adverb when you are proofreading or revising. Does it belong where it is Could it possibly betaken to modify more than one thing in the sentence Is it in the right
place to qualify just the word, phrase, or clause I want modi ed Is there something in the sentence to which it refers Is it the right thing?
Only by asking all these questions of every modi er will you be certain to avoid the ambiguities, stupidities, and irritations that misusing modi ers can cause. See
revision and
editing.Mood. Besides
tense, indicating time of action, and
voice, indicating whether a
subject is acting or being acted on,
verbs have mood indicating feelings or attitudes toward the action. There are three moods
indicative, the normal mood for describing action or condition directly
imperative, the mood of command or request and
subjunctive, the mood of unreal conditions, desires, or needs.
The
indicative mood is used for all statements,
questions, and soon that aren’t in the
imperative or
subjunctive. It is the normal or neutral mood in which a writer or speaker expresses what is believed to be factor evident, inquires into aspects of reality, or reports what others have assumed to be ordinary or correct The bear hibernates in winter. Is the bear in its den Scientists believe bears hibernate to survive the cold winters Most sentences inmost circumstances are
indicative, a mood not marked in anyway grammatically.
The
imperative mood is used for commands or requests Go study bears in hibernation, but don’t disturb them Imperative statements are often marked by
inversion or unusual word order, and they commonly are followed by
exclamationpoints to further distinguish them.
The
subjunctive mood is sometimes called conditional It is used to express things that are not real or not certainly matters of fact, to convey wishes, or to state requirements If I were to poke that bear, it might wake up, and it might attack me Subjunctive verb forms are sometimes di erent (Ii were),i and subjunctive sentences often
include words like if or “that” to introduce
clauses. In the last example, all the verbs have a conditional sense to them.
Sentences should not mix moods. WRONG Study hibernation, and you should be careful when you do RIGHT Study hibernation, and be careful when you do.”
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