On the Use of the Subjunctive with English Hope

Abstract

The present paper describes how the structure of a particular expression of ‘hope’ (e.g., I hope that x vs. My hope is that/would be that x), as well as the presence or absence of an additional modal element (e.g., would, might, may, could, can, should), can influence the speaker or subject’s perceived investment in or commitment to the proposition’s materialization and, consequently, the (un)acceptability of the subordinate clause appearing in the subjunctive. Since, hope unlike want, tends to be associated with desires that result from careful and thoughtful reasoning (e.g., Portner & Rubinstein, 2012), the standard use of an indicative embedded complement is not unexpected. I, however, explain that the more irrealis (i.e., conditional, hypothetical, unreal, uncertain, or visceral and, thus, not likely to be the product of careful and thoughtful reasoning) the ‘hope’ statement is considered to be (as manifested by a diminished sense of speaker commitment to the proposition’s possible fulfillment), is the more acceptable the use of the subjunctive becomes.

Full text

International Journal of English Linguistics; Vol. 13, No. 1; 2023
ISSN 1923-869X E-ISSN 1923-8703
Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education
56
On the Use of the Subjunctive with English Hope
Tris Faulkner1
1 Kalamazoo College, USA
Correspondence: Tris Faulkner, Kalamazoo College, USA.
Received: September 30, 2022 Accepted: November 15, 2022 Online Published: November 30, 2022
doi:10.5539/ijel.v13n1p56 URL: https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v13n1p56
Abstract
The present paper describes how the structure of a particular expression of ‘hope’ (e.g., I hope that x vs. My hope
is that/would be that x), as well as the presence or absence of an additional modal element (e.g., would, might, may,
could, can, should), can influence the speaker or subject’s perceived investment in or commitment to the
proposition’s materialization and, consequently, the (un)acceptability of the subordinate clause appearing in the
subjunctive. Since, hope unlike want, tends to be associated with desires that result from careful and thoughtful
reasoning (e.g., Portner & Rubinstein, 2012), the standard use of an indicative embedded complement is not
unexpected. I, however, explain that the more irrealis (i.e., conditional, hypothetical, unreal, uncertain, or visceral
and, thus, not likely to be the product of careful and thoughtful reasoning) the ‘hope’ statement is considered to be
(as manifested by a diminished sense of speaker commitment to the proposition’s possible fulfillment), is the more
acceptable the use of the subjunctive becomes.
Keywords: mood variation, desiderative predicates, volitional predicates, hope clauses, English, subjunctive,
indicative
1. Introduction: The Curious Case of ‘Hope’
In spite of the subjunctive’s (relative) unproductiveness in English (Harsh, 1968; Picón Jácome, 2013; Leech et
al., 2009; Skevis, 2014), there are several contexts in which its use may still be expected. Subjunctive meanings
tend to be expressed in contexts that involve non-facts, such as those of wishes (e.g., wish that…), commands (e.g.,
command that…), and desires (e.g., prefer that…) (i.e., in volitive clauses) (Harsh, 1968). Accordingly, since ‘hope’
(or not ‘hope’) also reveals a speaker or subject’s (dis)preferred outcome (i.e., the speaker or subject’s will, desire,
or (dis)preference), it should be expected that, like other volitional predicates, its complement would require the
subjunctive. This, however, is not the case, as ‘hope’ tends to co-occur with indicative clauses. The sections to
follow seek to elaborate on this contrast between volitionals.
2. Similarities Between French and English: Espérer vs. Vou l o i r
According to Portner and Rubinstein (2012), despite being an attitude of (dis)preference, in the case of French and
English, ‘hope’ differs from verbs like ‘want’ or ‘(dis)prefer’, in that it presupposes the subject’s belief that the
proposition will materialize (see Portner & Rubinstein, 2012). In other words, ‘hope’, unlike ‘want’, signals that
the subject is committed to the possibility that their desire (or aversion) is reasonable, appropriate, and perhaps
under the right circumstances, likely to come to pass (see Portner & Rubinstein, 2012). ‘Want’, on the other hand,
implies no such commitment to the rationality, appropriateness, or likelihood of the coveted proposition. Thus,
whereas ‘hope’ represents intellectual or intelligence-based (dis)preferences (i.e., (dis)preferences that have been
reasoned out, thought about, and/or pondered on), ‘want’ expresses desires that are more likely to be visceral (see
Bolinger, 1974; Portner & Rubinstein, 2012). Portner and Rubinstein use the following examples to demonstrate
this position:
1) [You are at your doctor’s office for an annual checkup. He has just told you what bad shape your lungs
are in. If you continue to smoke, you will soon die.]
a. O mon Dieu! Avec tout ce stress, je veux vraiment fumer une cigarette dès que je sortirai.
‘Oh gosh, Doctor, with all this stress, I really want to have a cigarette as soon as I leave!’
(Portner & Rubinstein, 2012, pp. 470471).
b. ??O mon Dieu! Avec tout ce stress, j’espère vraiment fumer une cigarette dès que je sortirai.

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‘??Oh gosh, Doctor, with all this stress, I really hope to have a cigarette as soon as I leave!’
(Portner & Rubinstein, 2012, pp. 470471)
If the patient were to use ‘hope’ in [the above] context, in either French or English, she would indicate that
she is committed to the preference for a cigarette, in the sense that she believes that it is reasonable and is
willing to defend it to the doctor. These commitments clash with the contextual assumptions in the scenario.
In contrast, one does not need to defend the kind of preferences described by ‘want’. It expresses a visceral
desire, and “I can’t help it” is valid as an explanation for the statement in [(1a)]. To use Bolinger’s (1974, pp.
468469) evocative terminology, ‘want’ expresses a “glandular” preference, and ‘hope’ an “intellectual” one
(p. 471).
Put differently, in the case of example (1b), the unnaturalness of ‘hope’ stems from the speaker not being able to
reasonably defend their preference (for a cigarette), given the doctor’s prior warning. In contrast, the naturalness
of ‘want’ in (1a) results from the speaker not needing to have a defensible, desired outcome (i.e., their preference
for a cigarette). Example (2) below represents a similar contrast.
2) [The king is being bothered by an uppity bishop and makes his annoyance known to some knights. These
knights go and kill the bishop, and when the king hears about it, he is angry because it makes him look bad
with the church. The knights respond with [(2a) or (2b)].]
a. Mais vous vouliez qu’il soit tué!
But you wanted that he be.SUBJ killed
‘But you wanted him to be killed!’
(Portner & Rubinstein, 2012, p. 471)
b. ??Mais vous espériez qu’il serait/est tué!
But you hoped that he be.COND.INDIC/is.INDIC killed
‘??But you hoped for him to be killed!’
(Portner & Rubinstein, 2012, p. 471)
As related to example (2), we “again, we have a case of visceral desire, where the king is not contextually
committed to his preference. ‘Want’ is acceptable in this context, whereas ‘hope’ is not” (Portner & Rubinstein,
2012, p. 471). More importantly, we can also observe that, whereas visceral (and possibly unrealizable) desires
(e.g., vouloir ‘to want’) co-occur with the subjunctive, defensible, intellectual propositions take indicative clauses
(e.g., espérer ‘to hope’). The same is the case for English, where ‘hope’ takes indicative, despite most other
volitional verbs prescriptively requiring the subjunctive.
3) I hope that she gets.PRES.INDIC there on time.
4) I desire/prefer that she get.PRES.SUBJ there on time.
Curiously, native speaker judgements suggest that there are a few, limited scenarios in which English ‘hope’ may,
in fact, opt for subjunctive. Examples (5) through (8) illustrate this possibility.
5) a. I hope (that) she gets.PRES.INDIC here on time.
b. *I hope (that) she get.PRES.SUBJ here on time.
c. My hope is that she gets.PRES.INDIC here on time.
d. ??My hope is that she get.PRES.SUBJ here on time.
e. My hope would be that she gets.PRES.INDIC here on time.
f. My hope would be that she get.PRES.SUBJ here on time.
6) a. They hope (that) she goes.PRES.INDIC to college.
b. *They hope (that) she go.PRES.SUBJ to college.
c. Their hope is that she goes.PRES.INDIC to college.
d. ??Their hope is that she go.PRES.SUBJ to college.
e. Their hope would be that she goes.PRES.INDIC to college.
f. Their hope would be that she go.PRES.SUBJ to college.
7) a. We hope (that) she buys.PRES.INDIC the house, rather than rent it.

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b. *We hope (that) she buy.PRES.SUBJ the house, rather than rent it.
c. Our hope is that she buys.PRES.INDIC the house, rather than rent it.
d. ??Our hope is that she buy.PRES.SUBJ the house, rather than rent it.
e. Our hope would be that she buys.PRES.INDIC the house, rather than rent it.
f. Our hope would be that she buy.PRES.SUBJ the house, rather than rent it.
8) a. I hope (that) she goes.PRES.INDIC with the latter option.
b. *I hope (that) she go.PRES.SUBJ with the latter option.
c. My hope is that she goes.PRES.INDIC with the latter option.
d. ??My hope is that she go.PRES.SUBJ with the latter option.
e. My hope would be that she goes.PRES.INDIC with the latter option.
f. My hope would be that she go.PRES.SUBJ with the latter option.
From the above examples, we can observe that, as the conditionality of the proposition increases (i.e., its
hypotheticality or non-factualness,), so too does the acceptability of the subjunctive. In other words, the more
hypothetical or distant the proposition is from the actual world (and, thus, the less committed the speaker or subject
is to its materialization), the greater the possibility that subjunctive becomes more acceptable (i.e., more acceptable
than it would otherwise have been).
3. The English Subjunctive
3.1 English Uses of the Subjunctive
Before delving further into the hope-want dichotomy, it might be helpful to first discuss: 1) how the English
subjunctive is formed; as well as 2) the contexts in which it tends to be encountered.
In present-day Englishes, the subjunctive is formed through inflectional contrasts that “usually only occur in the
third-person, singular present tense of the verb (e.g., play/plays). The single exception to this rule is the anomalous
verb be; in addition to the usual contrast be/is, contrasts also occur in the present tense, first and second-person
singular, […] in all persons plural (e.g., be/am; be/are), and in the preterite, first- and third-person singular (e.g.,
were/was)” (Harsh, 1968). As mentioned in section (1), these inflections tend to come about in volitional contexts
(as well as in conditional and counterfactual statements). Sentences (9) through (22) to follow, provide examples
of these environments.
I. Desiderative Clauses: e.g., desire that, it is desirable that, prefer that, it is preferable that, etc.
9) “Yet this is very different than claiming that the doctor’s desire that the H1N1 virus not exist entails that it
doesn’t exist” (The Corpus of Contemporary American English, 2008).
10) “It is desirable that shipments be delayed where possible […]” (The Corpus of Contemporary American
English, 2008).
II. Directive Clauses: e.g., recommend that, suggest that, demand that, require that, etc.
11) “While it took a little getting used to, I now wholeheartedly recommend that anyone using Windows 8 on a
desktop get and use a Microsoft touch mouse” (The Corpus of Contemporary American English, 2008).
12) “Ms. Cuneo suggested that the poster be forwarded to HRES to judge the appropriateness of the term […]”
(The Corpus of Contemporary American English, 2008).
III. Personal Adjectival Expressions: e.g., to be determined that, to be insistent that, etc.
13) “[…] unprotected by a cordon of adults determined that he not be harmed” (The Corpus of Contemporary
American English, 2008).
14) “If human beings did not eat grains as a significant calorie source for most of our evolution, why are you
so insistent that they be eaten in ‘moderation’?” (The Corpus of Contemporary American English, 2008).
IV. Impersonal Adjectival Expressions: e.g., it is vital that, it is essential that, it is important that, it is advisable
that, etc.
15) “It is vital that a journalist become as good at saying what she doesn’t know as what she knows” (The Corpus
of Contemporary American English, 2008).
16) “It is important that our campaign be represented in each county” (The Corpus of Contemporary American

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English, 2008).
V. Conditional and Concessional Statements: e.g., even if that, if, lest, for fear that, etc.
17) “Even if that were so, I cannot just leave the shop […]” (The Corpus of Contemporary American English,
2008).
18) “Phyllis had always acted as if she were the oldest, primarily because her personality was like a drill serge ant’s
[…]” (The Corpus of Contemporary American English, 2008).
VI. Counterfactual Statements: e.g., if, contrary-to-fact statements
19) “If she had served it to me raw like in a salad, I would have gobbled it up” (The Corpus of Contemporary
American English, 2008-).
20) “Now, if I had known going in, if they had told me, I would have been mentally prepared” (The Corpus of
Contemporary American English, 2008-).
VII. Formulaic Statements: e.g., exhortations, prayers, etc.
21) “God bless you, your fiancée, her son, and your team!” (The Corpus of Contemporary American English,
2008).
22) “A long story but suffice it to say that documentary film funding isn’t easy […]” (The Corpus of
Contemporary American English, 2008).
In the examples above, subjunctive inflections are identifiable by means of the following:
A. Present, third-person forms that do not coincide with present, third-person indicative inflections; i.e., absence
of the -s.
Table 1. Third-person subjunctive inflections
Example Context Subjunctive Indicative
9 “Yet this is very different than claiming that the doctor’s desire that the H1N1 virus not
exist entails that it doesn’t exist” (The Corpus of Contemporary American English, 2008).
exist exists
11 “While it took a little getting used to, I now wholeheartedly recommend that anyone
using Windows 8 on a desktop get and use a Microsoft touch mouse” (The Corpus of
Contemporary American English, 2008).
get, use gets, uses
15 “It is vital that a journalist become as good at saying what she doesn’t know as what she
knows” (The Corpus of Contemporary American English, 2008).
become becomes
21 “God bless you, your fiancée, her son and your team!” (The Corpus of Contemporary
American English, 2008).
bless blesses
22 “A long story, but suffice it to say that documentary film funding isn’t easy […]” (The
Corpus of Contemporary American English, 2008).
suffice suffices
It is, however, important to point out that, if the subjects in many of the above clauses had been plural (you all,
plural they), second-person singular (singular you), or singular they, subjunctive and indicative forms would have
been identical.
B. The use of be-passives instead of indicative is/are-passive, participle constructions.
Tab le 2. Subjunctive Be-passives
Example Context Subjunctive Indicative
10 “It is desirable that shipments be delayed where possible to do so without formal
action” (The Corpus of Contemporary American English, 2008).
be delayed are delayed
12 “Ms. Cuneo suggested that the poster be forwarded to HRES to judge the
appropriateness of the term […]” (The Corpus of Contemporary American
English, 2008).
be forwarded is forwarded
13 “[…] unprotected by a cordon of adults determined that he not be harmed.” (The
Corpus of Contemporary American English, 2008).
be harmed is not harmed
14 “If human beings did not eat grains as a significant calorie source for most of our
evolution, why are you so insistent that they be eaten in ‘moderation’?” (The
Corpus of Contemporary American English, 2008).
be eaten are eaten
16 “It is important that our campaign be represented in each county” (The Corpus
of Contemporary American English, 2008).
be represented is represented

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C. The use of were, regardless of the person in question, to indicate conditionality or hypotheticality.
Tab le 3. Subjunctive ‘were’
Example Context Subjunctive Indicative
17 “Even if that were so, I cannot just leave the shop […]” (The Corpus of
Contemporary American English, 2008-).
were was
18 “Phyllis had always acted as if she were the oldest, primarily because her
personality was like a drill sergeant’s […]” (The Corpus of Contemporary
American English, 2008-).
were was
Similar to Table 1, if the subjects in Table 3 had been plural, second-person singular, or singular they, subjunctive
and indicative forms would have been structurally indistinguishable.
D. The use of past-perfect, participle constructions to signal counter-factuality.
Tab le 4. Subjunctive Had + PP constructions
Example Context Subjunctive Indicative
19 “If she had served it to me raw like in a salad, I would have gobbled it up”
(The Corpus of Contemporary American English, 2008).
had served had served
20 “Now, if I had known going in, if they had told me, I would have been
mentally prepared” (The Corpus of Contemporary American English, 2008).
had told
had known
had told
had known
Although sentences (19) and (20) are understood as being contrary-to-fact, it is clear that there are no discernible
structural differences between subjunctive and indicative, past-perfect forms. Subjunctive meanings are inferred,
only because the situations being discussed are untrue as related to a particular past point in time (i.e.,
counterfactual).
3.2 Alternatives to the Subjunctive: Indicative and Modal Auxiliaries
Examples (9) through (22) demonstrate that, whereas the present subjunctive expresses volitivity (whether future
or hypothetical), its past counterpart tends to signal counter-factuality. However, in many modern-day Englishes,
it is the case that many of these environments will instead opt for the indicative or some modal auxiliary (e.g., may,
might, shall, should, will, would, can, could, etc., Skevis, 2014). The sentences to follow demonstrate this
possibility.
i. Desiderative Clauses: e.g., desire that, it is desirable that, prefer that, it is preferable that, etc.
23) “His desire that his book should sit on the shelves of those libraries […]” (The Corpus of Contemporary
American English, 2008).
24) “[…] and it is highly desirable that drilling operations should be undertaken for this purpose” (The Corpus
of Contemporary American English, 2008).
ii. Directive Clauses: e.g., recommend that, suggest that, demand that, require that, etc.
25) “The Humane Society of The United States and The National Animal Control Association recommend that
each animal in a shelter should have 15 minutes of hands-on care each day” (The Corpus of Contemporary
American English, 2008).
26) “[…] Thus, they suggested that I should pay them around, say, $600” (The Corpus of Contemporary
American English, 2008-).
iii. Personal Adjectival Expressions: e.g., to be determined that, to be insistent that, etc.
27) “A council […] determined that priests would instead wear the frock coat” (The Corpus of Contemporary
American English, 2008).
28) “This year, he was quite insistent that he should get to pick out his own costume” (The Corpus of
Contemporary American English, 2008).
iv. Impersonal Adjectival Expressions: e.g., it is vital that, it is essential that, it is important that, it is
advisable that, etc.
29) “‘It is essential that she should sit the exam this semester’ (which is not subjunctive, […] nor informally the

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standard indicative—‘It is essential that she sits the exam this semester’)” (The Corpus of Contemporary American
English, 2008).
30) “Right now I think it is important that I am there to regulate his stress levels […]” (The Corpus of
Contemporary American English, 2008).
v. Conditional and Concessional Statements: e.g., even if that, if statements, lest, for fear that, etc.
31) “[…] would you do it even if that new path might lead you to your death” (The Corpus of Contemporary
American English, 2008).
32) “I think if he was a nice guy and he was interested in pursuing a relationship with you, he would have tried to
calm you down as far as you feeling afraid in your texts” (The Corpus of Contemporary American English, 2008).
vi. Counterfactual Statements: e.g., if, contrary-to-fact statements
33) “Okay, and then if he would have charged me, you’d be complaining about that” (The Corpus of
Contemporary American English, 2008).
34) “If he would have decided to fight this, what would you have done?” (The Corpus of Contemporary American
English, 2008).
vii. Formulaic Statements: e.g., exhortations, prayers, etc.
35) “May God forgive the people who have been so mean and critical to you over the years […]” (The Corpus of
Contemporary American English, 2008).
36) “May it suffice to say, however, that the many, many people who care passionately for the planet, found it an
exercise in climate-change denialism” (The Corpus of Contemporary American English, 2008).
Examples (23) through (36) demonstrate that, in spite of subjunctive being the standard in volitive and desiderative
clauses, variation with indicative or modal auxiliaries is common to authentic speech. Table 5 below contrasts the
use of these alternatives with the standard use of the subjunctive.

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Tab le 5. Alternatives to the subjunctive
Example Context Alternative
Item Type
Alternative
Construction Used
Possible Subjunctive
Equivalent
23 “His desire that his book should sit on the shelves of
those libraries […]” (The Corpus of Contemporary
American English, 2008).
modal should + verb sit
24 “[…] and it is highly desirable that drilling operations
should be undertaken for this purpose” (The Corpus of
Contemporary American English, 2008).
modal should + passive
construction
be undertaken
25 The Humane Society of The United States and The
National Animal Control
Association recommend that each animal in a shelter
should have 15 minutes of hands-on care each day” (The
Corpus of Contemporary American English, 2008).
modal should + verb have
26 “[…] Thus, they suggested that I should pay them
around, say, $600” (The Corpus of Contemporary
American English, 2008).
modal should + verb pay
27 “A council […] determined that priests would instead
wear the frock coat” (The Corpus of Contemporary
American English, 2008).
conditional would + verb wear
28 “This year, he was quite insistent that he should get to
pick out his own costume” (The Corpus of Contemporary
American English, 2008).
modal should + verb get
29 “It is essential that she should sit the exam this
semester’ (which is not subjunctive, whatever Brus might
think) or informally the standard indicative - ‘It is
essential that she sits the exam this semester’” (The
Corpus of Contemporary American English, 2008-).
modal should + verb sit
30 “Right now I think it is important that I am there to
regulate his stress levels, since babies cannot do” (The
Corpus of Contemporary American English, 2008).
indicative am be
31 “[…] would you do it even if that new path might lead
you to your death” (The Corpus of Contemporary
American English, 2008).
modal might + verb were to lead/led
32 “I think if he was a nice guy and he was interested in
pursuing a relationship with you, he would have tried to
calm you down as far as you feeling afraid in your texts”
(The Corpus of Contemporary American English, 2008).
indicative was were
33 “Okay, and then if he would have charged me, you’d be
complaining about that” (The Corpus of Contemporary
American English, 2008).
conditional would + present-
perfect-3PL
had charged
34 “If he would have decided to fight this, what would you
have done?” (The Corpus of Contemporary American
English, 2008).
conditional would + present-
perfect-3PL
had decided
35 “May God forgive the people who have been so mean
and critical to you over the years […]” (The Corpus of
Contemporary American English, 2008).
modal may + verb God forgive
36 “May it suffice to say, however, that the many, many
people who care passionately for the planet, found it an
exercise in climate-change denialism” (The Corpus of
Contemporary American English, 2008).
modal may + verb suffice it to say
In section 3, we saw that, in spite of the subjunctive being the ‘grammatical’ (i.e., prescriptive) default in volitional,
desiderative, and hypothetical contexts, present day Englishes have the indicative and modal auxiliaries as
productive alternatives. In section 4, we will discuss how focus, agentivity, and modality affect hope’s receptivity
to the subjunctive.
4. Subjunctive ‘Hope’ Clauses
Through native-speaker consultations (and being a native speaker of English, myself), it was observed that, though
described as maximally indicative, ‘hope’ clauses may at times be accepting of the subjunctive, depending on both

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the structure of the particular ‘hope’ construction, as well as the presence or absence of an additional expression
of modality. With reference to the examples provided in section (2), we will take a look at how these two factors
influence the mood of the subordinate clause. For ease of reading, examples (5) through (8) have been re-numbered
below as, (37), (38), (39), and (40).
37) My hope would be that she get here on time. > ??My hope is that she get here on time. > *I hope (that) she
get here on time.
38) Their hope would be that she go to college. > ??Their hope is that she go to college. > *They hope (that)
she go to college.
39) Our hope would be that she buy the house, rather than rent it. > ??Our hope is that she buy the house, rather
than rent it. > *We hope ( that) she buy the house, rather than rent it.
40) My hope would be that she go with the latter option. > ??My hope is that she go with the latter option. > *I
hope (that) she go with the latter option.
With respect to all four examples, we see that the construction:
Possessive Adjective (PA) + hope + Modal Auxiliary + be + that + Subjunctive Proposition
is the form that best allows for the subjunctive. Following this structure is:
??PA + hope + be + that + Subjunctive Proposition,
which, although not unacceptable, is considered somewhat unnatural. Finally, we have the construction:
*Subject + hope + that + Subjunctive Proposition,
which is inflexibly ungrammatical. We, thus, see that for ‘hope’ phrases to be even minimally accepting of the
subjunctive, the structure PA + hope… needs to be present. Why, however, might this be? Well, if we compare PA
+ hope to the subject + hope construction, there is a greater distance between the speaker and hoped-for proposition
as related to the former. Put differently, the adjectival structure is more impersonal than is the verbal construction
(e.g., Our hope is that x vs. We hope that x). In the case of the latter, the focus is on the subject (i.e., the ‘hoper’),
whereas in the former, the focus is on the particular desire. Therefore, our first observation is that decreased
agentivity (or focus on the subject) helps to create a subjunctive-receptive environment. In addition to PA + hope,
the presence of a modal auxiliary (such as ‘would’) appears to be necessary. With a modal auxiliary present (e.g.,
would, might, may, could, can, etc.), the distance between the speaker and their commitment to the proposition
expands even further. This means that the hoped-for proposition is interpreted as being even more removed from
said speaker or subject, which, consequently, implies a lesser commitment (i.e., the speaker/subject is perceived
as less invested in the possible materialization of the desire). With this increased distance (with respect to the
speaker’s expectations regarding the proposition’s (possible) fulfillment), the ‘hope’ expression becomes more
similar to desideratives like ‘want’ or ‘prefer’, in that, the proposed desire is interpreted as less rational and more
visceral. We can test this theory by examining if such a statement can appropriately be followed by “I can’t help
it” (see Portner & Rubinstein, 2012). Let’s do this be re-analyzing example (5), re-numbered again as (41).
41) Scenario: Mary is expected to be at an important meeting at 3:00 p.m. sharp. She lives an hour away
from the meeting place. It is currently 2:30 p.m. and she left home only five minutes ago. It is, therefore,
impossible for Mary to get to the meeting on time.
a. My hope would be that she gets/get here on time. I know that that’s impossible, but I can’t help it.
b. My hope is that she gets/??get here on time. I know that that’s impossible, but I can’t help it.
c. I hope that she gets/*get here on time. ??I know that that’s impossible, but I can’t help it.
As pertains to (41a), the “I can’t help it” phrase appears to be acceptable. In terms of (41b), although not as natural-
sounding as the former, “I can’t help it” is still an acceptable addition. However, in the case of (41c), the same
phrase seems out of place. This coincides with our previous discussion regarding the relationship between the
speaker/subject, their commitment to the proposition, and, consequently, how intellectual or visceral the ‘hope’ is
thought to be. Whereas, the construction PA + hope + Modal Auxiliary puts forth a more neutral and uncommitted
subject (which corresponds with the distance and hypotheticality associated with the subjunctive), Subject + hope
+ that presents one who is more dedicated and aligned with desire’s potential transpiring (i.e., an intelligence-
based declaration, characteristic of commitment and defensibility and, thus, the indicative).
5. Concluding Remarks
The present paper centered on the acceptability of the subjunctive in normatively, indicative-taking ‘hope’ clauses.

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Our discussion explains how the structure of the particular expression of ‘hope’ (e.g., I hope that x vs. My hope is
that/would be that x), as well as the addition of a modal element (e.g., would, might, may, could, can), can lessen
the speaker or subject’s perceived investment in or commitment to the materialization of the proposition. In other
words, the more irrealis (i.e., conditional, hypothetical, unreal, uncertain) the ‘hope’ statement is interpreted to be
(as manifested by a diminished sense of speaker commitment to the proposition’s possible fulfillment), the lesser
the chance that said statement will be considered the product of cautious and thoughtful reasoning. As a result, the
default use of the indicative (a mood which is typically representative of factuality and/or commitment to truth)
may be substituted with that of the subjunctive (a mood generally associated with non-facts, non-truths, and a lack
of speaker investment).
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