The Deluxe Edition of the Subjunctive Mood with Beyoncé

Jan 25, 2012
Tanja Batista

: Beyonce - AlexKormisPS (ALM)

If you think the subjunctive case is a tough cookie, you may be wrong. With a little help from Beyoncé, you can solve this grammar mystery once and for all.

In 2008, American R&B singer Beyoncé released her third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and became a huge commercial success, earning Beyoncé six Grammy awards. One particular song from this album got massive airplay around the globe. It opens with the following lyrics: ''If I were a boy even just for a day / I'd roll out of bed in the morning / And throw on what I wanted / And go drink beer with the guys.''

Yup, the song I'm talking about is called ''If I Were a Boy.'' In my hometown, Ljubljana, it was blasting out from local bars and cafes, and Slovene girls played it on their iPods at least a hundred times a day. I bet that Michelle Obama - who loves Beyoncé in case you didn't know - had it on her iPod too while gliding gracefully through the fancy rooms and halls of the White House.

''If I Were a Boy'' is a love song inspired by a bad break-up between two lovers and sung from a girl's perspective with a lot of intensity and emotion. This intensity of emotion, along with Beyoncé's beauty and charisma, was probably one of the reasons for its success. I like it for another reason. There's a certain grammatical device in this song, which adds to its charm: the subjunctive mood. Without it, Beyoncé couldn't imagine being, thinking or acting as a boy, even for just one day.

You might be thinking right now, ''What the heck is the subjunctive mood?'' Good question. If you try to google it, you might find a lot of slightly complicated definitions of this grammatical term, which could be a little off-putting for some of you. Fret not because Beyoncé will make the subjunctive mood easy for you to understand.

Let's return to her song. I will take a part of the third verse and turn it into the following sentence:

If I were a boy, I think I could understand how it feels to love a girl.

If you read the sentence carefully, you can see that Beyoncé is singing about something that is contrary to fact. She is a girl and not a boy. Furthermore, she is also using the verb ''were'' instead of ''was'' in the if clause.''Were'' is a subjunctive verb, and subjunctive verbs show up when you state something that is contrary to fact. So, the easiest possible definition for the subjunctive mood reads as follows: the subjunctive mood states something that is contrary to fact.

If you check out the lyrics of the song in detail, you will find quite a few instances of the subjunctive verb ''were'' in it. Why? Because Beyoncé keeps imagining herself being a guy in the song. Could she have achieved this with the indicative mood of the verb, which states real facts, opinions and makes inquiries? No.

Compare:

You don't listen to her / You don't know how it hurts / Until you lose the one you wanted / Cause you're taking her for granted / And everything you had got destroyed

Here, Beyoncé is addressing her boyfriend in the indicative mood. She is singing about her boyfriend's current behaviour, which is real and not contrary to fact. She's upset because she doesn't like his behaviour.

If I were a boy / I would turn off my phone / Tell everyone it's broken / So they'd think that I was sleeping alone

Here, Beyoncé is imagining herself being a boy and is therefore using the subjunctive verb ''were'' in the if part of the sentence. She is using the subjunctive mood. The condition is not real; it is just a fragment of her imagination. As you can see, the song is a blend of the subjunctive and the indicative mood.

Have you noticed that Beyoncé's subjunctive verbs appear in certain types of sentences called conditional sentences? For example:

If I were a boy, I think I could understand how it feels to love a girl. (Type II Conditional - used for talking about unreal situations in the present and in the future)

The subjunctive verbs also appear with the helping verb had in Type III Conditionals, a structure used for talking about unreal situations in the past:

If I hadn't overslept last night, I wouldn't have missed Beyoncé's concert. (but I overslept last night and therefore missed her concert)

Now let's discuss the difference between ''were'' and ''was''. If you spot ''were'' in a Type II conditional sentence, then you know that you're dealing with a subjunctive verb. If you see ''was'' or ''were'' in sentences expressing facts/real states or opinions that are not imaginary, then you know you're dealing with the indicative mood.

Compare:

Beyoncé was born in 1981. a fact – indicative mood
I wish I were married to Beyoncé. a state contrary to fact – subjunctive mood (You're not married to Beyoncé because she's married to Jay-Z and hasn't announced the divorce yet. So, my dear boy, for now you are only daydreaming.)

Whenever you use the subjunctive ''were'', you should try to remember that in subjunctive sentences that express something contrary to fact, ''were'' is used for all persons singular and plural:

I wish I were married to B. / I wish you were married to B. / I wish he were married to B. / I wish she were married to B. / I wish we were married to B. / I wish you were married to B. / I wish they were married to B.

Now it's time for a quick test. Which of the following sentences is subjunctive?

A If I go into town this afternoon, I will buy myself a Beyoncé CD.

B If I were a billionaire, I would ask Beyoncé out.

Answer: The second sentence is correct because the person in sentence B is clearly not a billionaire. In contrast, sentence A expresses a real possibility: the person in it might go into town in the afternoon and buy a Beyoncé CD. I have just shown you that all conditional sentences DON'T express a condition contrary to fact. Type I conditional sentences express real possibility, so don't put a subjunctive verb in there!

So far you have learned that the subjunctive mood expresses something that is contrary to fact. Correct? What's more, the subjunctive mood can also express indirect commands, requests and wishes. Beyoncé is a superstar, right? And we all know that superstars love to exercise their power from time to time. For example:

Beyoncé commands that all her fans be present at the next concert.
Beyoncé insists that her financial advisor come to the wedding.
Beyoncé asks that Rihanna climb Mount Everest and jump off the top.

The italicized verbs are all subjunctive because Beyoncé is a very demanding girl. The above sentences need subjunctive verbs because they express requests, indirect commands and wishes. Since all these verbs are in the subjunctive mood, I wrote ''all her fans be present, her financial advisor come, Rihanna climb and jump.'' If these sentences had been written in the indicative mood, then I would've written ''all her friends are present, her financial advisor comes, Rihanna climbs and jumps.'' The absence of the inflection –s in the 3rd person singular tells you that you're dealing with a subjunctive verb. In these subjunctive sentences, all subjects take the infinitive form of the verb minus the to:

to be present = be present / to come = come / to climb = climb / to jump = jump

However, this use of the subjunctive mood is quite formal, so in everyday communication, speakers of English prefer to avoid it when they want to express an indirect command, wish or request. Quite often, they will use an infinitive or the helping verb should instead. To illustrate this, I will avoid using subjunctive verbs in the following two sentences:

Beyoncé says that Rihanna should climb Mount Everest and jump off the top.
Beyoncé wants her favourite financial advisor to stay at her wedding.

The following verbs – and I'm sure you have noticed that they express wishes, requests, and indirect commands - love the subjunctive mood:

ask / demand / insist /suggest / wish / recommend / request etc.

People also often ask me what's the difference between the subjunctive and imperative mood. That's not a bad question to ask at all because the imperative mood also expresses commands, doesn't it? Yes it does; however, the imperative mood usually expresses direct commands. One of my favourite grammarians in the whole world, Mrs. Geraldine Woods, will tell you that commands that are given directly to the person who is supposed to follow them are in the imperative mood. She might say to Beyoncé something like this:

Beyoncé, come here at once and help me write a new grammar book!

Now, that's a very direct command, don't you think so?

Let's sum it all up now. When do you use the subjunctive mood? You use it when you want to express something that is contrary to fact, and you also use it when you want to express indirect commands, requests and wishes. When do you use the indicative mood? You use it when you deal with real facts and not with something that is contrary to fact. When do you use the imperative mood? You use it when you want to boss people around in a very direct manner.

Now that you have learned that verbs have moods, I leave you in the capable hands of Beyoncé. She may be in a bad mood in the video, but the song is beautiful and deserves your attention. Enjoy it.