Editor's Corner

The conditional mood expresses…wait for it…a condition! Okay, it’s a little more complicated than that. According to Wikipedia, “The conditional mood is a grammatical mood used in conditional sentences to express a proposition whose validity is dependent on some condition.“

Here are some hints about conditional sentences:

• They often contain an auxiliary verb like would, should, or could
• The sentences often start with if, or had

Perhaps the best thing I can do is give you a bunch of examples. The auxiliary and regular verbs are bolded. These are inspired by Learn Grammar but are modified a little by me just to keep myself entertained.

• Tamara might be able to bring doughnuts if she comes earlier.
• I would like a cappuccino, please.
• If you were here, you could have done it.
• If I were in Paris, I would meet my friend Titus.
• If Judson had come here, I could have given him ten reasons he should not play the part of Juliette in our play.
• Had Yesenia participated in the dart-tossing contest, she could have won the first prize.
• I would like a glass of orange juice, please.
• I might be able to attend the jump-rope challenge if I can finish my work earlier.
• Had I been there, I could have helped you.
• If John is not in the office, he might be upstairs setting off fireworks.
• If you want to attend the class, you should sign up now.
• Had Carla started on time from home, she would not miss the flight.
• I would like a chocolate cone with nuts.
• Had Woodrow not wasted so much time, he could have finished the project
• Bob might be able to meet Anna if he comes now.

We’re almost at the end of our grammar moods. Next time the final installment: subjunctive mood.

If you’re still with me, you deserve something cute: a herd of cats!

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Technical Publications

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

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