{"id":24325,"date":"2025-07-07T08:42:51","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T08:42:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/?post_type=free_lesson&#038;p=24325"},"modified":"2025-07-07T08:42:52","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T08:42:52","slug":"indicative-imperative-subjunctive-and-infinitive-verb-moods","status":"publish","type":"free_lesson","link":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/grammar\/indicative-imperative-subjunctive-and-infinitive-verb-moods\/","title":{"rendered":"Indicative, Imperative, Subjunctive and Infinitive Verb Moods\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">In English, <strong>verb tenses<\/strong> show <em>when<\/em> something happens (the past, present, or future). But <strong>verb moods<\/strong> show the <em>attitude or intention<\/em> behind what\u2019s being said. They reflect how the speaker feels about the action.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Indicative<\/strong>, <strong>imperative<\/strong>, <strong>subjunctive<\/strong> and <strong>infinitive<\/strong> are the four moods of English verbs. All manners and moods are expressed through these four verbs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Indicative Mood&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">We use the <strong>indicative<\/strong> mood for <strong>statements of fact<\/strong>, <strong>denials<\/strong>, and <strong>questions<\/strong>. It\u2019s the most common verb mood in English!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Assertion:<\/strong> <em>Heathrow is the world\u2019s busiest airport.<\/em>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Denial:<\/strong> <em>Oliver cannot speak English.<\/em>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Question:<\/strong> <em>Do you work in the city?<\/em>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">This mood simply describes what <em>is<\/em>, <em>isn\u2019t<\/em>, or <em>might be true<\/em>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Imperative Mood&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">We use the imperative mood to express requests, commands and advice:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Request:<\/strong> <em>Please don\u2019t talk during the lesson.<\/em>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Advice:<\/strong> <em>Look out!<\/em>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Command:<\/strong> <em>Shut that door.<\/em>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">This is the mood we use when we want someone to <em>do<\/em> something.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Subjunctive Mood&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">We use the <strong>subjunctive mood<\/strong> to express <strong>imaginary (unreal) situations<\/strong>, <strong>possibility<\/strong> and <strong>wishes<\/strong>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Unreal condition:<\/strong> <em>If I were rich, I would buy a sports car.<\/em>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Possibility:<\/strong> <em>We might find her ring if we were to look harder.<\/em>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Wish:<\/strong> <em>I wish it would stop raining.<\/em>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Note: In the subjunctive, we use <em>were<\/em> instead of <em>was<\/em>, even with \u201cI\u201d or \u201che\/she\/it\u201d when the situation isn\u2019t real.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Infinitive Mood&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">The <strong>infinitive<\/strong> form of a verb (to + base form) isn\u2019t tied to any subject or tense. Instead, it acts more like a <strong>noun<\/strong>, <strong>adjective<\/strong>, or <strong>adverb<\/strong> in a sentence; it expresses a general state or action.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>I may <\/em><strong><em>go<\/em><\/strong><em> to the beach later.<\/em>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>They came <\/em><strong><em>to speak<\/em><\/strong><em> to me.<\/em>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>It\u2019s important <\/em><strong><em>to eat<\/em><\/strong><em> well.<\/em>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Infinitive verbs express ideas or intentions, not actions anchored in time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In English, verb tenses show when something happens (the past, present, or future). But verb moods show the attitude or<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":8096,"parent":0,"template":"","free_lesson_category":[281],"class_list":["post-24325","free_lesson","type-free_lesson","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","free_lesson_category-grammar"],"acf":{"related_posts":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Verb Moods in English: Indicative, Imperative and Subjunctive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how to use verb moods in English to reflect intention, emotion, and possibility with clear example. Take this lesson by EC English.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Verb Moods in English: Indicative, Imperative and Subjunctive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn how to use verb moods in English to reflect intention, emotion, and possibility with clear example. Take this lesson by EC English.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/grammar\/indicative-imperative-subjunctive-and-infinitive-verb-moods\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"EC English ( EN )\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-07T08:42:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/01\/learn-english-at-ec-vancouver_18.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1620\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/grammar\/indicative-imperative-subjunctive-and-infinitive-verb-moods\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/grammar\/indicative-imperative-subjunctive-and-infinitive-verb-moods\/\",\"name\":\"Verb Moods in English: Indicative, Imperative and Subjunctive\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/grammar\/indicative-imperative-subjunctive-and-infinitive-verb-moods\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/grammar\/indicative-imperative-subjunctive-and-infinitive-verb-moods\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/01\/learn-english-at-ec-vancouver_18.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-07T08:42:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-07T08:42:52+00:00\",\"description\":\"Learn how to use verb moods in English to reflect intention, emotion, and possibility with clear example. Take this lesson by EC English.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/grammar\/indicative-imperative-subjunctive-and-infinitive-verb-moods\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/grammar\/indicative-imperative-subjunctive-and-infinitive-verb-moods\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/grammar\/indicative-imperative-subjunctive-and-infinitive-verb-moods\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/01\/learn-english-at-ec-vancouver_18.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/01\/learn-english-at-ec-vancouver_18.jpg\",\"width\":1620,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"Destination Vancouver 2017\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/grammar\/indicative-imperative-subjunctive-and-infinitive-verb-moods\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Learn English for free\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Grammar\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/grammar\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Indicative, Imperative, Subjunctive and Infinitive Verb Moods\u00a0\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/\",\"name\":\"EC English ( EN )\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Verb Moods in English: Indicative, Imperative and Subjunctive","description":"Learn how to use verb moods in English to reflect intention, emotion, and possibility with clear example. Take this lesson by EC English.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Verb Moods in English: Indicative, Imperative and Subjunctive","og_description":"Learn how to use verb moods in English to reflect intention, emotion, and possibility with clear example. Take this lesson by EC English.","og_url":"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/grammar\/indicative-imperative-subjunctive-and-infinitive-verb-moods\/","og_site_name":"EC English ( EN )","article_modified_time":"2025-07-07T08:42:52+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1620,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/01\/learn-english-at-ec-vancouver_18.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/grammar\/indicative-imperative-subjunctive-and-infinitive-verb-moods\/","url":"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/grammar\/indicative-imperative-subjunctive-and-infinitive-verb-moods\/","name":"Verb Moods in English: Indicative, Imperative and Subjunctive","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/grammar\/indicative-imperative-subjunctive-and-infinitive-verb-moods\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/grammar\/indicative-imperative-subjunctive-and-infinitive-verb-moods\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/01\/learn-english-at-ec-vancouver_18.jpg","datePublished":"2025-07-07T08:42:51+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-07T08:42:52+00:00","description":"Learn how to use verb moods in English to reflect intention, emotion, and possibility with clear example. Take this lesson by EC English.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/grammar\/indicative-imperative-subjunctive-and-infinitive-verb-moods\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/grammar\/indicative-imperative-subjunctive-and-infinitive-verb-moods\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/grammar\/indicative-imperative-subjunctive-and-infinitive-verb-moods\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/01\/learn-english-at-ec-vancouver_18.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/01\/learn-english-at-ec-vancouver_18.jpg","width":1620,"height":1080,"caption":"Destination Vancouver 2017"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/grammar\/indicative-imperative-subjunctive-and-infinitive-verb-moods\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Learn English for free","item":"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Grammar","item":"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/grammar\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Indicative, Imperative, Subjunctive and Infinitive Verb Moods\u00a0"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/","name":"EC English ( EN )","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/free_lesson\/24325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/free_lesson"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/free_lesson"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/free_lesson\/24325\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24722,"href":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/free_lesson\/24325\/revisions\/24722"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"free_lesson_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/free_lesson_category?post=24325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}