We usually add 's' or 'es' to the first form of the verb when the subject is a third person. I do not understand why 's' hasn't been added to the verb "come" in the following sentence:
It is important that he come to my party.
mandativesubjunctives
We usually add 's' or 'es' to the first form of the verb when the subject is a third person. I do not understand why 's' hasn't been added to the verb "come" in the following sentence:
It is important that he come to my party.
Best Answer
Short answer:
Because subjunctive mood obligates the following:
Longer answer:
Well, many argue that the subjunctive mood is disappearing from English. Somewhat rightfully so, considering that other languages tend to have more sophisticated subjunctive systems.
How does subjunctive "work"? This is the same reason some people insist that you use
rather than
For most verbs, the only visible and distinct difference is the one you noticed: No -s or -es ending as otherwise would've existed. For verb 'be', we both have "be" and "were" subjunctives, which of course, are used in present and past tenses, respectively.
For the most part, indicative mood is subjunctive mood's counterpart.
When should I use subjunctive mood in modern English grammar? John Lawler has a notable post on when to use subjunctive mood in modern English, and more precisely, the patterns in which the subjunctive appears. To quote the answer:
Examples omitted to prevent from adding unnecessary length to the answer
Back to your sentence,
It uses the subjunctive mood and fits pattern 3.
And what does it mean? Various online sources for learning English agree that subjunctive mood refer to a conditional or doubtful situation. Subjunctive is an irrealis mood, meaning, it doesn't necessarily point to something real. He may come to the party, he may not. To quote Wikipedia
So what the sentence means is "His coming into my party is important." This course of action (coming to the party) he will take may happen or not as it refers to the future, but it's important that he does it.