Subjunctives

As opposed to the Indicative, the Subjunctive indicates an idea or an abstraction, something without certain reality. The Subjunctive is used mainly in subordinate clauses to indicate what is--in some sense--an unreality: it might express an action which has yet to occur and which might not occur, or an emotion felt in the fuzzy realms of the heart rather than the clear-cut head. The Subjunctive may also be used as a main verb when expressing a command or a possibility (both of which are uncertain since they have not yet been completed, as befits the nature of the Subjunctive). The Subjunctive naturally looks toward the future in all of its tenses, and so it exists only in the present, imperfect, perfect, and pluperfect.

For a full conjugation of the subjunctive, go to the conjugations page.

A helpful mnemonic for remembering the vowels of the Present Subjunctive is Let's eat caviar, where the first vowel grouping "e" corresponds to the 1st conjugation present subjunctive (amem), the second "ea" to the 2nd conjugation (videam), the third "a" to the 3rd conjugation (regam), and the fourth "ia" to the 3rd io and 4th conjugations (capia, audiam). Let's eat caviar has the added advantage of illustrating the translation of the hortatory/jussive/volitive subjunctive.

Uses of the Subjunctive
Main Verb	Clauses
Potential Subj. Optative Subj. Volitive Subj. Hortatory Subj. Jussive Subj. Prohibitive Subj. Concessive Subj. Deliberative Subj.	Purpose Clause Relative Clause of Characteristic Result Clause Fear Clause Causal Clause Cum Temporal Cum...Tum Antequam/Postquam Dum Clause Substantive Clause Volitive Subst. Clause/Indirect Imperatives Optative Subst. Clause Result Subst. Clause Quin Subst. Clause Indirect Questions Adversitive Clause Subj. by Attraction Logical Conditions Ideal Conditions Future Less Vivid Unreal Conditions Present Contrary to Fact Past Contrary to Fact General Conditions Present General Past General Condition of Comparision Sequence of Tenses

Potential Subjunctive
- Expresses the opinion of the speaker as an opinion
- A present or future potentiality is expressed with either the present or perfect subjunctive. A past potentiality is expressed with the imperfect subjunctive, though the perfect subjunctive is occasionally used. The negative is formed with non.
- credas You would believe You must believe You've gotta believe
  caedi discipulos minime velim I should not at all want students to be flogged.
Optative Subjunctive
- Expresses a wish
- Often introduced by utinam (O that); the negative is formed by ne or utinam ne.
- stet haec urbs May this city stand!
  [compare to the potential subj.: stet haec urbs this city could stand]
Volitive Subjunctive
- The Volitive subjunctive expresses one's will, what one wants to be the case, and it subdivides into five categories: the hortatory subjunctive, the jussive subjunctive, the prohibitive subjunctive, the concessive subjunctive, and the deliberative subjunctive.
- Hortatory Subjunctive
  - Expresses a command in the first person plural, usually present tense
  - The first person singular command is identical to the optative subjunctive.
  - Vivamus, mea Lesbia, atque amemus Let us live, my Lesbia, and let us love.
- Jussive Subjunctive
  - Expresses a command in the third person singular and plural, usually present; only occasionally used in the the second person
  - dicat Let him tell
- Prohibitive Subjunctive
  - Used in the second and third persons with ne, cave, or cave ne in place of a negative imperative
  - Occurs in the present and the perfect with little difference in meaning
  - Ne transiveris Rubiconem. Do not cross the Rubicon.
    cave ne hoc facias. Do not do this. (Take care lest you do this.)
    cave hoc facias. Do not do this. (Beware that you might do this.)
- Concessive Subjunctive
  - Indicates something that is taken for granted or conceded to the argument
  - sit fur. [Granted that] he be a thief. (Let him be a thief [for the sake of argument].)
- Deliberative Subjunctive
  - Used in a question that expects an imperative answer; another way to think of it is that it is used in questions implying doubt, indignation, impossibility, obligation, or propriety.
  - Quid faciam? What should I do?
  - In a rhetorical question, the deliberative subjunctive becomes very similar to the potential subjunctive: Quid agerem? What should/could I have done?
Purpose Clause
- Expresses the purpose for which an action is done
- introduced by ut or quo; translated as "so that," "in order to/that," or "to;" the negative is given by ne or ut ne and translated as "so that not" or "lest"
- A relative pronoun (form of qui) may sometimes introduce a purpose clause
- Edimus ut vivamus. We eat in order to live
  Caesar legatos misit qui dicerent illae. Caesar sent the envoys in order to say those things. (...who would say those things)
Relative Clause of Characteristic
- Expresses a quality or characteristic for a general or unspecific antecent/set of people
- Introduced by the relative pronoun (form of qui), negative non qui
- The negative can also be introduced by quin which is a contraction of qui + non.
- Non is sum qui improbos laudem. I am not the sort of man who praises the wicked.
  [Compare: non is sum qui improbo laudo. I am not that (specific) man who is praising the wicked.)
- nemo est quin saepe audierit. There is no one who has not often heard.
Result Clause
- Expresses the result that occurs because of a fact
- Introduced by ut or ut non for the negative
- A relative pronoun (form of qui) can also introduce a result clause, with the negative given by quin.
- The main clause often contains a word signifying extent, such as tantus, talis, tot, sic, tam, ita, or adeo.
- Qui est tam demens ut sua voluntate maeret? Who is so senseless that he would mourn by his own free will?
- Nemo est tam senex qui se annum non putet posse vivere. No one is so old that he does not think that he could live for a year.
  Nemo est tam certus quin umquam perturbetur. No one is so certain that he is not ever confused.
Fear Clause
- Expresses a thing feared
- Introduced by verbs of fearing such as timeo and vereor
- The sequence is reversed: ne indicates a positive, whereas ut indicates a negative.
- timeo ne veniat. I fear that he will come.
  timeo ut veniat. I fear that he will not come.
Causal Clause
- Expresses the reason or cause for a fact
- Introduced by quod, quia, quoniam, cum, and quando
- quod, quia, and quoniam take the indicative when the reason comes from the speaker; they take the subjunctive when the reason comes from someon else.
  Socrates accusatus est quod corrumperent iuventem. Socrates was accused because he (allegedly) corrupted the youth.
- cum causal takes the subjunctive
  Cum sis mortalis, morieris. Since you are mortal, you will die.
- Quando takes the indicative.
Cum Temporal
- Cum takes the imperfect or pluperfect subjunctive when explaining the situation or the circumstances under which something occurs.
- Lysander, cum vellet Lycurgi leges commutare, prohibitus est. Lysander, when he wanted to change the laws of Lycurgus, was prevented.
Cum...Tum Concessive
- With the subjunctive, cum can mean "while" or "although" and it's correlating tum means "at the same time."
- Cum te semper dilexerim, tum tuis factis incensus sum. Although I have always loved you, at the same time, I am angered by your deeds.
Antequam/Postquam Clause
- When followed by the subjunctive, antequam and postquam express an act that is anticipated or a general truth.
- Priusquam dimicarent, foedus ictum est. A treaty was struck before they could fight.
  Animum omittunt priusquam loco demigrent. They die rather than quit their post. (They die before they would leave from their place.)
Dum, Modo, Dummodo/Priviso Clause
- Introduces a clause expressing a wish or a proviso (provided that)
- There is very little difference in the sense of a dum clause expressing wish and one expressing proviso.
- The negative is expressed by adding ne.
- Nil obstat tibi, dumne sit ditior alter. Nothing hinders you in your wish that another not be richer [than you].
- Oderint, dum metuant. Let them hate [me] provided that/so long as they fear [me].
Substantive Clause
- An entire clause serves as the subject or object of a verb (or, rarely, as a noun in some other case).
- Volitive Substantive Clause
  - Substantive clauses of the volitive serve as indirect commands.
  - Verbs that mean "command," "beg," etc. take ut + subjunctive.
  - iubeo regularly takes the accusative infinitive constrctuction.
  - Rogo ut epistulam legas. I ask that you read the letter.
- Optative Substantive Clause
  - Verbs of desiring (cupio, etc.) take the subjunctive with or without ut.
  - Cupio (ut) veniat. I desire that he will come.
- Result Substantive Clause
  - A specialization of the normal result clause in which the result is the object of a verb of doing (facio, etc.).
  - Gravitas morbi facit ut medicina egeamus. The severity of the disease makes us need medicine. (The severity of the disease causes with the result that we need medicine.)
- Quin Substantive Clause
  - Quin clauses occur as the subject or object of verbs of doubt or omission.
  - Quis dubitat quin in virtute divitiae sint? Who doubts that there are riches in virtue?
- Indirect Questions
  - When a question occurs as the object of a verb (when the speech in indirect speech is a question), the verb within the question is put into the subjunctive. All indirect questions are introduced by the regular interrogative words.
  - Interrogat ubi sim. He asked where I was/where I might be.
Adversitive Clause
- Adversitive clauses tell "although" and are introduced by quamvis, quamquam, tametsi, etsi; cum; licet, all of which mean "although" when followed by the proper mood.
- When followed by the subjunctive, quamvis means "although" and introduces a statement which is not a concrete fact but is conceived of in someone's mind as being true.
- Cum adversitive, when followed by the subjunctive, means "although."
- Licet plus the subjunctive means "although."
- Quamvis tempora turbida sint, homines possunt relaxare. Although the times are tumultuous, men are able to relax. (The times are not literally rolling around, but rather figuratively.)
- Licet terrores impendeant, non timebo. Although terros threaten, I shall not fear.
Subjunctive by Attraction
- Relative clauses which depend on infinitives or on subjunctives, and which are closely connected to the entire thought of the sentence, have verbs in the subjunctive.
- Ab alio expectes alteri quod feceris. May you expect from one that which you have done to another.
Logical Conditions
- The quintessential "if-then" statement, logical conditions merely state the facts: if this is so, then this is so. They consist of the present particular, past particular, and future more vivid, all of which take the indicative. See the conditions page for more information.
Ideal Conditions
- An ideal condition expresses suspense. The protasis (the supposition, the "if" statement) is entirely fanciful and often expresses a wish. The apodosis (the result, the "then" statement) expresses the result: what would happen if the protasis were true.
- Future Less Vivid
  - The Future Less Vivid has either the present subjunctive in both clauses or the perfect subjunctive in both clauses.
  - The present tense expresses a continued or ongoing action, whereas the perfect expresses a completed action or attainment.
  - The imperative or the future indicative is sometimes used in the apodosis instead of the subjunctive because they can convey the same sense of futurity and uncertainty.
  - The Future Less Vivid is often called the "should/would" clause, because these helping verbs are used to translate it into English: "If he should jump into the airplane's engines while it is flying, he would be chewed up."
  - Si hoc facias, laetus sis. If you would do this, you would be happy.
Unreal Conditions
- An Unreal Condition expresses something unfulfilled or impossible.
- Present Contrary to Fact
  - The Present Contrary to Fact Condition expresses something that could be happening right now but actually isn't, and the result that would be occurring, but actually isn't: "If you jumped into an airplane's engine while it is flying, you would be chewed up." This is similar to the Future Less Vivid, but differs in that the Present Contrary to Fact is impossible and does not occur, because it is set in the present, whereas the Future Less Vivid is not only possible, but it has the option of occurring in the future.
  - Both the protasis (the "if" clause) and the apodosis (the "then" clause) are put in the imperfect subjunctive.
  - Si istud crederes, errares. If you believed that [but you don't], you would be wrong.
- Past Contrary to Fact
  - The Past Contrary to Fact expresses something that might have happened in the past but did not actually happen, and then it gives the result that would have occurred, but did not actually occur: "If you had jumped into the airplane's engines while it was flying, you would have been chewed up."
  - Both clauses are in the pluperfect subjunctive.
  - Si istud credidisses, eravisses. If you had believed that, you would have been wrong.
General Conditions
- General Conditions express general truths: they make statements which are always true or generally true. They are often translated with words meaning "whenever" or something similar. All conditions have corresponding general forms which for the most part do not vary from their particular forms. Sometimes, however, they may be distinguished.
- Present General
  - The protasis (the "if" clause) takes the present subjunctive, and the apodosis (the "then" clause) takes the present indicative.
  - OR The protasis can take the perfect indicative. (This is the Latin version of the gnomic aorist, expressing a general truth.)
  - Si ille hoc dicat, creditur. Whenever he says this, it is believed.
    Si ille hoc dixit, creditur. Whenever he says this, it is believed.
- Past General
  - The protasis (the "if" clause) takes the pluperfect indicative and the apodosis (the "then" clause) takes the imperfect indicative.
  - OR the protasis can take the imperfect subjunctive.
  - Si ille aliquid dixerat, credebatur. Whenever he said anything, he was believed.
    Si ille aliquid diceret, credebatur. Whenever he said anything, he was believed.
Condition of Comparison
- The Condition of Comparison omits the apodosis (the "then" clause) of the condition and replaces it with a clause of comparison which describes the manner in which the main verb is done.
- The verb in the comparison clause is in the subjunctive with tense usually determined by the regular sequence of tenses, though sometimes its tense comes from the condition that the clause approximates.
- The comparison clause is introduced by a word or words meaning "as if" or "as though": ut si, velut si, ac si, quam si, tamquam si, quasi, velut, tamquam.
- Noli timere quasi assem elephanto des. Don't be afraid as if you were giving a penny to an elephant.
  Serviam tibi tam quasi emeris me argento. I shall serve you as though you had bought me with silver.

Sequence of Tenses

In Latin, the tense of a subjunctive verb in a dependent clause partially depends upon the tense of the verb in the main clause. If the verb in the main clause has a tense that denotes a present or future action (this includes the perfect when it has present implication), then the subjunctive of the dependent clause will either be in the present or the perfect. The present indicates action simultaneous or later than the main verb; the perfect indicates action prior to the main verb. If the main verb is in a tense that denotes past action (this includes the perfect when it has past implication), then the subjunctive of the dependent clause will be in either the imperfect or the pluperfect. The imperfect indicates time simultaneous or later than the main verb; the pluperfect indicates time prior to the main verb. Her is a helpful chart which contains all of this information:

Sequence of Tenses
If the tense of the main verb is: [go down]	AND the Action of the dependent clause happens simultaneously or later than the main verb: [go down]	OR the action of the dependent clause happens prior to the main verb: [go down]
PRIMARY SEQUENCE Present Future Perfect with present implications (I have done) [go across]	If the above and left hold true, the subjunctive verb of the dependent clause uses the Present. (primary sequence)	If the above and leftmost hold true, the subjunctive verb of the dependent clause uses the Perfect. (primary sequence)
SECONDARY SEQUENCE Imperfect Pluperfect Perfect with past implications (I did)	If abovemost and left hold true, the subjunctive verb of the dependent clause uses the Imperfect. (secondary sequence)	If abovemost and leftmost hold true, the subjunctive verb of the dependent clause uses the Pluperfect. (secondary sequence)