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dependence on the other speakers and his inability or unwillingness to elicit information. And this may indicate that he is on the subordinate position on that
conversation. However, a polar interrogative may also indicate that a speaker is initiative, when it is used to initiate an exchange.
2.3.2 Imperative Clauses
The other type of Mood is imperative. Halliday 1994 explained that it has different system of person from the indicative. Since the imperative is the
mood for exchanging good and services, its Subject is you or I or you and I. If we take the second person you as the base form, imperative clauses display the
following paradigm: Unmarked for person or
polarity Marked for person Marked
for polarity
Positive Look
YOU look Do look
Negative DON’T look DON’t YOU look
DO NOT look If we take the second person you and me as the base form, the imperative clauses
are as follows: Unmarked
for person
or polarity Marked for person
Marked for
polarity Positive
Let’s look LET’s look
DO let’s look Negative DON’T let’s look
DON’T LET’s look LET’s NOT look
Matthiessen 1995 divides the type of imperative into: jussive, suggestive, and oblative. Table 2.3 below is his description of Mood system, involving
indicative clauses as well as imperative clauses and their subdivision.
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Table 2.3 Matthiessen’s Mood System
ELLIPSIS Full
Elliptical Residue
Indicative Declarative Untagged He has left He has
Tagged He has left, hasn’t he?
He has ……, hasn’t he?
He has left, has he? He has, has
he? Interrogative WH-
Who has left? Who has?
Yesno He has left?
Has he?
Imperative Jussive Untagged you leave
you do
Tagged you leave, won’t
you? you leave, will you?
you do ……, won’t you
you do……, will you?
Suggestive Untagged Let’s leave Let’s
Tagged Let’s leave, shall we?
Let’s leave , shall we?
Oblative Untagged Let me leave Let me
Tagged Let me leave, shall I?
Let me , shall I?
Source: Matthiessen 1995 From the table we learn that jussive is the imperative, which is based on
the second person you. When we take you and me as the base of the imperative we will get suggestive imperative clause, and if we take first person singular me, we
will have oblative imperative clause. The use of imperative clause for suggesting rather than for attracting
interlocutor’s attention or for getting someone to do something indicates that the speaker enacts his role to get some authority to the addressee Eggins and Slade,
1997. Therefore it indicates that the speaker who performs imperative clauses in such that way has much more powerful status than the other interlocutor in the
conversation. However, Eggins and Slade 1997 moreover state that the conversation – using imperative to perform command or to get someone to do
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something – indicates that the participants have more equal status compared to conversation activating modulation of obligation clauses to perform command.
2.3.3 Moodfulness
