WHAT IS THE SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD?
There are three different moods of Latin verbs: indicative, imperative, and subjunctive.
Indicative verbs are just the regular, normal, everyday version of the verb.
Imperative verbs are when you command someone to do something.
Subjunctive verbs are verbs that express an action that is unreal, uncertain, called into question, or dependent on another action for their existence.
Indicative verbs are just the regular, normal, everyday version of the verb.
Imperative verbs are when you command someone to do something.
Subjunctive verbs are verbs that express an action that is unreal, uncertain, called into question, or dependent on another action for their existence.
WHEN DO YOU USE IT?
Subjunctive verbs are used in a wide variety of situations. Here's a list, organized into main clauses and subordinate clauses:
Main Clauses
The main clause is just the normal, main part of any sentence. It contains the main action being accomplished, the subject and any direct or indirect objects, and some other modifiers like prepositional phrases. Most basic sentences only have a main clause; more complicated sentences sometimes have what are called subordinate clauses outside of the main clause. There are only a few kinds of situations where the main verb in the main clause will be a subjunctive verb.
Jussive/Hortatory Subjunctive
The jussive or hortatory subjunctive is used when you want to issue a polite command, as opposed to the strict command of an imperative. "Do X" would be an imperative verb, whereas "please do X" or "let's do X" would be jussive or hortatory subjunctive verbs. This use of the subjunctive is usually in the present tense.
Example: tabernam adiamus.
Let’s go to the store (instead of “COME TO THE STORE WITH ME NOW.”)
Optative
The optative subjunctive is used when you want to say you wish something would happen. There are other ways to communicate this idea, of course, but the optative subjunctive would have been fairly common in Roman conversation.
Example: tabernam adiamus.
I wish we could go to the store.
The optative subjunctive is usually found in the present tense, although it can be found in the perfect as well;
for example, "I wish we could have gone to the store."
Potential
The potential subjunctive states that there is a chance something could happen - that it's a potential option. It's usually used when suggesting possible courses of action for a decision.
Example: tabernam adiamus.
We could go to the store.
The potential subjunctive is usually found in the present tense, although it can be found in the perfect as well; for example, "We could have gone to the store."
Deliberative Question
Deliberative questions ask “shoulda,” coulda,” or “woulda” - "should you do this? could we do this? would he do this?" They are almost always "yes/no" answer questions, and are distinguished not only by the subjunctive verb, but by something that indicates specifically that they are questions; that could be the suffix "-ne" on the end of the first word, "nonne" or "num" at the beginning of the sentence, or an upward inflection at the end of the sentence if it's in verbal conversation rather than in writing. The deliberative subjunctive is usually either in the present tense ("should we do X?") or the perfect tense ("could we have done X?").
Example: tabernamne adiamus?
“Should we go to the store?”
tabernamne prior adierimus?
“Could we have gone to the store earlier?”
Subordinate Clauses
A subordinate clause is a fragment that is not part of the main clause of a sentence, but is added in to describe something about the circumstances of the main clause, like when or why something was done, or to add a greater level of detail or specificity about what was done. There are a lot of different types of subordinate clauses, both in English and in Latin, and in Latin, most of them require the use of a subjunctive verb.
Purpose Clauses
These describe the reason or purpose for doing something. "In order to," "for the purpose of," and "so that X might happen" are all good ways to translate them. Also, in fluid, conversational English, sometimes we use the infinitive "to do X" as a purpose clause instead of an infinitive, as you'll see in the examples below. In Latin, you use two things: the word "ut" or "ne" to begin the purpose clause, and a subjunctive for the verb within the clause. "Ut" is used when you want the result to happen (as in "so that X would happen"), whereas "ne" is used when you don't want the result ("so that X wouldn't happen"). Purpose clauses typically use either the imperfect or present subjunctive. If the sentence happened in the past, it's usually the imperfect subjunctive, but if it is happening in the present, it's usually the present subjunctive.
Example: tabernam adii ut caseum emerem.
I went to the store to buy cheese. OR
I went to the store in order to buy cheese. OR
I went to the store so that I might buy cheese.
Result Clauses
These describe the result of something due to the great or small degree of something else. Any situation where you say something like "so much/so little X happened that it caused Y to happen" or "so much/so little X happened that Y did not happen" will require three things: 1. a word for "so much," "so little," "so greatly," or something like that. (Examples of those would be "tam," "tantum," etc.) 2. The word "ut" or "ne." "Ut" is used when you want to say "so much/so little X happened that Y happened," whereas "ne" is used when you want to say "so much/so little X happened that Y did not happen." 3. A subjunctive verb.
Example: caseum tam cupi ut tabernam adirem.
I wanted cheese so much that I went to the store.
tantum caseum consumpsi ut aeger sentirem.
I ate such a great amount of cheese that I felt sick.
Indirect Questions
First, let's talk about direct questions. Direct questions are questions that you hear straight from the mouth of the speaker; they are questions like "Who are you?"or "What kind of cheese do you want?" or "How many monkeys does it take to type out a Shakespeare script?" Indirect questions, then, do not come directly from the speaker; they're the ones that don't have quotation marks. In Latin, they are triggered by a question word (like "cur," "quid," "qualis," or something similar) and use subjunctive verbs for any action being asked about, as in the example below.
Example: Marcus Quintum rogavit qualis caseum cupierit.
Marcus asked Quintus what kind of cheese he wanted.
(For comparison, an example of a direct question would be "What kind of cheese do you want, Quintus?")
The tense of subjunctive used in an indirect question comes straight from the verb. So the "he wanted" in the above sentence would require a perfect subjunctive, whereas "he wants" would be present, "he had wanted" would be pluperfect, and "he was wanting" or "he used to want" would be imperfect.
“Cum” Circumstantial Clauses
This type of clause is what you use when you are saying “when something happens” in a general sense, not in a specific real case. To understand the difference, think about what this sentence means: "When it is stormy, my dog is afraid." In that sentence, you're telling me that in general, during storms, your dog is afraid. That would use a "cum" circumstantial clause in Latin. Conversely, think about this sentence: "When that storm hit yesterday, my dog was afraid." Now you're not telling me that your dog is generally afraid of storms, you're telling me about a specific occasion in time when your dog was afraid of a particular storm. That is NOT a "cum" circumstantial clause.
The tense of the subjunctive in a cum clause comes from the verb. So the "I go" in the above sentence would require a present subjunctive, whereas "I went" would be perfect, "I had gone" would be pluperfect, and "I was going" or "I used to go" would be imperfect.
Example: cum tabernam adirem, caseum saepe emo.
When I go to the store, I often buy cheese.
“Future Less Vivid” Clauses
A future less vivid clause is an “if this were to happen” statement; it's an “if” that you want to imply doesn’t necessarily seem likely. Future less vivid clauses are typically in the present subjunctive.
Example: si Wisconsinio adiam, caseum bonum emere possebo.
If I were to go to Wisconsin, I would be able to buy some of that GOOD cheese. (But I’m probably not going to Wisconsin.)
Main Clauses
The main clause is just the normal, main part of any sentence. It contains the main action being accomplished, the subject and any direct or indirect objects, and some other modifiers like prepositional phrases. Most basic sentences only have a main clause; more complicated sentences sometimes have what are called subordinate clauses outside of the main clause. There are only a few kinds of situations where the main verb in the main clause will be a subjunctive verb.
Jussive/Hortatory Subjunctive
The jussive or hortatory subjunctive is used when you want to issue a polite command, as opposed to the strict command of an imperative. "Do X" would be an imperative verb, whereas "please do X" or "let's do X" would be jussive or hortatory subjunctive verbs. This use of the subjunctive is usually in the present tense.
Example: tabernam adiamus.
Let’s go to the store (instead of “COME TO THE STORE WITH ME NOW.”)
Optative
The optative subjunctive is used when you want to say you wish something would happen. There are other ways to communicate this idea, of course, but the optative subjunctive would have been fairly common in Roman conversation.
Example: tabernam adiamus.
I wish we could go to the store.
The optative subjunctive is usually found in the present tense, although it can be found in the perfect as well;
for example, "I wish we could have gone to the store."
Potential
The potential subjunctive states that there is a chance something could happen - that it's a potential option. It's usually used when suggesting possible courses of action for a decision.
Example: tabernam adiamus.
We could go to the store.
The potential subjunctive is usually found in the present tense, although it can be found in the perfect as well; for example, "We could have gone to the store."
Deliberative Question
Deliberative questions ask “shoulda,” coulda,” or “woulda” - "should you do this? could we do this? would he do this?" They are almost always "yes/no" answer questions, and are distinguished not only by the subjunctive verb, but by something that indicates specifically that they are questions; that could be the suffix "-ne" on the end of the first word, "nonne" or "num" at the beginning of the sentence, or an upward inflection at the end of the sentence if it's in verbal conversation rather than in writing. The deliberative subjunctive is usually either in the present tense ("should we do X?") or the perfect tense ("could we have done X?").
Example: tabernamne adiamus?
“Should we go to the store?”
tabernamne prior adierimus?
“Could we have gone to the store earlier?”
Subordinate Clauses
A subordinate clause is a fragment that is not part of the main clause of a sentence, but is added in to describe something about the circumstances of the main clause, like when or why something was done, or to add a greater level of detail or specificity about what was done. There are a lot of different types of subordinate clauses, both in English and in Latin, and in Latin, most of them require the use of a subjunctive verb.
Purpose Clauses
These describe the reason or purpose for doing something. "In order to," "for the purpose of," and "so that X might happen" are all good ways to translate them. Also, in fluid, conversational English, sometimes we use the infinitive "to do X" as a purpose clause instead of an infinitive, as you'll see in the examples below. In Latin, you use two things: the word "ut" or "ne" to begin the purpose clause, and a subjunctive for the verb within the clause. "Ut" is used when you want the result to happen (as in "so that X would happen"), whereas "ne" is used when you don't want the result ("so that X wouldn't happen"). Purpose clauses typically use either the imperfect or present subjunctive. If the sentence happened in the past, it's usually the imperfect subjunctive, but if it is happening in the present, it's usually the present subjunctive.
Example: tabernam adii ut caseum emerem.
I went to the store to buy cheese. OR
I went to the store in order to buy cheese. OR
I went to the store so that I might buy cheese.
Result Clauses
These describe the result of something due to the great or small degree of something else. Any situation where you say something like "so much/so little X happened that it caused Y to happen" or "so much/so little X happened that Y did not happen" will require three things: 1. a word for "so much," "so little," "so greatly," or something like that. (Examples of those would be "tam," "tantum," etc.) 2. The word "ut" or "ne." "Ut" is used when you want to say "so much/so little X happened that Y happened," whereas "ne" is used when you want to say "so much/so little X happened that Y did not happen." 3. A subjunctive verb.
Example: caseum tam cupi ut tabernam adirem.
I wanted cheese so much that I went to the store.
tantum caseum consumpsi ut aeger sentirem.
I ate such a great amount of cheese that I felt sick.
Indirect Questions
First, let's talk about direct questions. Direct questions are questions that you hear straight from the mouth of the speaker; they are questions like "Who are you?"or "What kind of cheese do you want?" or "How many monkeys does it take to type out a Shakespeare script?" Indirect questions, then, do not come directly from the speaker; they're the ones that don't have quotation marks. In Latin, they are triggered by a question word (like "cur," "quid," "qualis," or something similar) and use subjunctive verbs for any action being asked about, as in the example below.
Example: Marcus Quintum rogavit qualis caseum cupierit.
Marcus asked Quintus what kind of cheese he wanted.
(For comparison, an example of a direct question would be "What kind of cheese do you want, Quintus?")
The tense of subjunctive used in an indirect question comes straight from the verb. So the "he wanted" in the above sentence would require a perfect subjunctive, whereas "he wants" would be present, "he had wanted" would be pluperfect, and "he was wanting" or "he used to want" would be imperfect.
“Cum” Circumstantial Clauses
This type of clause is what you use when you are saying “when something happens” in a general sense, not in a specific real case. To understand the difference, think about what this sentence means: "When it is stormy, my dog is afraid." In that sentence, you're telling me that in general, during storms, your dog is afraid. That would use a "cum" circumstantial clause in Latin. Conversely, think about this sentence: "When that storm hit yesterday, my dog was afraid." Now you're not telling me that your dog is generally afraid of storms, you're telling me about a specific occasion in time when your dog was afraid of a particular storm. That is NOT a "cum" circumstantial clause.
The tense of the subjunctive in a cum clause comes from the verb. So the "I go" in the above sentence would require a present subjunctive, whereas "I went" would be perfect, "I had gone" would be pluperfect, and "I was going" or "I used to go" would be imperfect.
Example: cum tabernam adirem, caseum saepe emo.
When I go to the store, I often buy cheese.
“Future Less Vivid” Clauses
A future less vivid clause is an “if this were to happen” statement; it's an “if” that you want to imply doesn’t necessarily seem likely. Future less vivid clauses are typically in the present subjunctive.
Example: si Wisconsinio adiam, caseum bonum emere possebo.
If I were to go to Wisconsin, I would be able to buy some of that GOOD cheese. (But I’m probably not going to Wisconsin.)
HOW DO YOU TRANSLATE IT?
Subjunctive verbs get translated differently based on the situation they're being used in. Look at all the examples bolded and underlined in all the subjunctive uses above. Each one of those is a subjunctive verb, but it gets translated in a different way. The key is the context of the sentence. The rest of the words in the sentence (and sometimes the other sentences around it, or the actions of the speaker) clue you in as to how the subjunctive is intended to be translated there.
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?
Here is a list of all the subjunctive forms, both active and passive, in Latin. Interesting thing to notice; there is no future subjunctive in Latin. It just doesn't exist.