Subjunctive mood

The subjunctive mood is the verb form used for situations that are wished for, demanded, or contrary to fact rather than stated as real — 'if I were you', 'she insisted that he be told'.

Mood is what a verb form says about the status of the action. Most English verbs are in the indicative, which simply reports: he is told. The subjunctive marks the action as unreal or not yet real, and it survives in three places.

Contrary to fact. If I were you, I would wait. Not was: the sentence is about a situation that is not the case. This is the one most readers still notice.

Demands and recommendations. She insisted that he be told. The clerk asked that the form be signed in ink. The verb loses its ending. She insisted that he is told means something different and slightly odd.

Set phrases. Be that as it may. Come what may. Far be it from me.

Everywhere else it has quietly disappeared, and reaching for it produces the stiffness of a letter from a bank. In dialogue, mood is characterisation: a character who says if I were you is not the same person as one who says if I was you, and neither is wrong on the page — only one of them is wrong in an editorial style guide.

The mood used for commands is the imperative.