Mood Conditions

"If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, every day would be Christmas." -- John Boehner

If ifs and ans were pots and pans, we'd have no need of tinkers. -- Old Irish Saying

"An it be so, it were a grievous fault, and grievously hath Caesar answered it." -- Shakespeare.

   Many claim not to understand the subjunctive, and maintain they don't use it. But they do use it, even when they are not aware that they are. Among fluent and native speakers, it's almost instinctive, a mode of speech acquired along with the language at an early age.
   Experts have long known that people internalize the rules of grammar of their native language by the age of six, and from there they learn the exceptions. When they get to school and are told the rules in a classroom setting, they are really only given labels for things they already know. One of these is the subjunctive, and the reason so many don't understand the rules is that they were poorly taught.
   In two of the above italicized examples, the word "an" is no more than an early form of "if." Knowing that brings sense to the entire sentence.

   But to the point: The term "subjunctive" is derived from two elements meaning "joined under," and refers to the necessity that one part is conditional to another, usually designated by the word "if." Not always, however. Would it were so. (There, that's a short sentence in the subjunctive.) Attentive readers will find the subjunctive mode often in these postings.
   Enjoy the search.