An English Grammar Part 42

Come, tell me all that thou hast seen, And look thou _tell_ me true.

--SCOTT.

See that thy scepter _be_ heavy on his head.--DE QUINCEY.

VIII. Concessive Clauses.

229. The concession may be expressed--

(1) In the nature of the verb; for example,--

_Be_ the matter how it may, Gabriel Grub was afflicted with rheumatism to the end of his days.--d.i.c.kENS.

_Be_ the appeal _made_ to the understanding or the heart, the sentence is the same--that rejects it.--BROUGHAM

(2) By an indefinite relative word, which may be

(_a_) _p.r.o.noun._

Whatever _betide_, we'll turn aside, And see the Braes of Yarrow.

--WORDSWORTH.

(_b_) _Adjective._

That hunger of applause, of cash, or whatsoever victual it _may be_, is the ultimate fact of man's life.--CARLYLE.

(_c_) _Adverb._

Wherever he _dream_ under mountain or stream, The spirit he loves remains.

--Sh.e.l.lEY.

Prevalence of the Subjunctive Mood.

230. As shown by the wide range of literature from which these examples are selected, the subjunctive is very much used in literary English, especially by those who are artistic and exact in the expression of their thought.

At the present day, however, the subjunctive is becoming less and less used. Very many of the sentences ill.u.s.trating the use of the subjunctive mood could be replaced by numerous others using the indicative to express the same thoughts.

The three uses of the subjunctive now most frequent are, to express a wish, a concession, and condition contrary to fact.

In spoken English, the subjunctive _were_ is much used in a wish or a condition contrary to fact, but hardly any other subjunctive forms are.

It must be remembered, though, that many of the verbs in the subjunctive have the same form as the indicative. Especially is this true of unreal conditions in past time; for example,--

Were we of open sense as the Greeks were, we _had found_ [should have found] a poem here.--CARLYLE.

IMPERATIVE MOOD.

[Sidenote: _Definition._]

231. The imperative mood is the form of the verb used in direct commands, entreaties, or requests.

[Sidenote: _Usually second person._]

232. The imperative is naturally used mostly with the second person, since commands are directed to a person addressed.

(1) _Command._

_Call up_ the shades of Demosthenes and Cicero to vouch for your words; _point_ to their immortal works.--J.Q. ADAMS.

_Honor_ all men; _love_ all men; _fear_ none.--CHANNING.

(2) _Entreaty._

Oh, from these sterner aspects of thy face _Spare_ me and mine, nor _let_ us need the wrath Of the mad unchained elements.

--BRYANT.

(3) _Request._

"_Hush_! mother," whispered Kit. "_Come_ along with me."--d.i.c.kENS

_Tell_ me, how was it you thought of coming here?--_Id._

[Sidenote: _Sometimes with_ first person _in the plural_.]

But the imperative may be used with the plural of the first person.

Since the first person plural person is not really I + I, but I + you, or I + they, etc., we may use the imperative with _we_ in a command, request, etc., to _you_ implied in it. This is scarcely ever found outside of poetry.

_Part we_ in friendship from your land, And, n.o.ble earl, receive my hand.

--SCOTT.

Then _seek we_ not their camp--for there The silence dwells of my despair.

--CAMPBELL.

_Break we_ our watch up.--SHAKESPEARE.

Usually this is expressed by _let_ with the objective: "_Let_ us go."

And the same with the third person: "_Let_ him be accursed."

Exercises on the Moods.