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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 necessarily express a fact about the real world (he could be rejecting necessity and refusing to work), but refers to what would be a desirable state of affairs.
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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[[Arabic]] and various other [[Semitic languages]] have two kinds of '''energetic moods,''' which express something which is strongly believed or which the speaker wishes to emphasize. Their exact meanings are dependent upon the prefix that is attached to them. For example, {{transl|ar|yaktubanna}} {{lang|ar|يَكتُبَنَّ}} is in the long energetic mood and has strong obligation meanings; it means "he certainly writes" and if it is preceded by {{transl|ar|la}}, {{transl|ar|layaktubanna}}, it will have the meaning of "he must write". The short energetic expresses weak obligation, e.g., {{transl|ar|yaktuban}} which means "he almost writes"; if it is preceded by a prefix like {{transl|ar|la}}, {{transl|ar|layaktuban}}, it means "he should write".
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]].
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{{Grammatical moods}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Grammatical moods]]
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