Verb Mood: Indicative, Imperative, Subjunctive, dan Infinitive

Kata kerja dalam Bahasa Inggris memiliki empat nuansa (moods), yakni indicative, imperative, subjunctive, dan infinitive. Nuansa merupakan bentuk kata kerja yang menunjukkan bagaimana suatu pikiran diekspresikan.

Mengubah nuansa kata kerja dapat mengubah nada (tone) suatu kalimat. Verb moods dapat mengindikasikan suatu keadaan atau realita.

Indicative

INDICATIVE mengekspresikan fakta, opini, pernyataan yang tegas. Nuansa ini merupakan bentuk “normal” dari kata kerja, sehingga hampir semua kata kerja yang digunakan dalam bentuk tulisan atau ucapan memiliki nuansa ini.

Surabaya is the capital city of East Java.
Have you finished the task I assigned to you two days ago?
Ostrich can’t fly.
He has a high fever, his temperature is going through the roof and he starts hallucinating.
How much money do you get from your last job?
The vacation was funded by our parents’ retirement fund.

Imperative

IMPERATIVE mengekspresikan perintah, larangan, saran, permohonan. Nuansa ini biasanya digunakan untuk memberikan perintah atau membuat permintaan. Meski terkadang kata please ditambahkan, nuansa kata kerja tersebut tetaplah imperative. Nuansa ini pun kadang digunakan untuk menyatakan instruksi.

This is a non-smoking room. Could you please take your cigarette and smoke outside?
I am your mother. Do not talk back to me that way, Young Lady!
Mix the flour and sugar with one liter of milk.
Can you not chew your food so loud, please?
Keep the operation room sterile.
Shouldn’t you call her and say sorry for treating her so badly?

Subjunctive

SUBJUNCTIVE mengekspresikan keraguan atau sesuatu yang berlawanan dengan fakta. Nuansa ini mengutarakan tuntutan, saran, harapan, kepentingan. Yang diutarakan pun tidak harus selalu berupa fakta, tetapi dapat berupa kemungkinan.

I wish we could still be together.
If Einstein’s still alive, perhaps he could explain it to you a bit better.
May God bless you and your family.
She hoped she could meet me again the future.
If I were you, I would take the car to the nearest mechanic and have it checked.
She demanded to be treated equally as her colleagues.

Infinitive

INFINITIVE mengekspresikan perilaku atau kondisi tanpa merujuk pada pelaku/subjeknya. Nuansa ini ditunjukkan melalui bentuk dasar kata kerja yang diberi tambahan to di depannya, seperti: to think, to speak, to call, to write, dll.

Grandpa told me to keep the cat safe at no cost.
It’s better to wait than to be late.
Lorinda’s mother brings her to a therapist to help her to speak.
The situation could be worse had she not tell him to keep his mouth shut.
To understand the whole matter thoroughly is our goal in this lecture.
For instance, when I ask you to open the door, DO NOT open the door!

PERHATIKAN bahwa dalam satu kalimat bisa memiliki dua verba moods. Namun, keduanya harus merupakan nuansa yang sama.

Perubahan mood atau inkosistensi dalam pemberian nuansa dalam sebuah kalimat dapat menimbulkan inappropriate shift dan menyebabkan tulisan sulit dibaca hingga mengaburkan makna kalimat.

Sehingga untuk mengoreksi perubahan/pergeseran nuansa dalam kalimat, kedua klausa yang berkaitan harus berada dalam nuansa yang sama.

Perhatikan contoh dalam tabel berikut ini.

Inappropriate shift

Koreksi

Drink the milk, and you will do some jumping jacks.

(imperative) (indicative)

Drink the milk and do some jumping jacks.

(imperative) (imperative)

You can drink the milk, but can you please do some jumping jacks?

(indicative) (imperative)

You can drink the milk and you can do some jumping jacks.

(indicative) (indicative)

If you were to drink the milk, you will do some jumping jacks.

(subjunctive, if/were) (indicative)

If you were to drink the milk, you would do some jumping jacks.

(subjunctive, if/were) (subjunctive if/would)

INGAT untuk selalu memerhatikan perubahan nuansa kata kerja dalam kalimat yang Anda buat dan hindari penggunaan dua nuansa berbeda dalam satu kalimat.

Verbs