Subjunctive What?

By: Sarah Johnson

            One afternoon in class, you’re halfway through a discussion about whether or not the book Fifty Shades of Gray could be considered literature, when suddenly your professor projects a paragraph from it onto the overhead screen.  Your professor mentions that a sentence in the projected paragraph contains a grammatical error, and she calls on you to find it!  You open your mouth, but you can’t spot the problem!  You wring your hands together, wipe beads of sweat from your forehead.  After three painful minutes, your professor asks, “Do you know about the subjunctive mood? If you can explain it, I’ll give you extra credit.”

            Unless you will say anything for extra credit or just love to study grammar, where could you learn about the subjunctive mood?  The very extensive website

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/index.htm# has your answer.  On this website, your ultimate guide to grammar and writing awaits!  Its main page features six different categories that offer drop-down menus for you to select your grammatical query. 

            So what is the subjunctive mood?  If you said, “I wish I were a grammar genius,” then you’ve just used it!  Check out the Guide to Grammar and Writing’s website to learn more. 

Grammatically yours,

Sarah J.