Namely, it is first and foremost with the verb be that the pure infinitive stem in the construction of the verbal form of desired or hypothetical action is made prominent. "Be it as you wish", "So be it", "Be what may", "The powers that be", "The insistence that the accused be present"- such and like constructions, though characterized by a certain bookish flavour, bear indisputable testimony to the fact that the verb be has a special finite oblique mood form, different from the direct indicative. Together with the isolated, notional be, as well as the linking be, in the capacity of the same mood form come also the passive manifestations of verbs with be in a morpho-logically bound position, Cf.:
The stipulation that the deal be made without delay, the demand that the matter be examined carefully, etc,
By way of correlation with the oblique be, the infinitive stem of the other verbs is clearly seen as constituting the same form of the considered verbal mood. Not only constructions featuring the third person singular without its categorial mark -(e)s, but also constructions of other personal forms of the verb are ordered under this heading. Thus,we distinguish the indicated mood form of the verb in sentences like "Happen what may", "God forgive us", "Long live our friendship", "It is important that he arrive here as soon as possible", and also "The agreement stipulates that the goods pass customs free", "It is recommended that the elections start on Monday", "My orders are that the guards draw up", etc.
Semantical observation of the constructions with the analysed verbal form shows that within the general meaning of desired or hypothetical action, it signifies different attitudes towards the process denoted by the verb and the situation denoted by the construction built up around it, namely, besides desire, also supposition, speculation, suggestion, recommendation, inducement of various degrees of insistence including commands.
Thus, the analysed form-type presents the mood of attitudes. Traditionally it is called "subjunctive", or in more modern terminological nomination, "subjunctive one". Since the term "subjunctive" is also used to cover the oblique mood system as a whole, some sort of terminological specification is to be introduced that would give a semantic alternative to the purely formal "subjunctive one" designation. Taking into account the semantics of the form-type in question, we suggest that it should be named the "spective" mood, employing just the Latin base for the notion of "attitudes". So, what we are describing now, is the spective form of the subjunctive mood, or, in keeping with the usual working linguistic parlance, simply the spec-tive mood, in its pure, classical manifestation.
Going on with our analysis, we must consider now the imperative form of the verd, traditionally referred to as a separate, imperative mood.
In accord with the formal principles of analysis, it is easy to see that the verbal imperative morphemically coincides with the spective mood, since it presents the same infinitive stem, though in relation to the second person only. Turning to the semantics of the imperative, we note here as constitutive the meaning of attitudes of the general spective description. This concerns the forms both of be and the other verbs, cf:. Be on your guard! Be off ! Do be careful with the papers! Don't be blue! Do as I ask you! Put down the address, will you? About turm!
As is known, the imperative mood is analysed in certain grammatical treatises as semantically direct mood, in this sense being likened to the indicative [Ganshina, Vasilevskaya, 200]. This kind of interpretation, though, is hardly convincing. The imperative form displays every property of a form of attitudes, which can easily be shown by means of equivalent transformations. Cf:.
Be off! → I demand that you be off. Do be careful with the papers! → My request is that you do be careful with the papers. Do as I ask you! → I insist that you do as I ask you. About turn! → Icommand that you turn about.
Let us take it for demonstrated, then, that the imperative verbal forms may be looked upon as a variety of the spective, i.e. its particular, if very important, manifestation.*
* Cf. L.S. Barkhudarov's consideration of both varieties of forms under the same heading of "imperative".
At this stage of study we must pay attention to how time is expressed with the analysed form. In doing so we should have in mind that, since the expression of verbal time is categorial, a consideration of it does not necessarily break off with the formal principle of observation. In this connection, first, we note that the infinitive stem taken for the building up of the spective is just the present-tense stem of the integral conjugation of the verb. The spective be, the irregular (suppletive) formation, is the only exception from this correlation (though, as we have seen, it does give the general pattern for the mood identification in cases other than the third person singular). Second, we observe that constructions with the spective, though expressed by the present-stem of the verb, can be transferred into the past plane context. Cf:.
It was recommended that the elections start on Monday. My orders were that the guards draw up. The agreement stipulated that the goods pass customs free.
This phenomenon marks something entirely new from the point of view of the categorial status of the verbal time in the indicative. Indeed, in the indicative the category of time is essentially absolutive, while in the sphere of the subjunctive (in our case, spective) the present stem, as we see, is used relatively, denoting the past in the context of the past.
Here out" purely formal, i.e. morphemic consideration of the present stem of the subjunctive comes to an end. Moreover, remaining on the strictly formal ground in the strictly morphemic sense, we would have to state that the demonstrated system of the spective mood exhausts, or nearly exhausts, the entire English oblique mood morphology. See: (Бархударов, 1975, 129]. However, turning to functional considerations of the expression of the oblique mood semantics, we see that the system of the subjunctive, far from being exhausted, rather begins at this point.
§ 4. Observations of the materials undertaken on the comparative functional basis have led linguists to the identification of a number of construction types rendering the same semantics as is expressed by the spective mood forms demonstrated above. These generalized expressions of attitudes may be classed into the following three groups.
The first construction type of attitude series is formed by the combination may/might + Infinitive. It is used to express wish, desire, hope in the contextual syntactic conditions similar to those of the morphemic (native) spective forms. Cf.:
May it be as you wish! May it all happen as you desire! May success attend you. I hope that he may be safe. Let's pray that everything might still turn to the good, after all. May our friendship live long.
The second construction type of attitude series is formed by the combination should + Infinitive. It is used in various subordinate predicative units to express supposition, speculation, suggestion, recommendation, inducements of different kinds and degrees of intensity. Cf.:
Whatever they should say of the project, it must be considered seriously. It has been arranged that the delegation should be received by the President of the Federation. Orders were given that the searching group should start out at once.
The third construction type of the same series is formed by the combination let + Objective Substantive + Infinitive. It is used to express inducement (i.e. an appeal to commit an action) in relation to all the persons, but preferably to the first person plural and third person both numbers. The notional homonym let, naturally, is not taken into account. Cf.:
Let’s agree to end this wait-and-see policy. Now don't let’s be hearing any more of this. Let him repeat the accusation in Tim's presence. Let our military forces be capable and ready. Let me try to convince them myself.
All the three types of constructions are characterized by a high frequency occurrence, by uniformity of structure, by regularity of correspondence to the "pure", native morphemic spective form of the verb. For that matter, taken as a whole, they are more universal stylistically than the pure spective form, in so far as they are less bound by conventions of usage and have a wider range of expressive connotations of various kinds. These qualities show that the described constructions may safely be identified as functional equivalents of the pure spective mood. Since they specialize, within the general spective mood meaning, in semantic destination, the specialization being determined by the semantic type of their modal markers, we propose to unite them under the tentative heading of the "modal" spective mood forms, or, by way of the usual working contraction, the modal spective mood, as contrasted against the "pure" spective expressed by native morphemic means (morphemic zeroing).
The functional varieties of the modal spective, i.e. its specialized forms, as is evident from the given examples, should be classed as, first, the "desiderative" series (may-spective, the form of desire); second, the "considerative" series (should-spective, the form of considerations); third, the "imperative" series (let-spective, the form of commands).
We must stress that by terming the spective constructional forms "modal" we don't mean to bring down their grammatical value. Modality is part and parcel of predication, and the modern paradigmatic interpretation of syntactic constructions has demonstrated that all the combinations of modal verbs as such constitute grammatical means of sentence-forming. On the other hand, the relevance of medial morpho-syntactic factor in the structure of the forms in question cannot be altogether excluded from the final estimation of their status. The whole system of the English subjunctive mood is far from stabilized, it is just in the making, and all that we can say about the analysed spective forms in this connection is that they tend to quickly develop into rigidly "formalized" features of morphology.
Very important for confirming the categorial nature of the modal spective forms is the way they express the timing of the process. The verbal time proper is neutralized with these forms and, considering their relation to the present-order pure spective, they can also be classed as "present" in this sense. As to the actual expression of time, it is rendered relatively, by means of the aspective category of retrospective coordination: the imperfect denotes the relative present (simultaneity and posteriority), while the perfect denotes the relative past (priority in the present and the past). This regularity, common for all the system of the subjunctive mood, is not always clearly seen in the constructions of the spective taken by themselves (i.e. without a comparison with the subjunctive of the past order, which is to be considered further) due to the functional destination of this mood.
The perfect is hardly ever used with the pure spective non-imperative. As far as the imperative is concerned, the natural time-aspect plane is here the present-oriented imperfect strictly relative to the moment of speech, since, by definition, the imperative is addressed to the listener. The occasional perfect with the imperative gives accent to the idea of some time-limit being transgressed, or stresses an urge to fulfil the action in its entirety. Cf.:
Try and have done, it's not so difficult as it seems. Lets have finished with the whole affair!
Still, when it is justified by the context, the regularity of expressing time through aspect is displayed by the specialized modal spective with the proper distinctness. Cf.:
I wish her plans might succeed (the present simultaneity - posteriority). - -1 wished her plans might succeed (the past simultaneity - posteriority). I wish her plans might have succeeded (failure in the present priority). - - Iwished her plans might have succeeded (failure in the past priority). Whatever the outcome of the conference should be, stalemate cannot be tolerated (the present simultaneity - posteriority). - - The commentator emphasized that, whatever the outcome of the conference should be, stalemate could not be tolerated (the past simultaneity - posteriority). Whatever the outcome of the conference should have been, stalemate cannot be tolerated (the present priority, the outcome of the conference is unknown). - - The commentator emphasized that, whatever the outcome of the conference should have been, stalemate could not be tolerated (the past priority, the outcome of the conference was unknown).
The perfect of the modal spective makes up for the deficiency of the pure spective which lacks the perfect forms. Cf.:
Be it so or otherwise, I see no purpose in our argument (simultaneity in the present).- - Should it have been otherwise, there might have been some purpose in our argument (priority in the present).
§ 5. As the next step of the investigation, we are to consider the forms of the subjunctive referring to the past order of the verb. The approach based on the purely morphemic principles leads us here also to the identification of the specific form of the conjugated be as the only native manifestation of the categorial expression of unreal process. E.g.:
Oh, that he were together with us now! If I were in your place, I'd only be happy. If it were in my power, I wouldn't hesitate to interfere.
As is the case with be in the present subjunctive (spective), the sphere of its past subjunctive use is not confined to its notional and linking functions, but is automatically extended to the broad imperfect system of the passive voice, as well as the imperfect system of the present continuous. Cf.:
If he were given the same advice by an outsider, he would no doubt profit by it; with the relatives it might be the other way about, I'm afraid. I'd repeat that you were right from the start, even though Jim himself were putting down each word I say against him.
Unfortunately, the cited case types practically exhaust the native past subjunctive distinctions of be, since with the past subjunctive, unlike the present, it is only the first and third persons singular that have the suppletive marking feature were. The rest of the forms coincide with the past indicative. Moreover, the discriminate personal finite was more and more penetrates into the subjunctive, thus liquidating the scarce remnants of differences between the subjunctive and the indicative of the past order as a whole. Cf.:
If he was as open-hearted as you are, it would make all the difference.
Thus, from here on we have to go beyond the morphemic principle of analysis and look for other discriminative marks of the subjunctive elsewhere. Luckily, we don't have to wander very far in search of them, but discover them in the explicitly distinctive, strikingly significant correlation of the aspcctivc forms of retrospective coordination. These are clearly taken to signify the time of the imaginary process, namely, imperfect for the absolute and relative present, perfect for the absolute and relative past. Thereby, in union with the past verbal forms as such, the perfect-imperfect retrospective coordination system is made to mark the past subjunctive in universal contradistinction to the past and present indicative. This feature is all the more important, since it is employed not only in the structures patterned by the subjunctive were and those used in similar environmental conditions, but also in the further would - should-structures, in which the feature of the past is complicated by the feature of the posteriority, also reformed semantically. Cf:.
I'm sure if she tried, she would manage to master riding not later than by the autumn, for all her unsporting habits (simultaneity - posteriority in the present). - -I was sure if she tried, she would manage it by the next autumn (simultaneity-posteriority in the past). How much embarrassment should I have been spared if only I. had known the truth before! (priority of the two events in the present). - -I couldn't keep from saying that I should have been spared much embarrassment if only I had known the truth before (priority of the two events in the past).