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EnglishAges 16-18

Subjunctive mood & conditionals

Use the formal subjunctive mood in counterfactual conditionals and mandative clauses. Review suitability for your learners before teaching.

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Worksheet StudioPractice pack · Ages 16-18

Subjunctive mood & conditionals

Take your time. Show your thinking.

  1. 1. Choose the correct form: “The board proposed that the scholarship fund ____ expanded next term” (be / is).

    Choose the correct form “T… · Subjunctive mood & conditi…
  2. 2. Choose the correct form: “It is vital that the patient ____ hydrated during recovery” (stay / stays).

    Choose the correct form “I… · Subjunctive mood & conditi…
  3. 3. Choose the correct counterfactual form: “I wish it ____ possible to observe the eclipse from our island tonight” (were / was).

    Choose the correct counter… · Subjunctive mood & conditi…
  4. 4. Choose the correct form: “It is essential that the specimen ____ kept at a constant temperature” (be / is).

    Choose the correct form “I… · Subjunctive mood & conditi…
  5. 5. In the fixed expression “Suffice it to say, the experiment succeeded”, what mood is “Suffice”: Subjunctive or Interrogative?

    “Suffice” · Subjunctive mood & conditi…
  6. 6. In the sentence “Verify the data before you publish”, what grammatical mood is the verb “Verify”: Imperative, Subjunctive, or Interrogative?

    “Verify” · Subjunctive mood & conditi…
  7. 7. Choose the correct inverted conditional: “____ the sensor to fail, the backup alarm would sound immediately” (Were / Was).

    Choose the correct inverte… · Subjunctive mood & conditi…
  8. 8. Choose the correct form: “The bylaws require that the treasurer ____ an audited statement every year” (submit / submits).

    Choose the correct form “T… · Subjunctive mood & conditi…
  9. 9. Choose the correct form: “The judge ordered that the witness ____ the courtroom” (leave / leaves).

    Choose the correct form “T… · Subjunctive mood & conditi…
  10. 10. Choose the correct past counterfactual: “If we ____ measured the mass before heating, we could have calculated the water lost” (had / would have).

    Choose the correct past co… · Subjunctive mood & conditi…
  11. 11. Choose the correct form: “It is important that a scientific hypothesis ____ testable and falsifiable” (be / are).

    Choose the correct form “I… · Subjunctive mood & conditi…
  12. 12. In the sentence “Water freezes at 0 °C at standard pressure”, what grammatical mood is the verb “freezes”: Indicative or Subjunctive?

    “freezes” · Subjunctive mood & conditi…
12 questions · Seed 104730 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification
View the answer key
Worksheet StudioAnswer key · Ages 16-18

Subjunctive mood & conditionals

Answers and reasoning. Review before teaching.

  1. 1. Choose the correct form: “The board proposed that the scholarship fund ____ expanded next term” (be / is).

    be

    “Proposed that” takes the mandative subjunctive “be”.

  2. 2. Choose the correct form: “It is vital that the patient ____ hydrated during recovery” (stay / stays).

    stay

    “It is vital that…” triggers the mandative subjunctive “stay”.

  3. 3. Choose the correct counterfactual form: “I wish it ____ possible to observe the eclipse from our island tonight” (were / was).

    were

    After “I wish”, counterfactual present states take the subjunctive “were”.

  4. 4. Choose the correct form: “It is essential that the specimen ____ kept at a constant temperature” (be / is).

    be

    After “It is essential that…”, the mandative subjunctive requires the base form “be”.

  5. 5. In the fixed expression “Suffice it to say, the experiment succeeded”, what mood is “Suffice”: Subjunctive or Interrogative?

    Subjunctive

    “Suffice it to say” preserves a classic formulaic subjunctive.

  6. 6. In the sentence “Verify the data before you publish”, what grammatical mood is the verb “Verify”: Imperative, Subjunctive, or Interrogative?

    Imperative

    The imperative mood issues a direct command or instruction.

  7. 7. Choose the correct inverted conditional: “____ the sensor to fail, the backup alarm would sound immediately” (Were / Was).

    Were

    Inverted hypothetical conditionals use “Were + subject + to-infinitive” (“Were the sensor to fail…”).

  8. 8. Choose the correct form: “The bylaws require that the treasurer ____ an audited statement every year” (submit / submits).

    submit

    “Require that” takes the mandative subjunctive base verb “submit”.

  9. 9. Choose the correct form: “The judge ordered that the witness ____ the courtroom” (leave / leaves).

    leave

    “Ordered that” governs a mandative subjunctive clause with the bare verb “leave”.

  10. 10. Choose the correct past counterfactual: “If we ____ measured the mass before heating, we could have calculated the water lost” (had / would have).

    had

    In a third conditional, the “if” clause uses the past perfect (“had measured”), not “would have”.

  11. 11. Choose the correct form: “It is important that a scientific hypothesis ____ testable and falsifiable” (be / are).

    be

    “It is important that…” takes the mandative subjunctive “be”.

  12. 12. In the sentence “Water freezes at 0 °C at standard pressure”, what grammatical mood is the verb “freezes”: Indicative or Subjunctive?

    Indicative

    The indicative mood states a factual assertion or observation.

12 questions · Seed 104730 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification