Hopes & Wishes
English: Year 5 & 6 National Curriculum, topic 2.5.1
Using the Subjunctive for Hopes and Wishes
We use the subjunctive mood to talk about imagined situations.
Hopes and wishes
- We use the subjunctive mood to talk about imagined situations.
- So we can use the subjunctive to show hopes and wishes.
Use 'if' and 'were'
- To create an imagined situation, we need to make a clause using 'if' and 'were'.
- If I were rich...
- If I were a princess...
Add 'would', 'could', or 'might'
- Now, we need to show what would happen in these imagined situations.
- We do this by adding a clause containing 'would', 'could' or 'might'.
- If it were to snow, I might get the day off school!
Examples
- If I were a princess, I would ride a dragon.
- If I were rich, I could buy a sports car.
Test yourself on Hopes & Wishes
What does this sentence use?
If I were a teacher, I would ban homework.Which clause could you add to make this a sentence using the subjunctive?
If I were rich...When you are using the subjunctive to show hopes and wishes, you often use...