Latin for beginners (1911)/Part III/Lesson LXI

by Benjamin Leonard D'Ooge

Layout 2

LESSON LXI

THE SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD

342. In addition to the indicative, imperative, and infinitive moods, which you have learned, Latin has a fourth mood called the subjunctive. The tenses of the subjunctive are

Present Imperfect Perfect Pluperfect

Active and Passive

343. The tenses of the subjunctive have the same time values as the corresponding tenses of the indicative, and, in addition, each of them may refer to future time. No meanings of the tenses will be given in the paradigms, as the translation varies with the construction used.

344. The present subjunctive is inflected as follows:

Conj. I	Conj. II	Conj. III		Conj. IV
Active Voice
SINGULAR
a´mem	mo´neam	re´gam	ca´piam	au´diam
2. a´mēs	mo´neās	re´gās	ca´piās	au´diās
3. a´met	mo´neat	re´gat	ca´piat	au´diat
PLURAL
amē´mus	moneā´mus	regā´mus	capiā´mus	audiā´mus
2. amē´tis	moneā´tis	regā´tis	capiā´tis	audiā´tis
3. a´ment	mo´neant	re´gant	ca´piant	au´diant
Passive Voice
SINGULAR
1. a´mer	mo´near	re´gar	ca´piar	au´diar
2. amē´ris (-re)	moneā´ris (-re)	regā´ris (-re)	capiā´ris (-re)	audiā´ris (-re)
3. amē´tur	moneā´tur	regā´tur	capiā´tur	audiā´tur

PLURAL
amē´mur	moneā´mur	regā´mur	capiā´mur	audiā´mur
2. amē´minī	moneā´minī	regā´minī	capiā´minī	audiā´minī
3. amen´tur	monean´tur	regan´tur	capian´tur	audian´tur

a. The present subjunctive is formed from the present stem,

b. The mood sign of the present subjunctive is -e- in the first conjugation and -a- in the others. It is shortened in the usual places (cf . § 1 2), and takes the place of the final vowel of the stem in the first and third conjugations, but not in the second and fourth.

c. The personal endings are the same as in the indicative.

d. In a similar way inflect the present subjunctive of cūrō, iubeō, sūmō, iaciō, muniō.

345. The present subjunctive of the irregular verb sum is inflected as follows:

Sing.

sim 2. sīs 3. sit

Plur.

sīmus 2. sītis 3. sint

The Indicative and Subjunctive Compared.

1. The two most important of the finite moods are the indicative and the subjunctive. The indicative deals with facts either real or assumed. If, then, we wish to assert something as a fact or to inquire after a fact, we use the indicative.
2. On the other hand, if we wish to express a desire or wish, a purpose, a possibility, an expectation, or some such notion, we must use the subjunctive. The following sentences illustrate the difference between the indicative and the subjunctive ideas.

Indicative Ideas Subjunctive Ideas

	Indicative Ideas		Subjunctive Ideas
1.	He is brave Fortis est	1.	May he be brave Fortis sit (idea of wishing)
2.	We set out at once Statim proficīscimur	2.	Let us set out at once Statim proficīscāmur (idea of willing)
3.	You hear him every day Cotīdiē eum audīs	3.	You can hear him every day Cotīdiē eum audiās (idea of possibility)

4.	He remained until the ship arrived Mānsit dum nāvis pervēnit	4.	He waited until the ship should arrive Exspectāvit dum nāvis pervenīret[1] (idea of expectation)
5.	Cæsar sends men who find the bridge Caesar mittit hominēs quī pontem reperiunt	5.	Cæsar sends men who are to find (or to find) the bridge Caesar hominēs mittit quī pontem reperiant (idea of purpose)

Note. From the sentences above we observe that the subjunctive may be used in either independent or dependent clauses; but it is far more common in the latter than in the former.

347.

EXERCISE

Which verbs in the following paragraph would be in the indicative and which in the subjunctive in a Latin translation?

There have been times in the history of our country when you might be proud of being an American citizen. Do you remember the day when Dewey sailed into Manila Bay to capture or destroy the enemy’s fleet? You might have seen the admiral standing on the bridge calmly giving his orders. He did not even wait until the mines should be removed from the harbor’s mouth, but sailed in at once. Let us not despair of our country while such valor exists, and may the future add new glories to the past.

————————

References

1. pervenīret, imperfect subjunctive.