The Mandative Subjunctive in Technical Writing, or the Gap between Subconscious and Conscious Grammatical Knowledge

Abstract

Purpose: In technical writing, the consistent use of the present subjunctive in mandative that-clauses can promote stylistic clarity by distinguishing the not-yet actualized from the already actualized. A grammar rule requires the use of the present subjunctive in such contexts. We tested a group of STEM majors at our university to see whether they were predisposed to use the present subjunctive in mandative that-clauses when they were composing new content or editing existing content. Methods: We administered two versions of a performance-based elicitation test in eight writing classes: (1) a complete-the-sentence version, in which the mandative that-clause lacked a complete predicate, and (2) a fill-in-the-blank version, in which the mandative that-clause lacked only a verb phrase (i.e., simple predicate). The former required composing new content, while the latter required editing existing content. Results: In the mandative that-clauses across both versions of the test, the present indicative was used in 51 percent of the responses, while the present subjunctive was used in 28 percent. The present subjunctive was used in 249 out of 720 responses (35 percent) on the complete-the-sentence version of the test, while it was used in 191 out of 828 responses (23 percent) on the fill-in-the-blank version. Conclusions: The students used the mandative subjunctive frequently, but they used the mandative indicative more frequently. They were more likely to use the mandative subjunctive when they were generating complete predicates (applying the grammar rule subconsciously in composing/drafting) than when they were supplying only simple predicates (applying the grammar rule consciously in editing/revising).

Department(s)

English and Technical Communication

Keywords and Phrases

Clarity; Consistency; Editing; Grammar; Style; Verb mood

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0049-3155

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2024 Society for Technical Communication, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 2021

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