indicative
indicative — adjective
1. serving as a piece of evidence that allows you to recognize or guess a particula
serving as a piece of evidence that allows you to recognize or guess a particular situation, condition, or quality — for example, a child's shyness being indicative of anxiety in unfamiliar settings.
Adina's red eyes were indicative of a long and sleepless night.
be indicative of [cause] — sign pointing to a reason
The sudden drop in sales is often indicative of deeper problems within a company.
Quan took the teacher's silence as indicative of approval for his project idea.
A high number of job applications can be indicative of a strong local economy.
The researcher found that frequent yawning was indicative of low blood sugar levels.
- suggestive
weaker connection, more open to interpretation
- revealing
stronger, implies something hidden has come to light
- characteristic
focuses on typical qualities rather than pointing to a hidden condition
- uninformative
giving no useful sign or clue
文法句型
be + indicative + of + noun phrase
用法筆記
Typically used in the construction 'be indicative of + noun phrase'. The subject is usually a measurable sign, statistic, symptom, or observable fact, and the object names the broader situation or condition it points to.
常見錯誤
2. describing the basic verb form used to state a fact or ask a question in ordinar
describing the basic verb form used to state a fact or ask a question in ordinary speech, rather than to give an order (imperative) or talk about an unreal or wished-for situation (subjunctive).
In English, the indicative mood is used for most everyday sentences like 'It is raining.'
indicative mood — used in everyday factual statements
The teacher asked the class to change each imperative sentence into the indicative form.
Salma's teacher wrote 'I am tired' and 'If I were you' on the board to compare indicative and subjunctive.
Jude struggled to spot the indicative verb because its ending was unfamiliar.
Most newspaper articles are written almost entirely in the indicative mood to present facts clearly.
- declarative
a narrower term that describes statements (not questions), while indicative covers both statements and questions
- subjunctive
the mood used for unreal, wished-for, or hypothetical situations
- imperative
the mood used for commands and requests
文法句型
indicative mood
indicative verb form
用法筆記
This sense is nearly always used attributively before a noun such as 'mood', 'verb', 'form', or 'sentence'. Unlike sense 1, it does not appear after a linking verb with 'of' (*'this verb is indicative' for the grammar sense is not standard).
常見錯誤
indicative — noun
1. the set of verb forms in a language that you use when stating a fact or asking a
the set of verb forms in a language that you use when stating a fact or asking a straightforward question — the mood for ordinary, factual speech rather than for commands, wishes, or hypothetical situations.
In French, the indicative is the mood you use to say 'Je suis fatigué' (I am tired).
the indicative — mood for straightforward statements
Caio learned that the indicative differs from the subjunctive by dealing with real situations.
The sentence 'She arrives tomorrow' uses the indicative, stating a planned event as fact.
When learning a new language, students usually master the indicative before the subjunctive mood.
Chidi asked whether 'If I were you' could ever be written in the indicative form.
- indicative mood
the full phrase, more explicit for learners
- subjunctive
the mood for hypothetical or wished-for situations
- imperative
the mood for commands
文法句型
the indicative
in the indicative
用法筆記
Usually preceded by 'the' and not pluralized. In grammar explanations, 'the indicative' is often contrasted with 'the subjunctive' and 'the imperative'. Learners can use 'the indicative mood' for added clarity in academic contexts.