PRE-DEICTICS

In one of the above examples we saw an instance of the partitive form which uses the preposition "of" and precedes the deictic.
e.g. Have some of my tobacco.
These are known as PRE-DEICTICS, and are also governed by the rule of countable/uncountable concordance with the headword.
e.g.	Have another of my cigarettes.
	Have some of this wine.
Pre-deictics may be general quantifiers such as "all", "each", "many" etc, numerals, words which indicate multiples or fractions, such as "double", "one half" etc, and also certain nominal group quantifiers such as "a little", "a few", "a great deal" etc. The words "such" and "what" may also appear in this capacity preceding the indefinite article or zero article.
e.g. It is such a big house.
Note that some of the partitives require "of" before the deictic. It is also important to note that where there is number agreement between subject and verb, then this is governed by the pre-deictic element if one is present in the subject nominal group.
e.g.	All of the boys were late.
	Each of the boys was punished.
Note that if the pre-deictic is a singular form, such as "each" in the above example, verb agreement is singlular even though the headword "boys" is plural.
Consider the following example with the pronoun "one":-
e.g. One of the boys was late.

It is possible with structures such as this to show two structural interpretations: the first where "one" is the headword and the second where it is pre-deictic.
(i)	One	of the boys	was late
	h	---- q ----

(ii)	One of	the	boys	was late
	--pd--	d	h

The argument for preferring interpretation (ii) is supported by the fact that we could also say:-
e.g. One boy was late.
Similarly for "some":-
e.g.	Some boys were late.
	Some of the boys were late.
Although grammarians may disagree as to which interpretation is to be preferred, for our purposes it is sufficient to note that both viewpoints are possible. There are also a number of nominal group quantifiers which precede uncountable nouns and which are similarly susceptible to this dual analysis.
e.g. A bottle of Aunt Martha's fine old vintage port.
This is of course the standard means of quantifying uncountable nouns such as "milk", "tea", "coffee" etc. However, this structure has its own characteristic forms since the words such as "cup", "bottle", "glass" and so on which serve as the quantifiers are themselves nouns, and may be modified accordingly.
e.g. A large bottle of aunt Martha's fine old vintage port.
Clearly we can view "bottle" as the headword, and the whole prepositional group which follows "of" as a rankshifted qualifier. However, the alternative analysis is also possible, and the pre-deictic element is then "a large bottle of". If we choose the pre-deictic classification, the structure of the whole group is thus as follows:-

a large bottle of	Aunt Martha's	fine	old	vintage	port
------ pd -------	----- d -----	m	m	m	h

A further argument in support of this analysis is the fact that other adjectives which are semantically linked with the main headword may anticipate it and be placed in the pre-deictic group:-
e.g. a tasty bottle of Aunt Martha's fine old vintage port
Structurally this might look at first sight as if the headword for the whole structure was "bottle", and the post-positional group "of Aunt Martha's fine old vintage port" was acting as qualifier. However, it can also be argued that "bottle" is a quantifying modifier for "port", and not the "port" which modifies the "bottle", and it is of course the port which is tasty, not the bottle. Thus we could not say:-
e.g.	û a tasty port bottle û
	û a delicious coffee cup û
This anticipatory placing of such adjectives in the pre-deictic group is especially common with certain expressions, and seems to arise from the habitual association of words like "cup" with words such as "tea" and "coffee", so that expressions like "cup of tea" are treated as if they were compound structures forming a single unit. These are not in fact compound structures, but are COLLOCATIONS - words which are regularly found in combination. Some common collocations of this type include:-
puff of smoke, pack of cards, pair of boots, layer of dust, pool of water, gust of wind, stack of books, pile of papers, jar of honey
Expressions of this type can also be seen to possess a similar structural ambiguity to that discussed above.
e.g.	a new pair of shoes
	a pair of new shoes
As well as these miscellaneous quantifying expressions there are also the various "facet" words such as "front", "face", "back", "rear", "side" etc. These frequently form complex prepositional phrases such as "in front of", "at the back of" and so on, and again two structural interpretations are possible:-
In the first interpretation, "back" is treated as headword and the prepositional group "of the house" is qualifier. In the second interpretation, "house" is headword and "the back of" serves as the pre-deictic element.

PRE-MODIFYING WORDS: DEICTICS

So far we have noted that there are different classes of words which may occur at "m", and which are subject to different chaining relationships, but we have not attempted a more precise description beyond the general classification "m". We have seen, however, that the number of words which may appear at "m" within a single nominal group is quite large. We shall now consider these words in more detail. We have already noted that words like "the" precede the other classes of modifier. Words which may occur in this "slot" in the nominal group structure are called DEICTICS. (Remember that this refers to the set of paradigms, selection of one of which excludes the others e.g. "my", "this"). They are also known as determiners or "pointer words", so called because they function by "pointing" to something in the context. They may be referring back to something which has been mentioned, or forward to something which the speaker is going to say. Or they may indicate something which is inherent in the situational context. e.g. (a) That one over there. (b) That wasn't what I said. (c) It was her fault.

In (a), "that" identifies the referent in terms of its proximity to the speaker; in example (b) "that" refers to something mentioned previously, i.e. it is textual (note also that here "that" is a pronoun and therefore the headword); in example (c) "her" refers to a person whose identity is known to the hearer and is also textual in that it refers back to a preceding point in the text when the individual was named. As well as the definite and indefinite articles, other words which may occupy the deictic slot are demonstratives like "these" and "those", the various possessive forms such as "my", "John's" etc., and quantifiers such as "some", "every", "enough". Note that the possessive form of a common noun may follow a deictic. This can be interpreted as a rankshifted nominal group. e.g. This government's great failure ---- deictic ----

Functional Systems Some deictic words have a special relationship to the headword which distinguishes them from other classes of modifiers, namely the system of number or plurality. This relates to whether the nominal group headword may be classed as "countable" or "uncountable", and governs the selection of demonstratives and words like "all", "every", "another", "some", "either" etc (note that possessives are not governed by this system, and are in this respect unmarked). A second system also operates in terms of which deictics are either NON-SPECIFIC or SPECIFIC in meaning. For instance, the contrast between "a" and "the" arises from this distinction, for the former is used in a general sense, since it does not identify its referent specifically, but means "an unspecified member of the class of things denoted by the headword", whereas the selection of "the" indicates that the referent is in some way known and can be assigned a particular identity. Thus if I say "an apple" this does not indicate which particular apple I am referring to, but if I say "the apple" this suggests that you know which apple I am talking about, either from its context or place in the text. As well as the definite article, other specific deictics are the demonstrative and possessive pronouns, and other possessive forms (e.g. John's, his brother's). Non-specific deictics include the indefinite article and other expressions of singularity (e.g. each, every, either); expressions of duality (e.g. both, neither); indefinite quantifiers (e.g. some, any, much); and expressions of totality (e.g. all). e.g. I'll take this one - specific, countable, singular Do you fancy another drink? - non-specific, countable, singular Shall we take these copies? - specific, countable, plural Would you like some wine? - non-specific, uncountable Have some of my tobacco - specific, uncountable

This can also be represented as follows, where the systems operate simultaneously:-

These systems occur simultaneously, and interact in a complex way. Given that we can identify three classes of noun headword, which may be uncountable, countable singular and countable plural, we can describe six functional classes of deictic. These are:- (i) occurring with any class of noun; e.g. the, my, whose, some, any, no (ii) occurring with uncountable or plural countable nouns only; e.g. enough, zero article (iii) occurring with uncountable or singular countable nouns only; e.g. this, that (iv) occurring with singular countable nouns only; e.g. a, every, each, either (v) occurring with plural countable nouns only; e.g. these, those (vi) occurring with uncountable nouns only; e.g. much

* Some nouns are optionally countable or uncountable:- e.g. I'd like two coffees. Would you like any coffee?
In such cases the selection of deictic is still governed by whether such nouns function as countable or non-countable in each particular instance. * Note also that the zero article does itself carry a deictic function, as in the above "I'd like two coffees". Compare with the following:
e.g. I'd like the two coffees.
The zero article is non-specific whereas the latter use of the definite article clearly identifies the referent - i.e. it says "you know which two coffees I am referring to".
Summary We can say in summary that the function of the deictic element in the nominal group is to identify the headword in terms of its degree of specificity and the extent to which it is known to both speaker and hearer. Specific deictics identify the referent demonstratively in terms of
(i)	its proximity to the speaker (e.g. "this/that", "which/what");
(ii)	in terms of its textual reference (e.g. "That's a good idea");
(iii)	in terms of possession (e.g. Mary's book).
(iv)	in terms of shared knowledge, as for example "the exam" means "you know which exam I am referring to".
Non-specific deictics indicate all, part, one or none of the class of thing which is represented by the headword, which is not more particularly identified textually or proximately to the speaker / hearer in any of the ways mentioned above. These also express polarity in terms of positive/negative.
e.g. all / none, some / any, either / neither

Objects and Complements

Objects

A verb may be followed by an object that completes the verb's meaning. Two kinds of objects follow verbs: direct objects and indirect objects. To determine if a verb has a direct object, isolate the verb and make it into a question by placing "whom?" or "what?" after it. The answer, if there is one, is the direct object:

Direct Object

The advertising executive drove a flashy red Porsche.

Direct Object

Dhea secret admirer gave Dhea a bouquet of flowers.

The second sentence above also contains an indirect object. An indirect object (which, like a direct object, is always a noun orpronoun) is, in a sense, the recipient of the direct object. To determine if a verb has an indirect object, isolate the verb and ask to whom?, to what?, for whom?, or for what? after it. The answer is the indirect object.

Not all verbs are followed by objects. Consider the verbs in the following sentences:

The guest speaker rose from her chair to protest.

After work, Amir usually jogs around the canal.

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

Verbs that take objects are known as transitive verbs. Verbs not followed by objects are called intransitive verbs.

Some verbs can be either transitive verbs or intransitive verbs, depending on the context:

Direct Object

Amir hope the Senators win the next game.

No Direct Object

Did we win?

Subject Complements

In addition to the transitive verb and the intransitive verb, there is a third kind of verb called a linking verb. The word (or phrase) which follows a linking verb is called not an object, but a subject complement.

The most common linking verb is "be." Other linking verbs are "become," "seem," "appear," "feel," "grow," "look," "smell," "taste," and "sound," among others. Note that some of these are sometimes linking verbs, sometimes transitive verbs, or sometimes intransitive verbs, depending on how you use them:

Linking verb with subject complement

He was a radiologist before he became a full-time yoga instructor.

Linking verb with subject complement

Your homemade chili smells delicious.

Transitive verb with direct object

I can't smell anything with this terrible cold.

Intransitive verb with no object

The interior of the beautiful new Buick smells strongly of fish.

Note that a subject complement can be either a noun ("radiologist", "instructor") or an adjective ("delicious").

Object Complements

(by David Megginson)

An object complement is similar to a subject complement, except that (obviously) it modifies an object rather than a subject. Consider this example of a subject complement:

The driver seems tired.

In this case, as explained above, the adjective "tired" modifies the noun "driver," which is the subject of the sentence.

Sometimes, however, the noun will be the object, as in the following example:

Amir consider the driver tired.

In this case, the noun "driver" is the direct object of the verb "consider," but the adjective "tired" is still acting as its complement.

In general, verbs which have to do with perceiving, judging, or changing something can cause their direct objects to take an object complement:

Paint it black.

The judge ruled her out of order.

Amir saw the Prime Minister sleeping.

In every case, you could reconstruct the last part of the sentence into a sentence of its own using a subject complement: "it is black," "she is out of order," "the Prime Minister is sleeping."

The Function Of Phrases

A phrase may function as a verb, noun, an adverb, or an adjective.

Verb Phrases

A verb phrase consists of a verb, its direct and/or indirect object, and any adverb, adverb phrases, or adverbial clause which happen to modify it. The predicate of a clause or sentence is always a verb phrase:

Dhea is trying to decide whether she wants to go to medical school or to go to law school.

Amir did not have all the ingredients the recipe called for; therefore, Amir decided to make something else.

After Dhea had learned to drive, Amir felt more independent.

Amir and Dhea will meet at the library at 3:30 p.m.

Noun Phrases

A noun phrase consists of a pronoun or noun with any associated modifier, including adjectives, adjective phrases, adjective clause, and other nouns in the possesive case.

Like a noun, a noun phrase can act as a subject, as the object of a verb or verbal, as a subject or object complement, or as the object of a preposition, as in the following examples:

subject

Small children often insist that they can do it by themselves.

object of a verb

To read quickly and accurately is Eugene's goal.

object of a preposition

The arctic explorers were caught unawares by the spring breakup.

subject complement

Frankenstein is the name of the scientist not the monster.

object complement

I consider Loki my favorite cat.

Noun Phrases using Verbals

(by David Megginson)

Since some verbals -- in particular, the gerund and the infinitive -- can act as nouns, these also can form the nucleus of a noun phrase:

Ice fishing is a popular winter pastime.

However, since verbals are formed from verbs, they can also take direct objects and can be modified by adverbs. A gerund phrase orinfinitive phrase, then, is a noun phrase consisting of a verbal, its modifiers (both adjectives and adverbs), and its objects:

Running a marathon in the Summer is thirsty work.

Amir is planning to buy a house next month.

Adjective Phrases

An adjective phrase is any phrase which modifies a noun or pronoun. You often construct adjective phrases using participles or prepositions together with their objects:

Amir was driven mad by the sound of my neighbour's constant piano practising.

In this sentence, the prepositional phrase "of my neighbour's constant piano practising" acts as an adjective modifying the noun "sound."

My father-in-law locked his keys in the trunk of a borrowed car.

Similarly in this sentence, the prepositional phrase "of a borrowed car" acts as an adjective modifying the noun "trunk."

We saw Peter dashing across the quadrangle.

Here the participle phrase "dashing across the quadrangle" acts as an adjective describing the proper noun "Peter."

Amir and Dhea picked up the records broken in the scuffle.

In this sentence, the participle phrase "broken in the scuffle" modifies the noun phrase "the records."

Adverb Phrases

A prepositional phrase can also be an adverb phrase, functioning as an adverb, as in the following sentences.

Dhea bought some spinach when she went to the corner store.

In this sentence, the prepositional phrase "to the corner store" acts as an adverb modifying the verb "went."

Lightning flashed brightly in the night sky.

In this sentence, the prepositional phrase "in the night sky" functions as a adverb modifying the verb "flashed."

In early October, Dhea planted twenty tulip bulbs; unfortunately, squirrels ate the bulbs and none bloomed.

In this sentence, the prepositional phrase "in early October" acts as an adverb modifying the entire sentence.

Amir and Dhea will meet at the library at 3:30 P.M.

In this sentence, the prepositional phrase "at 3:30 P.M." acts as an adverb modifying the verb phrase "will meet."

The dogs were capering about the clown's feet.

In this sentence, the prepositional phrase "about the clown's feet" acts as an adverb modifying the verb phrase "were capering."

What is a Conjunction?

You can use a conjunction to link words, phrase, and clause, as in the following example:

I ate the pizza and the pasta.

Call the movers when you are ready.

Co-ordinating Conjunctions

You use a co-ordinating conjunction ("and," "but," "or," "nor," "for," "so," or "yet") to join individual words, phrases, and independent clause. Note that you can also use the conjunctions "but" and "for" as preposition.

In the following sentences, each of the highlighted words is a co-ordinating conjunction:

Lilacs and violets are usually purple.

In this example, the co-ordinating conjunction "and" links two nouns.

This movie is particularly interesting to feminist film theorists,for the screenplay was written by Mae West.

In this example, the co-ordinating conjunction "for" is used to link two independent clauses.

Daniel's uncle claimed that he spent most of his youth dancing on rooftops and swallowing goldfish.

Here the co-ordinating conjunction "and" links two participle phrase("dancing on rooftops" and "swallowing goldfish") which act as adverbsdescribing the verb "spends."

Subordinating Conjunctions

A subordinating conjunction introduces a dependent clause and indicates the nature of the relationship among the independent clause(s) and the dependent clause(s).

The most common subordinating conjunctions are "after," "although," "as," "because," "before," "how," "if," "once," "since," "than," "that," "though," "till," "until," "when," "where," "whether," and "while."

Each of the highlighted words in the following sentences is a subordinating conjunction:

After she had learned to drive, Alice felt more independent.

The subordinating conjunction "after" introduces the dependent clause "After she had learned to drive."

If the paperwork arrives on time, your cheque will be mailed on Tuesday.

Similarly, the subordinating conjunction "if" introduces the dependent clause "If the paperwork arrives on time."

Gerald had to begin his thesis over again when his computer crashed.

The subordinating conjunction "when" introduces the dependent clause "when his computer crashed."

Midwifery advocates argue that home births are safer becausethe mother and baby are exposed to fewer people and fewer germs.

In this sentence, the dependent clause "because the mother and baby are exposed to fewer people and fewer germs" is introduced by the subordinating conjunction "because."

Correlative Conjunctions

Correlative conjunctions always appear in pairs -- you use them to link equivalent sentence elements. The most common correlative conjunctions are "both...and," "either...or," "neither...nor,", "not only...but also," "so...as," and "whether...or." (Technically correlative conjunctions consist simply of a co-ordinating conjunction linked to anadjective or adverb.)

The highlighted words in the following sentences are correlative conjunctions:

Both my grandfather and my father worked in the steel plant.

In this sentence, the correlative conjunction "both...and" is used to link the two noun phrase that act as the compaund subject of the sentence: "my grandfather" and "my father".

Bring either a Jello salad or a potato scallop.

Here the correlative conjunction "either...or" links two noun phrases: "a Jello salad" and "a potato scallop."

Corinne is trying to decide whether to go to medical school orto go to law school.

Similarly, the correlative conjunction "whether ... or" links the two invinitife phrase "to go to medical school" and "to go to law school."

The explosion destroyed not only the school but also the neighbouring pub.

In this example the correlative conjunction "not only ... but also" links the two noun phrases ("the school" and "neighbouring pub") which act as direct object.

Note: some words which appear as conjunctions can also appear as prepositions or as adverbs.

The Structure of a Sentence

Remember that every clause is, in a sense, a miniature sentence. A simple sentences contains only a single clause, while a compound sentence, a complex sentence, or a compound-complex sentence contains at least two clauses.

The Simple Sentence

The most basic type of sentence is the simple sentence, which contains only one clause. A simple sentence can be as short as one word:

Run!

Usually, however, the sentence has a subject as well as a predicate and both the subject and the predicate may have modifier. All of the following are simple sentences, because each contains only one clause:

Melt!

Ice melts.

The ice melts quickly.

The ice on the river melts quickly under the warm March sun.

Lying exposed without its blanket of snow, the ice on the river melts quickly under the warm March sun.

As you can see, a simple sentence can be quite long -- it is a mistake to think that you can tell a simple sentence from a compound sentence or a complex sentence simply by its length.
The most natural sentence structure is the simple sentence: it is the first kind which children learn to speak, and it remains by far the most common sentence in the spoken language of people of all ages. In written work, simple sentences can be very effective for grabbing a reader's attention or for summing up an argument, but you have to use them with care: too many simple sentences can make your writing seem childish.
When you do use simple sentences, you should add transitional phrases to connect them to the surrounding sentences.

The Compound Sentence

A compound sentence consists of two or more independent clause (or simple sentences) joined by co-ordinating conjuction like "and," "but," and "or":

Simple

Indonesian is a rich country.

Simple

Still, it has many poor people.

Compound

Indonesian is a rich country, but still it has many poor people.

Compound sentences are very natural for English speakers -- small children learn to use them early on to connect their ideas and to avoid pausing (and allowing an adult to interrupt):

Today at school Mr. Amir brought in his pet rabbit, and he showed it to the class, and I got to pet it, and Kate held it, and we coloured pictures of it, and it ate part of my carrot at lunch, and ...

Of course, this is an extreme example, but if you over-use compound sentences in written work, your writing might seem immature.
A compound sentence is most effective when you use it to create a sense of balance or contrast between two (or more) equally-important pieces of information:

Aryana has better clubs, but Toronto has better cinemas.

Special Cases of Compound Sentences

There are two special types of compound sentences which you might want to note. First, rather than joining two simple sentences together, a co-ordinating conjunction sometimes joins two complex sentences, or one simple sentence and one complex sentence. In this case, the sentence is called a compound-complex sentence:

compound-complex

The package arrived in the morning, but the courier left before I could check the contents.

The second special case involves punctuation. It is possible to join two originally separate sentences into a compound sentence using a semicolon instead of a co-ordinating conjunction:

Sir Amir had a serious drinking problem; when sober, however, he could be a formidable foe in the House of Commons.

Usually, a conjuction adverb like "however" or "consequently" will appear near the beginning of the second part, but it is not required:

The sun rises in the east; it sets in the west.

The Complex Sentence

A complex sentence contains one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. Unlike a compound sentence, however, a complex sentence contains clauses which are not equal. Consider the following examples:

Simple

My friend invited me to a party. I do not want to go.

Compound

My friend invited me to a party, but I do not want to go.

Complex

Although my friend invited me to a party, I do not want to go.

In the first example, there are two separate simple sentences: "My friend invited me to a party" and "I do not want to go." The second example joins them together into a single sentence with the co-ordinating conjunction "but," but both parts could still stand as independent sentences -- they are entirely equal, and the reader cannot tell which is most important. In the third example, however, the sentence has changed quite a bit: the first clause, "Although my friend invited me to a party," has become incomplete, or a dependent clause.
A complex sentence is very different from a simple sentence or a compound sentence because it makes clear which ideas are most important. When you write

My friend invited me to a party. I do not want to go.

or even

My friend invited me to a party, but I do not want to go.

The reader will have trouble knowing which piece of information is most important to you. When you write the subordinative conjuction "although" at the beginning of the first clause, however, you make it clear that the fact that your friend invited you is less important than, or subordinate, to the fact that you do not want to go.

Written by Amir

Using Verb Moods

A verb may be in one of three moods: the indicative mood, the imperative mood, and the subjunctive mood.

The Indicative Mood

The indicative mood is the most common and is used to express facts and opinions or to make inquiries. Most of the statements you make or you read will be in the indicative mood.
The highlighted verbs in the following sentences are all in the indicative mood:

Amir picks up the boxes.

The german shepherd fetches the stick.

Dhea closes the window.

The Imperative Mood

The imperative mood is also common and is used to give orders or to make requests. The imperative is identical in form to the second person indicative.
The highlighted verbs in the following sentences are all in the imperative mood:

Pick up those boxes.

Fetch.

Close the window.

The Subjunctive Mood

The subjunctive mood has almost disappeared from the language and is thus more difficult to use correctly than either the indicative mood or the imperative mood. The subjunctive mood rarely appears in everyday conversation or writing and is used in a set of specific circumstances.
You form the present tense subjunctive by dropping the "s" from the end of the third person singgular, except for the verb "be".

paints

present subjunctive: "paint"

walks

present subjunctive: "walk"

thinks

present subjunctive: "think"

is

present subjunctive: "be"

Except for the verb "be," the past tense subjunctive is indistinguishable in form from the past tense indicative. The past tense subjunctive of "be" is "were."

painted

past subjunctive: "painted"

walked

past subjunctive: "walked"

thought

past subjunctive: "thought"

was

past subjunctive: "were"

The subjunctive is found in a handful of traditional circumstances. For example, in the sentence "God save the Queen," the verb "save" is in the subjunctive mood. Similarly, in the sentence "Heaven forbid," the verb forbid is in the subjunctive mood.
The subjunctive is usually found in complex setence. The subjunctive mood is used in dependent clause to express unreal conditions and in dependent clauses following verbs of wishing or requesting.
The subjunctive mood is used in a dependent clause attached to an independent clause that uses a verb such as "ask," "command," "demand," "insist," "order," "recommend," "require," "suggest," or "wish."
The subjunctive mood is also used in a dependent clause attached to an independent clause that uses an adjective that expresses urgency (such as "crucial," "essential," "important," "imperative," "necessary," or "urgent").
Each of the highlighted verbs in the following sentences is in the subjunctive mood.

It is urgent that Harraway attend Monday's meeting.

The Member of Parliament demanded that the Minister explain the effects of the bill on the environment.

The sergeant ordered that Calvin scrub the walls of the mess hall.

We suggest that Mr. Amir move the car out of the no parking zone.

The committee recommended that the bill be passed immediately.

If Indonesian were a tropical country, we would be able to grow pineapples in our backyards.

If he were more generous, he would not have chased the canvassers away from his door.

I wish that this book were still in print.

If the council members were interested in stopping street prostitution, they would urge the police to pursue customers more vigorously than they pursue the prostitutes.

Verb Moods: Indicative vs. Subjunctive

Summary
In addition to the various tenses, verbs can exist in three moods:

• indicative--for stating facts
• subjunctive--for stating possibilities, conjectures, "what if," what someone else said, thought or believed
  • Subjunctive II expresses hypothetical and "counterfactual" statements ("what if," "I wish," "I would," "I could" etc.). Normally, if someone speaks about "the subjunctive," they mean Subjunctive II.
  • Subjunctive I is used to report indirect speech, i.e. what someone else said (and, by extension, what s/he thought, believed, etc.)
• imperative--for stating commands

Whereas we expect you to learn five tenses of the indicative (Present, Perfect [two-word past tense], Narrative Past [one-word past tense], Past Perfect [what had happened before something else in the past] and Future, you only need to distinguish between two tenses of Subjunctive II: Present subjunctive [what someone would do] and past subjunctive [what someone would have done].
We will not concern ourselves here with the imprative, but it is important that you understand the difference between the indicative and subjunctive moods. You will not be tested (in German 221/231 or below) on Subjunctive I, but a brief description is given here to help you recognize it.
1. Indicative: what is happening, what happened, what will happen. Gives the facts.
Exists in all the basic tenses:
Present [a.k.a. Präsens]: what happens, what is happening

Ich gehe: I go, I am going

Narrative Past [a.k.a. Imperfect, Präteritum, Simple Past...]: what happened (formal)

One word: Ich ging: I went, I was going [formal]

Perfect [a.k.a. Present Perfect; Conversational Past]: what happened (informal)

Haben/Sein + past participle: Ich bin gegangen: I went, I was going [inform.]

Past Perfect [a.k.a. Plusquamperfekt]: what had happened before something else in the past happened: only rarely used; especially with bevor and nachdem!

Hatte/War + past participle: Ich war gegangen: I had gone [before I did some other thing]

Future: what will happen [definitely, not hypothetically; use werde/wirst/wird... not würde, würdest...]

Werden [conjugated] + infinitive: Ich werde gehen: I will go

2A. Subjunctive II
What would happen, what would have happened, what you wish would happen , what you wish would have happened--the "counterfactual" mood. Gives wishes and hypotheticals, not the facts.
If someone just says "subjunctive," they usually mean Subjunctive II, not Subjunctive I
Important note for those of you who have learned Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, or Rumanian: In these languages, you will have learned about the Conditional and the Subjunctive moods. German Subjunctive II corresponds much more closely to the Conditional mood in these languages (used for saying what you would do or would have done) than to the Subjunctive mood, which is used in these languages primarily in conjunction with certain verbs expressing beliefs, desires and uncertainties (and corresponds to some extent to the Subjunctive I in German in this respect).
Subjunctive II exists in only two tenses: present and past, but there are two ways to form the present subjunctive, one formal (one-word form based on simple past of the verb), one informal (würde + infinitive). ==> Whereas you are used to having just one option for the present tense and two options for the past tense (formal--narrative past [one word]; informal--perfect [two words]) in the indicative, in the subjunctive you have two options for the present tense (one-word form, or würde + infinitive) and only one option for the past (based on perfect tense ==> hätte/wäre + past participle)
Present Subjunctive II : what would happen; what you would do; what you wish would happen now or in the future

One word [formal]: Ich ginge: I would go; Ich sagte: I would say

Note 1: The one-word subjunctive is based on the simple past indicative, so the one-word subjunctive and the simple past indicative verb forms will generally look very similar. For irregular (strong) verbs, the subjunctive differs from the simple past in its endings (-e, -est, -e etc.) and in having an umlaut if possible. For weak verbs, the subjunctive and simple past are identical. For mixed verbs (irregular weak verbs like kennen, brennen, rennen, nennen etc.), the subjunctive is usually formed with würde + infinitive [exceptions: hätte, wüßte]
Note 2: For the modals, the one-word subjunctive has an umlaut if the infinitive has one: könnte, dürfte, möchte and müßte, but sollte and konnte.

Würde + infinitive [informal ==> more common]: Ich würde gehen: I would go; Ich würde sagen: I would say

Note: It is usually entirely up to you whether you choose the one-word form or the würde + infinitive form. But for haben, sein and the modal verbs, use the one-word form:
ich hätte ich würde haben (I would have); ich wäre ich würde sein (I would be); ich könnte ich würde können (I would be able to) etc.

Past Subjunctive II : what would have happened, what you would have done, what you wish had happened [for hypothetical statements about things that are now over]

Note: "I wish I were a dog" sounds like past tense [I were], but it's not: you're wishing you were a dog now! This happens because the English subjunctive is formed on the basis of the past tense [or alternatively as would + infinitive] just like the German subjunctive is formed on the basis of the simple past! So the German for this would be "Ich wünschte, ich wäre ein Hund" using present subjunctive.
Hätte/Wäre + past participle: Ich wäre gegangen: I would have gone; Ich hätte gesagt: I would have said
[Compare the indicative forms: Ich bin gegangen; Ich habe gesagt--just change sein to wäre and haben to hätte.]
Since there is only one past subjunctive, the subjunctive form corresponding to indicative simple past will still be the same: ich ging and ich bin gegangen [I went] ==> ich wäre gegangen [I would have gone]; ich sagte and ich habe gesagt [I said] ==> ich hätte gesagt

2A. Subjunctive I
Subjunctive I is used to state what someone else says/has said or thinks/thought. Like Subjunctive II, Subjunctive I only has one past tense (but there is a future). All verb forms are based very closely on the infinitive ==> there's no exceptions to memorize when you learn Subjunctive I! Subjunctive I often looks very similar to the present or perfect indicative--the difference is only really obvious in the third person singular, where Subjunctive I has a characteristic -e ending instead of the -t you would expect from present indicative. This is how you can tell that someone is being quoted, even if there is no "Sie/Er sagt..."
Present: Sie sagt, sie gehe: she says she goes [reporting "Ich gehe"]
Past: Sie sagt, sie sei gegangen: she says she went [reporting "Ich ging" or "Ich bin gegangen"]
Future: Sie sagt, sie werde gehen: she says she will go [reporting "Ich werde gehen"]
Reporting Imperatives: Sie sagt, ich solle gehen: she says I should go [reporting "Geh!" or "Gehen Sie!"]