Grammar Time

Exam in Mind

The Subjunctive Mood represents an action not as a real fact but as something that would take place under certain conditions, something desirable, necessary or unreal, unrealizable.

Exercise 1. Use the subjunctive mood in the following sentences.

Example: I will be glad to meet you again. – I would be glad to meet you again.

  1. I will apologize to him for being late.
  2. Everybody will be glad to go there.
  3. I’ll eat something sweet.
  4. It does not make much difference.
  5. I won’t go to Egypt in summer.
  6. She will do her best to improve the situation.
  7. He will give you a different answer.
  8. Nobody blames them.
  9. Do you find it inconvenient?
  10. He will warn you of the danger.
  11. A true friend will never fail you.
  12. They will accept the invitation for Sunday.
  13. I will never agree to it.
  14. A wise man will find a way out of the situation.
  15. It will be interesting to find out who is right.

Exercise 2. Answer the following questions as in the models.

Model 1: Suppose you want to buy a book. Where would you go? – I would go to a bookshop.

Model 2: Suppose you wanted to see a film yesterday. Where would you have gone? – I would have gone to the cinema.

  1. Suppose the ice is still very thin on the river. Would you skate on it? Why?
  2. Suppose you must be in Kyiv in the shortest time possible. Would you go there by train or by plane?
  3. Suppose tomorrow is your friend’s birthday. What would you buy for him as a present?
  4. Suppose the weather is fine tomorrow. What would you do after classes?
  5. Suppose you were very busy last night. Would you have watched television?
  6. The other day the librarian offered me a popular science book and a novel. What would you have chosen?
  7. Yesterday I could go to the theatre or to the cinema. What would you have done in my place?
  8. Last summer I could spend my holidays in the Crimea or in the Carpathians. Where would you have gone in my place?
  9. Suppose you had dinner in the canteen yesterday. Would you have taken cutlets or fried fish for the second course?

Exercise 3. Open the brackets and use the subjunctive mood.

Example: Why didnt you tell me? I (close) the window long ago. – I would have closed the window long ago. 

  1. In your place I (arrange) everything yesterday.
  2. At that time he (take) the necessary steps.
  3. Why did you wash up? I (do) it myself.
  4. She (buy) the dress, but she had no money.
  5. He (advise) them what to do, but he couldn’t hget in touch with them.
  6. We (go) to the country rain or shine, but he was busy las weekend.
  7. I (come) to see him last week, but I got ill and had to stay in bed.
  8. It (be) important then but not now.
  9. They (take) a taxi, but there was none.
  10. Why didn’t you ask them to discuss your problem then? They (not postpone) it.