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{{Short description|Grammatical mood used for statement of fact}}
A '''realis mood''' ([[list of glossing abbreviations|abbreviated]] '''{{sc|real}}''') is a [[grammatical mood]] which is used principally to indicate that something is a statement of fact; in other words, to express what the speaker considers to be a known state of affairs, as in [[declarative sentence]]s. Most languages have a single realis mood called the '''indicative mood''', although some languages have additional realis moods, for example to express different levels of certainty. By contrast, an [[irrealis mood]] is used to express something that is not known to be the case in reality.▼
{{more citations needed|date=December 2018}}
▲A '''realis mood''' ([[list of glossing abbreviations|abbreviated]] '''{{sc|real}}''') is a [[grammatical mood]] which is used principally to indicate that something is a statement of fact; in other words, to express what the speaker considers to be a known state of affairs, as in [[declarative sentence]]s. Most languages have a single realis mood called the '''indicative mood''', although some languages have additional realis moods, for example to express different levels of certainty. By contrast, an [[irrealis mood]] is used to express something that is not known to be the case in reality.
An example of the contrast between realis and irrealis moods is seen in the [[English grammar|English]] sentences "He works" and "It is necessary that he work". In the first sentence, ''works'' is a [[present indicative]] (realis) form of the verb, and is used to make a direct assertion about the real world. In the second sentence, ''work'' is in the [[English subjunctive|subjunctive mood]], which is an irrealis mood – here ''that he work'' does not
However, since mood is a [[grammatical category]], referring to the form a verb takes rather than its meaning in a given instance, a given language may use realis forms for a number of purposes other than their principal one of making direct factual statements. For example, many languages use indicative verb forms to ask questions (this is sometimes called [[interrogative mood]]) and in various other situations where the meaning is in fact of the irrealis type (as in the English "I hope it works", where the indicative ''works'' is used even though it refers to a desired rather than real state of affairs). The indicative might therefore be defined as the mood used in all instances where a given language does not specifically require the use of some other mood.
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==The English indicative==
In [[Modern English]], the indicative mood is for statements of actuality or strong probability, and in addition acts as a default mood for all instances which do not require use of a specific mood:▼
Distinctions between indicative and other moods such as the [[English subjunctive|subjunctive]] were marked to a greater extent in historical forms of the language than in [[Modern English]]. The following table shows the indicative suffixes used on regular verbs in [[Old English]], [[Middle English]] and early and present-day Modern English.<ref>''The Cambridge History of the English Language''. Richard M. Hogg, Roger Lass, Norman Francis Blake, Suzanne Romaine, R. W. Burchfield, John Algeo (2000).</ref>▼
* The spine-tailed swift flies faster than any other bird in the world. ([[present indicative]])▼
* The Missouri and Mississippi Rivers [[Great Flood of 1993|rose to record heights]] in 1993. ([[past indicative]])▼
* Mid-westerners will remember the flooding for many years to come. ([[future indicative]])▼
Some forms of the indicative can be used with ''do'', ''does'', or ''did'', either for emphasis, or to form questions or negatives. See [[do-support|''do''-support]].▼
▲Distinctions between indicative and other moods such as the [[English subjunctive|subjunctive]] were marked inflectionally to a greater extent in historical forms of the language than in [[Modern English]]. The following table shows the indicative suffixes used on regular verbs in [[Old English]], [[Middle English]] and early and present-day Modern English.<ref>''The Cambridge History of the English Language''. Richard M. Hogg, Roger Lass, Norman Francis Blake, Suzanne Romaine, R. W. Burchfield, John Algeo (2000).</ref>
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" Width=75%
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! colspan="3" style="width:6em" | Singular !! rowspan="2" style="width:6em" | Plural !! colspan="2" style="width:6em" | Singular !! rowspan="2" style="width:6em" | Plural
|-
|-
| ''-e'' || ''-st'' || ''-eþ'' || ''-aþ'' || ''-d-e'' || ''-d-est'' || ''-d-on''
|-
| ''-e, -[[Null sign|∅]]'' || ''-st'', ''-est'' || ''-th, -s'' || ''-e''(''n'') || ''-d''(''e'') || ''-d-st'' || ''-d-e''(''n'')
|-
| ''-∅'' || ''-
| Modern English▼
| ''-∅'' || ''-∅'' || ''-s'' || ''-∅'' || ''-d'' || ''-d'' || ''-d'' ▼
|-
|}
Other moods existing in English besides the indicative are the [[imperative mood|imperative]] ("'''Be''' quiet!") and
▲In [[Modern English]] the indicative mood is for statements of actuality or strong probability, and in addition acts as a default mood for all instances which do not require use of a specific mood:
▲* The spine-tailed swift flies faster than any other bird in the world. ([[present indicative]])
▲* The Missouri and Mississippi Rivers rose to record heights in 1993. ([[past indicative]])
▲* Mid-westerners will remember the flooding for many years to come. ([[future indicative]])
▲Some forms of the indicative can be used with ''do'', ''does'', or ''did'', either for emphasis, or to form questions or negatives. See [[do-support|''do''-support]].
▲Other moods existing in English besides the indicative are the [[imperative mood|imperative]] ("'''Be''' quiet!") and the [[conditional mood|conditional]] ("I '''would be''' quiet") (although this is not always analyzed as a mood) and in some dialects, the [[English subjunctive|subjunctive]] (as in "I suggest you '''be''' quiet"). For some further information see [[English verbs]] and [[Uses of English verb forms]].
== Other ==
Although the indicative is generally the main or only realis mood, certain other languages have additional forms which can be categorized as separate realis moods.
[[
The '''declarative mood''' ([[list of glossing abbreviations|abbreviated]] {{sc|'''decl'''}}) indicates that a statement is true, without any qualifications being made. For many languages this is just an alternative name for the indicative mood, although sometimes distinctions between them are drawn.{{
Reference is sometimes made to a "generic mood", for making general statements about a particular class of things; this may be considered to be an aspect rather than a mood. See [[gnomic aspect]].
For other grammatical features which may be considered to mark distinct realis moods, see [[Evidentiality]], [[Sensory evidential mood]], and [[
==References==
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{{Grammatical moods}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Grammatical moods]]
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