Subjunctive adalah bentuk kalimat pengandaian
Struktur Subjunctive
| be (past) | be (present) | Kata kerja lain (past & present) |
| I were | I be | I work |
Penggunaan Subjunctive
Kita menggunakan subjunctives ketika kita berbicara tentang suatu kegiatan yang sebenarnya tidak akan terjadi. Kita menggunakan subjunctive ketika berbicara tentang kegiatan yang seseorang:
- Inginkan agar terjadi
- Harapkan akan terjadi
- Membayangkan akan terjadi
Contoh:
- The President requests that you be present at the meeting.
- It is vital that you be present at the meeting.
- If you were at the meeting, the President would be happy.
Subjunctive biasanya menggunakan kedua struktur berikut:
- Kata Kerja: ask, command, demand, insist, propose, recommend, request, suggest + that
- Ekspresi: it is desirable, essential, important, necessary, vital + that
Contoh:
- The manager insists that the car park be locked at night.
- The board of directors recommended that he join the company.
- It is essential that we vote as soon as possible.
- It was necessary that every student submit his essay by the weekend.
Perhatikan bahwa struktur berikut ini, subjunctive-nya sama. Tidak masalah kalimat itu tenses-nya past atau present. Contoh:
- Present: The President requests that they stop the occupation.
- Past: The President requested that they stop the occupation.
- Present: It is essential that she be present.
- Past: It was essential that she be present.
Kita selalu menggunakan were sebagai pengganti "was" setelah if (dan kata lainnya yang memiliki arti yang sama). Contoh:
- If I were you, I would ask her.
- Suppose she were here. What would you say?
Mengapa kita menggunakan "I were", "he were"?
Kita sering mendengar orang berkata "if I were you, I would go" atau "if he were here, he would tell you". Memang normalnya adalah: I was, he was. Tetapi struktur if I were you tidak melihat Past Tense". Struktur tersebut hanya mengenal past subjunctive untuk "to be" nya. Perhatikan contoh kata-kata/frase di bawah ini untuk struktur di atas:
- if
- as if
- wish
- suppose
| Formal (The were form is correct at all times.) | Informal (The was form is possible in informal, familiar conversation.) |
| If I were younger, I would go. | If I was younger, I would go. |
| If he weren't so mean, he would buy one for me. | If he wasn't so mean, he would buy one for me. |
| I wish I weren't so slow! | I wish I wasn't so slow! |
| I wish it were longer. | I wish it was longer. |
| It’s not as if I were ugly. | It’s not as if I was ugly. |
| She acts as if she were Queen. | She acts as if she was Queen. |
| If I were you, I should tell her. | Note: We do not normally say "if I was you", even in familiar conversation. |
Beberapa ekspresi menggunakan subjunctive. Contoh:
- Long live the King!
- God bless America!
- Heaven forbid!
- Be that as it may, he still wants to see her.
- Come what may, I will never forget you.
- We are all citizens of the world, as it were.
