An Analysis of the Relations Between the Meanings of the Subjunctive Mood and Its Past Tense Form for Facilitation of ESL

Abstract

This paper will tentatively off er an explanation on the relationship between the meaning of the subjunctive mood and its pasttense form, under the framework of conceptual metaphor theory. It is hoped that this anaylsis could manage to off er a better elaboration on the tense of the subjunctive mood with a cognitive interpretation, with a view to helping ESL teachers and learners better understand the subjunctive mood in English teaching/learning process and opening a new gate for further studies on relationship between mood and tense.