As you become more advanced in English grammar, it becomes even more important to understand the four moods that English verbs can take on in sentences. This is also key for your writing proficiency as well to be able to create these moods within your sentences but to also point them out to yourself when you are reading something in English. Now, you may be asking yourself, what is a verb mood and how do I identify it as such?

A verb mood in English shows the writer's attitude toward what he/she is saying. There are four different and distinct verb moods that we use in the English language to highlight a kind of behavior or belief that needs to be expressed independently or dependently. The four verb moods that we will cover in this article are indicative, imperative, subjunctive, and infinitive.

We will cover how, when, and why these four moods are used along with giving some example sentences of how they can be expressed in the written form. The verb moods are similar to each other but they are also distinct in how they are utilized. If you are able to use all four of them correctly, your English proficiency and understanding will increase a good amount as a result.

Indicative Mood states an actuality or fact.

We will go to see a movie this Sunday.

I'll follow you to the park.

Imperative Mood makes a request or a demand.

Let's go to see a play this weekend!

Please stop touching me!

Subjunctive Mood expresses a doubtful condition (contrary to fact) and is often used with an "if" clause.

If I were you, I wouldn't buy a house.

I wish I were more organized.

Infinitive Mood expresses an action or state without reference to any subject. It can be the source of sentence fragments when the writer mistakenly thinks the infinitive form is a fully-functioning verb.

When we speak of the English infinitive, we usually mean the basic form of the verb with “to” in front of it: to go, to sing, to walk, to speak.

Verbs that are in the infinitive mood can include participle forms ending in -ed and -ing. Verbs in the infinitive mood are not being used as verbs, but as other parts of speech.

· To err is human; to forgive, divine.

· He is a man to be admired.

· He came to see you.

Hopefully, these four verb moods are clearer to you now and you will be able to use them correctly once you have a solid foundation down of sentence order and of sentence structure. Often times, you will be using one of these moods without you even knowing that you are utilizing them. It’s just important, however, to take these examples from each of the four moods and be able to know when and under what circumstances they should be used. Once you have that down, your grammar will improve as well as your writing.

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