English Grammar Essentials: Moods, Passive Voice, and Questions

English Verb Moods

Indicative Mood

Used for all simple tenses to describe observable facts. Examples: "It rains a lot," "I live in Chiloé."

Subjunctive Mood

• Advice: I suggest he study.
• Desire: I hope she makes it.
• 3rd Conditional: Used for unreal situations. Example: "If I were you, I would study."
• Hypothetical: Used with "as if" or in progress sentences. Example: "If we won, I'd throw a party."

Imperative Mood

• Requests: "Open the window, please."
• Strong Suggestions: "Behave!"
• Instructions: "First, open the box."
• Commands: "Use the seatbelt," "Close the door, please."

Passive Voice

Used when the action is more important than the actor. Structure: Subject + Be + Past Participle + (by + Object).

• News: "A new robbery was committed."
• Unimportant Subject: "Coca-Cola is bottled in Chile."
• Causative Form: "I'm going to have my face lifted."

Passive Voice Questions

Structure: Who + auxiliary (was) + subject + participle + by?
Example: "The Biobío Bridge was designed by Eiffel."

Causative Form in Passive Voice

Used to indicate someone else performed an action for you. Structure: Subject + got/had + object + past participle.
Example: "The mechanic changed the oil in my car" becomes "I had the oil of my car changed."

Types of Questions

• Direct Question: Follows standard Yes/No or Wh- patterns. Example: "Who are you?"
• Indirect Question: An embedded question structured as an affirmative statement. Example: "Can you tell me what your answer is?"
• Yes/No Questions: Start with an auxiliary verb. Example: "Are you married?"
• Wh-Questions: Expect an open answer; start with an adverb. Example: "Where are you from?"
• Tag Questions: Used for confirmation. Example: "You are Chilean, aren't you?"
• Object Questions: Used with transitive verbs + what/who + auxiliary. Example: "Who did he hit?"
• Subject Questions: Used with transitive verbs + who/what without an auxiliary. Example: "Who invented the cellphone?"
• Rhetorical Questions: No answer expected. Example: "How long do we have to wait for social justice?"
• Alternative Questions: Offers choices. Example: "Who did you actually meet: Paul or John?"