While I can, I ride my bike to work.

as soon as- as soon as

The parade will start as soon as the mayor arrives The parade will start as soon as the mayor arrives.

Because- since, since

Because it is raining, we will take our umbrellas Since it is raining, we will take our umbrellas.

But for- if not

We would have been lost but for the map We would have been lost if not for the map.

If- if

If you brush and floss every day, you probably won't get cavities- If you brush your teeth every day, you won't get cavities.

In case- when

In case of fire, please use the stairs– In case of fire, use the ladder.

once- as soon as

Once the chores are done, we will go to the park- As soon as the work is finished, let's go to the park.

Provided, providing that- on condition

I will go to the prom with you provided you apologize“I’ll go to the ball with you on the condition that you apologize.”

Since- insofar as

Since it is autumn, there are many leaves on the ground Since it is autumn, there are many leaves on the ground.

So long as- till

So long as you eat healthy, you won't get sick As long as you eat healthy food, you won't get sick.

Supposing that- assuming that

Supposing that you got the job, would you accept the position?- Assuming you got the job, would you accept the position?

Unless- if not

Unless you have purchased tickets already, you won't be able to attend the show– If you have not purchased tickets, you will not be able to attend the show.

Until- till

They don't talk to me until I talk to them They don't talk to me until I talk to him.

When- when

When I get hungry, I will go to a restaurant When I get hungry, I go to a restaurant.

Whenever- whenever

Whenever I eat spicy food, I get hives- Whenever I eat spicy food, I get a rash.

Wherever- wherever

Wherever there are flowers, bees will come to pollinate Wherever there are flowers, bees will come to pollinate them.

Whether or not- regardless of

He spent all his paycheck on clothes, whether that was smart or not He spent his entire paycheck on clothes, whether smart or not.

pivot table

For clarity, we have combined all five types of conditional sentences in a table:

Type of conditional sentence	Purpose	Education	Example
Null	the situation in question is happening now or always	if + present simple clause + present simple main clause	If people eat too much, they get fat If people eat too much, they get fat.
First	a situation will occur in the future if a condition in the present or in the future is met	if + Present Simple clause + Future Simple main clause	If it rains today, you will get wet- If it rains, you will get wet.
Second	the situation will happen in the future or would happen in the present if an unrealistic condition were met in the past	if + Past Simple clause + main clause (with would + Infinitive)	If it rained, you would get wet If it rained, you would get wet (but there is no rain and you are dry).
The third	the situation could have happened in the past if the condition	if + Past Perfect clause + main clause (with would + Present Perfect)	If I had worked harder I would have passed the exam If I had studied harder, I would have passed that exam.
Mixed	when in the subordinate clause the action or situation occurs in the past, and in the main clause - in the present	if + Past Perfect clause + Present Conditional main clause	If you had caught that car you would be there now If you had caught that car, you would be there by now.
	when in the subordinate clause the action or situation occurs in the present, and in the main clause - in the past	if + clause in Past Simple + main clause in Perfect Conditional	If I wasn't afraid of spiders, I would have picked it up If I wasn't afraid of spiders, I would pick it up.

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