摘要

虚拟语气对于英语学习者来说很难掌握，不仅是因为它表达形式的多样性，更多的是因为虚拟语气的动词形式与现实说话时的时态不一致。所以当需要用虚拟语气进行表达时，对于选择哪种时态产生混乱。从认识语言学的角度出发，将虚拟语气分为四个部分。以距离感一词为中心，从虚拟语气的本质出发对其进行更细致的分类。

关键词： 虚拟语气，屈折变化，距离感，语句范畴    

Abstract
 
Subjunctive mood is more difficult to grasp for the English learners. It is not only because of the variety of its sentence patterns, but also the differences between the tense of verbs in subjunctive mood and the tense of verbs used in the sentences which are used to describe the reality. So when we need to use the subjunctive mood for communication, we can be confused with how to choose the tense. This thesis divides the subjunctive mood into four parts from a cognitive perspective. It classifies the subjunctive mood specifically according to its essence. And the essence is distance perception.

Key words: subjunctive mood, inflection, distance perception, grammatical category.

1. Introduction 
What is a subjunctive mood? The explanation in Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionary (Hornby, 2009: 2013) is that the form (or mood) of a verb that express wishes, possibility or uncertainty. Subjunctive mood is a kind of grammar that is used in English communication. Speakers use it to express conditions of assumptions or wishes. It happens in certain condition that what the sentence expresses is not the true or absolutely the opposite. It often conveys expectation, order, emotion, probability, judgment, necessity and the statements that are opposite to the facts. The forms of verbs in subjunctive mood are usually inconsistent with normal forms that are used in grammar. It is hard for many English learners to grasp the meaning and the usage of subjunctive mood. In order to make it easier to understand, many linguists carry on the thorough research to classify the forms in different ways. For example, Zhang Daozhen (2002: 250) presents a viewpoint in English Grammar. He says that when we want to express a condition that is totally imagined or a subjective wish, the verb needs to be in a special form. This is called subjunctive mood. The forms of subjunctive mood are roughly divided into three categories.