The Subjunctive: Introduction

Grammatical Mood. Grammatical mood refers to how the author of a statement intends his audience to take his sentence: either as objective fact or as an expression of will, intention, wish or opinion. (‘Mood’ in this sense derives from Latin modus, and denotes manner, mode, or tone.)

The Latin verb has three primary modes: the indicative, the imperative and the subjunctive.

The indicative is used for stating or inquiring about facts; its tone is neutral:

ego tē adiūvō – ‘I am helping you.’

tūne vestem meam laudās? – ‘Do you like my dress?’

The imperative expresses a command to the second or (sometimes) third person; its tone is urgent:

adiūvā nōs! – ‘Help us!’

adsuntō! – ‘Let them be here!’

The subjunctive expresses subjectively colored sentiments (wish, intention, volition, etc.):

intrent! – ‘Let them enter!’

utinam eam videam! – ‘If only I may see her!’

Independent Uses of the Subjunctive.

Independent Subjunctives. A subjunctive is said to be independent when it occurs as the principal verb of the sentence. There are three main categories of independent subjunctive:

‘Optative’, expressing a wish or hope

‘Voluntive’, expressing will or intention

‘Potential’, expressing an opinion as to likelihood or possibility

Optative Subjunctive (‘Subjunctive of Wish’). Used as the principal verb of a sentence the subjunctive may express a wish; this use often occurs with the particle utinam (‘would that’ or ‘if only’); the negative used with subjunctives of wish is nē:

utinam dī nōs adiūvent! – ‘If only the gods would help us!’

nē veniat ille! – ‘May he not come!’

Jussive Subjunctive. The jussive subunctive is used for giving commands or orders to third persons. The negative particle used with it is nē:

discēdat pudor! – ‘Let modesty be gone!’

nē ad hanc urbem reveniat ille! – ‘Let him not return to this city!’

Hortatory Subjunctive. The subunctive is used for urging action or issuing an exhortation on the first person (‘Let us…’, ‘Let me …’). The negative particle is nē:

veniam victīs dēmus! – ‘Let us give clemency to the conquered!’

nē quid malī dicam! – ‘Let me not say anything unpleasant!’

Concessive Subjunctive. The jussive/hortative subunctive often concedes or grants a fact for rhetorical effect. The negative particle is nē:

ruat caelum, tamen pūniendī sunt

‘Let heaven perish; still, they must be punished!’

Deliberative Subjunctive. The hortatory subunctive is used of the first person in deliberation or in expressing doubt or indignation about a situation (‘Shall I…?’, ‘Shall we …?’). The negative particle is nē:

quid agam, iūdicēs?

‘What shall I do, gentlemen of the jury?’

Potential Subjunctive. The potential subunctive represents a situation as merely conceived or hypothetical (existing in potentiality only). Used independently, it often occurs with the forsitan, ‘perhaps’. The negative particle is nōn:

haud credās – ‘You would hardly believe ….’

aliquis dīcat – ‘Someone may say ….’

nōn velim – ‘I should not wish ….’

eī forsitan persuadeat – ‘Someone may say ….’

Subordinate Uses of the Subjunctive.

Subjunctive in Adverbial Clauses of Purpose (‘Final Clauses’). In subordinate clauses the jussive subjunctive may express the adverbial notion of purpose. It is regularly introduced by the conjunction ut (‘as’, ‘so as’). The negative particle is nē (used as a subordinating conjunction, without ut):

ad rēgem appropīnquābit, ut eum auxilium ōret.

‘He will approach the king to ask him for help.’

nāvem tegunt, nē ab hostibus cōnspiciātur.

‘He will approach the king to ask him for help.’

Note that such clauses are often translated in English by infinitive phrases, often reinforced by ‘in order to …’.

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Table: Overview of Verbal Mood

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