Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[naohsi]

dear teachers

'It is no wonder that he (should) refuse your offer.'

Is the tense of this sentense past that he refused before
or future that he will refuse
or present that he refuses whenever offered?

naohsi

[lotus]

Hi naohsi,

QUOTE:
"It is no wonder that he (should) refuse your offer."

This is a complicated sentence not commonly used in everyday American English. However, it is a valid sentence and you might encounter it (or a form of it) at some time in the future. I will try to explain it in parts.

"No wonder" is an idiom which can be substituted with:
not surprising
not surprisingly
it is not surprising

Note: here is a good idiom site with definitions and examples (banner alert).
http://www.idiomconnection.com/

In this case, the substitution is "not surprising."

Now, we can rewrite the sentence as:
"It is not surprising that he should refuse your offer."

Let's put another sentence in front of it for context.

You came to the meeting late, your numbers didn't make sense and you were unprepared. It is no wonder (not surprising) that he should refuse your offer.

This sentence is in the subjunctive mood.

From Wikipedia: "The subjunctive mood (..) is a grammatical mood of the verb that is subjective, from the person's viewpoint, that expresses wishes, commands (in subordinate clauses), emotion, possibility, judgment, necessity and statements that are contrary to fact."

In this case, the mood expresses possibility; the possibility (not surprising) that the offer will be refused. This is a present subjunctive case (It is..). The condition of the noun clause in parenthesis, "that (he should refuse your offer)", can actually be any case. In this case, it is present (refuse) and is preceded by a present modal verb (should).

The noun clause of a subjunctive statement can be any case and does not have to agree with the main verb - because it is only a possibility. For example, the person could have said, "It is not surprising that your offer will be refused by him."

Now, I believe we have answered your question. The tense of the sentence is present subjunctive and his refusal of the offer would be a modal present (should refuse (now)).

But, keep in mind; because the subjunctive mood is so complex, your original sentence may be interpreted in many other ways.

After all that explanation, the sentence is not common, and should probably be re-written in the more common indicative mood (stating fact or opinion) as:

"No wonder he refused your offer."


--lotus

[LucentShade]

^ Excellent explanation of the English subjunctive. One other note--in sentences where subjunctive does occur, the verb will be in "simple" form, meaning without the "s" with he/she/it:

She shouldn't work so hard, lest she ruin her health.

The protestors demanded that George W. Bush be removed from office.

They insist that he tell them the trush.

1 and 3 are sentences that I made up, and probably aren't very common usage (especially the word "lest"), but 2 was taken from a newspaper.

But, if you were wondering why it is "he refuse" and not "he refuses," this is why.

[naohsi]

Hi lotus and LucentShade

Wow! Thank you very much for your detailed explanation!
The examples that you gave me helped me understand easily.
How difficult 'subjunctive mood' sounds! But i'm encouraged by you to tackle it. Thank you again!
naohsi