mood

Definition:

This term has two distinct techinical meanings in English writing. The first meaning is grammatical and deals with verbal units and a speaker's attitude. The //indicitive// mood is used only for factual sentences. The second meaning of mood is literary, the prevailing atmopshere or emotional aura of a work. Setting, tone, and events can affect the mood. In this usage, mood is similar to tone and atmosphere.

Examples:


 * 1) An example of indicitive mood would be "The cat is on the mat."
 * 2) An example of subjunctive mood that is stating a hypothesis is, "If I were a millionaire, I would buy a sports car."
 * 3) An example of imperative mood is, "Be here at seven o' clock," "Cook me an omlette," "Bring your books with you."

Work Cited:
 * "OWL: Online Writing Lab." __Verbs: Voice and Mood__. Purdue University. 5 Apr 2007 http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_vmood.html.
 * "Wikipedia." __Subjunctive Mood__. 05 April 2007. Wikipedia Encyclopedia. 5 Apr 2007 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subjunctive_mood#To_express_a_wish.
 * __Mood and the Analysis of Non-declarative Sentences__. Stanford Univeristy Press. 5 Apr 2007 http://www.dan.sperber.com/mood.htm.

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