Mood

A verb phrase can also express mood, which refers to the "factual or non-factual status of events." There are three moods in English: indicative, imperative, and subjunctive.

Indicative mood
The indicative is the most common mood in English. It is a factual mood, and most constructions involving the various choices of person, tense, number, aspect, modality are in the indicative mood. Examples:

* "She will have a hangover tomorrow morning."
* "The Prime Minister and his cabinet were discussing the matter on that fateful day in 1939."

Imperative mood
The imperative mood is a non-factual mood and is employed for issuing directives:

* "Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on"
* "'Your father's urn is on the backseat. Just leave the keys in the cup holder."

Subjunctive mood
The subjunctive mood is also a non-factual mood which refers to demands, desires, etc.[49] It uses the base form of the verb without inflections.[49] It is rare in English and is used after only a handful of words such as "demand," "request," "suggest," "ask," "plead," "pray," "insist," and so forth. Examples:

* "I demanded that Sheriff Jeanfreau stay. I even wanted worthless and annoying Ugly Henderson to stay."
* "'I suggest that you not exercise your temper overmuch,' Mayne said, and the French tinge in his voice sounded truly dangerous now."

Properties:

* Subjunctives can be used after conditional subordinators.
o "I accepted on the condition that I not be given a starring role."
* Subjunctives can also be used after expressions of necessity.
o "Two nuns are asked to paint a room in the convent, and the last instruction of Mother Superior is that they not get even a drop of paint on their habits."
* The subjunctive form of the verb "be" can occur as the base form "be".
o "Whenever a prisoner alleges physical abuse, it is imperative that the prisoner be seen by an officer at the earliest possible opportunity."
* In its "were" form the subjunctive is used to express a hypothetical situation.
o "'Lin said, turning toward Pei, "I'm afraid she's excited at seeing me home again." Pei smiled. "I would be too, if I were she."