Year 6 · SPaG · Spring: Formal and informal writing
Year 6 the subjunctive in formal writing worksheet and PowerPoint
To use the subjunctive in formal sentences and to recognise it as a feature of formal writing.
Formal subjunctive
The subjunctive belongs to formal writing. It appears in demands, wishes and imagined situations in letters, rules and speeches.
| demands and rules | We insist that the report be finished. / The rules require that every visitor sign in. |
|---|---|
| imagined situations | If I were you, I would apologise. / He spoke as though he were the king. |
| informal | an everyday way to say it: We want the report finished. / If I was you, I’d say sorry. |
Examples
- It is essential that every pupil be present.
- I wish it were Friday.
Key words
- subjunctive
- a verb form for wishes, imagined things and formal demands
- formal
- serious language for letters and reports
- demand
- a strong request
- essential
- absolutely needed
What is on the worksheet
Every sheet for this lesson has a short teaching box and 12 questions that get gradually harder: 8 fluency questions, then 4 reasoning questions that ask pupils to explain or choose. A writing challenge follows. The questions use the same styles as the key stage 2 grammar and punctuation test (circle, underline, tick, fill the gap, add punctuation, rewrite, explain). They are written for this website, not copied from past papers.
All the answers are on the last page of the same editable Word file. New questions are made every time, so you can print a different sheet for every group or for homework. The same sheet code always gives the same sheet.
Writing challenge: Write the rules for a school trip as a formal notice. Use at least four subjunctive forms, for example 'It is essential that every pupil be at school by eight o’clock.'
Pupil target: I can use the subjunctive in formal writing.
The PowerPoint
A 20-slide lesson deck for the same lesson: a starter that revisits earlier learning, key words, an I do and a You do question on each slide with a countdown timer, answers that appear one click at a time, and a challenge. Download the the subjunctive in formal writing PowerPoint.
Where this lesson fits
This is lesson 43 of 72 in the Year 6 SPaG scheme, in the Spring term, block “Formal and informal writing”. It is taught before the SATs grammar test in May.
Other lessons in this block
This site is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the Standards and Testing Agency or the Department for Education.