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When we discuss plans, situations, and ideas we believe have the potential to happen, we use the potential grammatical mood. The potential mood shows the listener that there is a possibility, intention, willingness, power, or even obligation to complete an action.
This article will begin by defining the grammatical moods in the English language and introduce the potential mood. It will then explain how to form the potential mood and show you plenty of examples.
The term grammatical mood refers to the use of verbs and different verb forms to indicate the purpose of a sentence. The use of verbs can show whether the sentence intends to express a fact, a wish, a command, a condition, a possibility, or ask a question.
We can use and adapt certain verbs to show the grammatical mood with the help of inflections (a type of word formation, which usually involves adding letters, e.g. adding '-s' or '-ed') and auxiliary verbs (these are helping verbs, e.g. did, has, was, were, is).
There are five main grammatical moods in the English language:
Indicative mood - For expressing factual statements.
Interrogative mood - For asking questions.
Imperative mood - For giving instructions.
Conditional mood - For situations that will only occur under the condition something else happens.
Subjunctive mood - For discussing hypothetical situations and wishes, and giving suggestions/demands.
However, these are not the only moods you might need to know in the English language. Further grammatical moods include the optative mood (expressing wishes and hopes) and the potential mood.
Today, we will learn about the potential mood.
The potential mood is used to express possibility and potential; this includes things such as obligation, necessity, willingness, liberty, and power. We use modal verbs (a type of auxiliary/helping verb) to help us express these things.
Let's look at some example sentences for clarity.
'He might come.' - The word might expresses possibility.
'He must come.' - The word must expresses obligation.
'He can come.' - The word can expresses power and liberty (i.e. he has the power and freedom to attend)
'He would like to come.' - The words would like to express willingness.
The potential mood is used when the speaker believes that there is at least some potential that the event or situation being discussed will take place.
Forming the potential mood involves using auxiliary verbs, specifically modal verbs.
Modal verbs are a specific type of auxiliary (helping) verbs that express possibility, probability, permission, ability, and intentions. Some examples of modal verbs include should, would, could, may, might, can, could, and must.
The most common modal verbs used in the potential mood are may, can, must, might, could, would, and should.
To form the potential mood, we use a modal verb followed by the infinitive form of a verb without the 'to' (e.g. 'to swim' becomes 'swim').
The meaning of an utterance in the potential mood is dependent on which modal verb has been used.
Let's look at the seven modal verbs used in the potential mood and their meanings.
'Beth might come tomorrow' and 'Beth may come tomorrow' = possibility (it's possible Beth is attending the event)
'Yes, Beth may come tomorrow' = liberty (Beth has been given permission and is free to attend the event)
'Yeah, I can go to the event' and 'Yeah, I could go to the event' = power (Beth has been given permission and now has the power to attend the event if she wishes)
'Are you going to the event tomorrow?' 'Yes, I would like to' = willingness (Beth has shown a willingness to attend the event)
'Beth must attend tomorrow' = obligation (Beth has no choice but to attend the event)
Two people using the potential mood to discuss potential plans - StudySmarter Original
Here are some example sentences that are in the potential mood.
She might be visiting tomorrow.
May I join you?
I can see the movie another time.
Why aren't you coming to Spain? You must join us!
They may come to the wedding.
'Is the football on tonight?'
'I'm not sure; it might be.'
I could stay a bit longer...
I would love to hear your music!
The five main grammatical moods in English are the imperative, indicative, interrogative, subjunctive, and conditional moods. Further grammatical moods in English include the potential and optative moods.
The potential mood is used to express possibility and potential; this includes things such as obligation, necessity, willingness, liberty, and power.
We use the potential mood when we believe there is a possibility that what's being discussed will happen.
To form the potential mood, we use a modal verb followed by the infinitive form of a verb without the 'to'.
An example sentence in the potential mood is, 'She might be attending tomorrow.'
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