You're inviting a bunch of friends over for a party. Before they get there, you want to put on some music to set the mood. If the music is too slow and boring, your friends will walk in and know it's going to be a boring party, but if the music is loud and upbeat, your friends will walk in knowing that they're going to have a good time.

Just like you can set the mood of your party, you can set the mood of your sentences just by the way you use your verbs.

Look at these five sentences:

Sing us a song, Ashley!

Ashley might sing us a song.

Ashley is going to sing us a song.

Will you sing us a song, Ashley?

If I were you, Ashley, I would sing us a song.

Each sentence says something similar, but it uses a different mood to say it.

There are five main verb moods:

Most sentences are written using the indicative mood. In the indicative mood you simply share a fact or state something that is actually happening. It might also ask a question that leads to a factual answer. Some examples of sentences written in the indicative mood include:

When you want to give a command or stress the importance of something, you use the imperative mood. Sentences in this mood tend to be short and can sometimes come off as a bit rude. Some examples of sentences written in the imperative mood include:

When detectives suspect someone is guilty of a crime, they often take them to an interrogation room where they interrogate them, or ask them a ton of questions. Therefore, it makes sense that the interrogative mood asks a question. Some examples of sentences written in the interrogative mood include:

Note: Often the interrogative mood overlaps with the indicative mood when you are asking a question.

"I'm going to let you go to the party under one condition." A condition is a factor that must be must before something happens. With the conditional mood you are suggesting that what you say is possible, but only under certain conditions. The conditional mood typically uses words like could, would, and might. Some examples of sentences written in the conditional mood include:

The subjunctive mood is a bit tricky to understand. Basically it imagines the way something would or could be. For example, what you would do if you were in a situation, describing a hypothetical situation, or expressing a wish you might have. Some examples of sentences written in the subjunctive mood include:

Now look at the sentences from the beginning of the lesson again:

Sing us a song, Ashley!

Ashley might sing us a song.

Ashley is going to sing us a song.

Will you sing us a song, Ashley?

If I were you, Ashley, I would sing us a song.

Can you guess which mood each sentence represents?

Sing us a song, Ashley! - Imperative Mood

Ashley might sing us a song. - Conditional Mood

Ashley is going to sing us a song. - Indicative Mood

Will you sing us a song, Ashley? - Interrogative Mood

If I were you, Ashley, I would sing us a song. - Subjunctive Mood

When you know what verb mood a sentence uses, it can help you figure out what the sentence means and the tone that was implied. It can also help you express yourself more clearly in your own writing.