The Latin subjunctive: forms and uses
In short
The subjunctive is a mood alongside the indicative and the imperative. It expresses wishes, commands and imagined situations, and it appears in many subordinate clauses. It has four tenses: present, imperfect, perfect and pluperfect. Disce ludens II introduces it in four lessons, from main clauses to the sequence of tenses.
The forms: four tenses, two stems
Present and imperfect are formed from the present stem, perfect and pluperfect from the perfect stem. The imperfect is formed from the infinitive plus the personal ending; the perfect carries the mood marker -eri-.
| Person | Present | Imperfect | Perfect | Pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. I | laudem | laudarem | laudaverim | laudavissem |
| 2nd sg. you | laudes | laudares | laudaveris | laudavisses |
| 3rd sg. he/she/it | laudet | laudaret | laudaverit | laudavisset |
| 1st pl. we | laudemus | laudaremus | laudaverimus | laudavissemus |
| 2nd pl. you (pl.) | laudetis | laudaretis | laudaveritis | laudavissetis |
| 3rd pl. they | laudent | laudarent | laudaverint | laudavissent |
In the present, the a-conjugation has -e- (laudem), the other conjugations have -a-: videam, audiam, capiam.
Wish, command and question in main clauses
In a main clause the subjunctive shows that something is wished, commanded or considered. Lessons 1 and 2 of Disce ludens II practice these functions with examples:
- Unfulfillable wish with utinam (if only): Utinam aurum invenirem! (If only I found gold!) – imperfect.
- Fulfillable wish: Utinam ne te pueri saevi violent! – present.
- Command: Amicos nostros invitet! (Let him invite our friends!)
- Deliberative question: Quod vinum e cella apportem? (Shall I fetch the wine from the cellar?)
- Unreal supposition: Si Indianus essem, bestias necarem. – imperfect.
The subjunctive in subordinate clauses: sequence of tenses
In a subordinate clause the tense of the subjunctive follows the tense of the main clause. Two cases:
- After a secondary tense (imperfect, pluperfect and the narrative perfect): simultaneous imperfect, prior pluperfect.
- After a primary tense (present, perfect with present meaning, future): simultaneous present, prior perfect (video quid feceris).
Disce ludens II, lesson 3, practices this with indirect questions:
- Mater me interrogavit, quid heri fecissem. (My mother asked me what I had done yesterday.) – pluperfect: prior.
- Marcus magistrum interrogavit, fabulamne narrare posset. – imperfect: simultaneous.
- Pater Marcum interrogat, cur verum non dicat. – present after a main clause in the present: simultaneous.
The subjunctive in subordinate clauses
Besides indirect questions, the subjunctive appears in clauses introduced by cum and ut. Verte ludens practices cum clauses in its first exercise and ut clauses in the second. There the clauses are taken apart step by step from a sentence by Caesar.
Try it
A real exercise from Disce ludens:
Disce ludens II · Lesson 1 · Subjunctive in main clauses I, card 5
Utinam aurum ____!
Present or imperfect subjunctive? Decide! If only I found gold! invenire – to find
Hint 1: Es handelt sich um einen unerfüllbar gedachten Wunsch!
Hint 2: Wähle den Konjunktiv Imperfekt! Formel: Infinitiv+Personal- endung
Hint 3: Tabelle (optional): Utinam aurum invenirem! Wunsch: unerfüllbar gedacht, Gegenwart, Konjunktiv Imperfekt
Error points: 0
© Disce ludensWhat Disce ludens does – and what it doesn’t
What Disce ludens does
- Introduces the subjunctive in four lessons of Disce ludens II: main clauses (lessons 1 and 2), sequence of tenses (3) and forms in all tenses (4).
- Practices wish, command, question and supposition in main clauses, with graded hints.
- Links the sequence of tenses to example sentences you work out yourself.
What it doesn’t do
- Does not replace subjunctive charts for all verbs from a textbook.
- Does not explain every kind of subordinate clause in depth; Verte ludens practices the cum and ut clauses.
- Does not show vowel length marks (macrons).
Frequently asked questions
What is the subjunctive?
A mood alongside the indicative (fact) and the imperative (command). It expresses wish, command, question or supposition and appears in many subordinate clauses.
How is the present subjunctive formed?
In the a-conjugation with -e- (laudem), in the other conjugations with -a- (videam, audiam, capiam). The imperfect is formed from the infinitive and the personal ending: laudarem, videres.
What does utinam mean?
“If only!” The wish particle usually takes the imperfect subjunctive when the wish cannot be fulfilled: Utinam aurum invenirem!
What is the sequence of tenses?
The rule by which the tense of the subjunctive in a subordinate clause follows the main clause. After a secondary tense: simultaneous imperfect, prior pluperfect; after a primary tense: simultaneous present, prior perfect. Disce ludens II, lesson 3, shows examples.