UNIT 14

 

 

14.1. Expressing wishes, etc.: the Subjunctive

 

14.1.1 At the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, her entrance into Westminster Abbey was greeted by the choir of Westminster School singing in what language? Latin, of course (only 1500 years after the collapse of the Western Roman empire). The words were VIVAT ELIZABETHA REGINA - lit. 'May Queen Elizabeth live.'

 

Now look carefully at the following two short sentences:

 

Vivit regina

 

Vivat regina

 

The only difference is in the ending of the verb; indeed only one letter has changed. What has happened? Has the verb vivo suddenly changed from the third conjugation to the first?

 

No. Vivo is still third conjugation; but there is a difference of meaning.

 

•    The sentence with vivit is an ordinary statement. There, the verb is in the third person singular form (present tense) with which you are already familiar: vivo 'I live' is 3rd conjugation, so the third person ends in -it.

 

•    The sentence with vivat is a wish. This verb also is third person singular, but in a form which we have not previously encountered, called the Subjunctive.

 

14.1.2 The forms you know already, which are used for making statements, are called Indicative. The full grammatical specification of the form vivit is: third person singular present indicative active. Vivat is the third person singular present subjunctive active.

 

The difference between indicative and subjunctive is called a difference of mood. This has little to do with the modern English use of the word 'mood' but comes from Latin modus a way, manner or mode.

 

14.1.3 The distinction between indicative and subjunctive is conveyed by a change of vowel in the verb ending.

 

•    In the First Conjugation (A-coloured), the Subjunctive is formed by changing the usual a to an e:

 

rogat he asks versus  roget let him ask.

 

•    In the other conjugations, the Subjunctive has the vowel a:

 

            manet he stays/waits versus  maneat let him stay/wait

 

            vivit he lives  versus  vivat let him live, may he live

 

            audit he hears versus  audiat let him hear.

 

Note These are the forms called 'Present Subjunctive', but the name is really misleading as the wish refers to the future, not the present. There is a different form of the verb for wishing things were different now from the way they actually are; we shall come to it later on.

 

14.1.4 Now this can be quite confusing. If you find a verb ending in -at, it may theoretically be one of two things:

 

•    an A-coloured (First Conjugation) verb in the Indicative,

or

•    a verb of one of the other conjugations in the Subjunctive.

 

            Example

 

            amat he/she/it loves (First Conjugation): Indicative expressing a fact,

            but

            dicat let him/her/it say (Third Conjugation): Subjunctive expressing a wish.

 

If you come across a verb ending in -et, it may be:

 

•    an A-coloured (First Conjugation) verb in the Subjunctive;

or

•    an E-coloured (Second Conjugation) verb in the Indicative.

 

            Example

 

            amet let him/her/it love (First Conjugation): Subjunctive expressing a wish

            but

            manet he/she/it stays/waits (Second Conjugation): Indicative expressing fact.

 

The corollary of this is that before you can tell whether a verb ending in -at or -et is indicative or subjunctive, you have to know what conjugation it belongs to.

 

14.1.5 How then do you find this out?

 

•    When learning verbs as items of vocabulary, be sure to take note of what conjugation they belong to. In the next sub-section you will find a list of common A-coloured and E-coloured verbs. Learn these gradually, a few at a time.

 

•    If you come across a verb you don't know, use the dictionary to find out which conjugation it belongs to, by means of the following procedure:

 

Verbs ending in -et

 

If the verb form in front of you ends in -et, you can tell which conjugation it is from the dictionary form.

 

If a verb xxx+et is first conjugation, the dictionary form will be xxx+o. In that case, the form ending in -et will be subjunctive.

 

      e.g. roget: dictionary form rogo (3 sing. rogat);

so roget subjunctive 'let him ask'.

 

If xxx+et is second conjugation, the dictionary form will be xxx+eo. In that case, the form ending in -et will be indicative.

 

      e.g. manet: dictionary form maneo (3 sing. manet);

so manet indicative 'he waits'.

 

Verbs ending in -at

 

If it ends in -eat it is almost certainly second conjugation, subjunctive.

      e.g. maneat subjunctive of maneo stay/wait: 'let him stay'.

 

If it ends in -iat it is almost certainly third conjugation (group B) or fourth conjugation, subjunctive.

      e.g. capiat subjunctive of capio take: 'let him take'.

      audiat subjunctive of audio hear: 'let him hear'.

 

Note There are a few exceptions; e.g. creat and cruciat are first conjugation and therefore indicative.

 

If it ends in -at (preceded by anything other than e or i), the dictionary form will end in -o. You then have to look further in the dictionary to find out whether it is first conjugation or third. Some dictionaries show this by means of a number in brackets, 1 or 3 as the case may be. Others show it by giving the ending of the Infinitive (see next Unit): if this ends in -are the verb is A-coloured (first conjugation); if it ends in -ere the verb is third conjugation.

 

•     So: for rogat look up rogo: it will say either rogo (1) or rogo -are, either of which tells you that the verb is first conjugation (A-coloured). In that case the form ending in -at will be indicative: rogat 'he asks'. The subjunctive would be roget.

 

•     For regat look up rego. It will say either rego (3) or rego -ere, either of which tells you that the verb is third conjugation. In that case the form ending in -at will be subjunctive: regat 'let him rule'. The indicative would be regit.

 

 

 

AMBIGUITIES

 

14.1.6 One or two forms can be analysed in two possible ways:

 

manet can be the indicative of maneo 'stay', or the subjunctive of mano 'drip'.

 

paret can be the indicative of pareo 'obey' or the subjunctive of paro 'prepare'.

 

putet can be the indicative of puteo 'stink' or the subjunctive of puto 'think'.

 

Note In all these cases there is also a difference in vowel length in the root:

 

manet with short a he stays; manet with long a let it drip.

paret with short a let him prepare; paret with long a he obeys.

putet with short u let him think; putet with long u it stinks.

 

Practice

 

Identify the dictionary form and the conjugation, say whether the form given is indicative or subjunctive, and give the meaning.

 

dicat	dicit	amat	amet	ducat	moneat	manet	emanet
teneat	terreat	terat	laudat	cupiat	paret	pareat	parat
pariat	puniat	servat	servet	servit	serviat	fleat	creat
videat	venit	veniat	sciat	gaudet	laudet	audet	audeat
audiat	excruciat	vetet	vetat	vitat	vitet	vivat	vincat

 

Exercise

 

Translate the following sentences appropriately as statements or wishes. Refer to the list of verbs below.

 

Deus te conservat.

Veniat regnum tuum.

Manet regnum tuum in aeternum.

Regnet Deus in aeternum.

Laudat bonus vir Dominum.

Dicat populus laudes tuas.

Moneat bonus pater filium suum.

 

conservo (1) preserve                                 venio (4) come

maneo (2) stay, wait, remain, last               regno (1) reign

laudo (1) praise                                            dico (3) say, speak

moneo (2) advise

 

14.2 List of common verbs in the first and second conjugations (for practice in distinguishing Indicative and Subjunctive)

 

14.2.1 The above should have convinced you that it does matter, after all, what conjugation a verb belongs to! The whole business becomes a lot easier if you can recognise a good proportion of the verbs that you encounter in Latin sentences, and immediately know what conjugation they belong to without having to search in the dictionary. Of course there will always be some that you don't know and have to look up; hence it is important to understand the dictionary procedure as well. Furthermore, even when you do think you know a word, it is as well to check in the dictionary, because (a) you may have chosen the wrong member of a pair of similar-looking verbs; (b) the meaning in context may not be the one you have learned.

 

Here then is a list of common verbs belonging to the first and second conjugations, which are those where confusion between indicative and subjunctive is most likely to arise. Many of the verbs listed below will already be to some extent familiar to you; this is an opportunity to consolidate. Get used to the look of the 3rd singular indicative and subjunctive forms as well as the dictionary forms. In each list the first few of these are given; the rest follow exactly the same pattern and it is good practice to fill them in by analogy.

 

14.2.2 Common verbs of the first conjugation (A-coloured)

 

First, two one-syllable verbs:

 

Dictionary form (1 sing.)	3rd sing. indicative	3rd sing. subjunctive
do give	dat	det
sto stand	stat	stet
(Now you know what stet means as a proof correction - 'let it stand'.)
ambulo walk	ambulat	ambulet
amo love	amat	amet
canto sing	cantat	cantet
cito spur on; summon; cite	citat	citet
clamo shout	clamat	clamet

cogito think (about)                            etc. - same pattern throughout

erro wander, go astray, be wrong

gusto taste

impero give orders

laboro work, be in trouble, bother

laudo praise

lavo wash

neco kill

porto carry    

probo try, prove, approve    

pugno fight   

rogo ask        

salto dance    

seco cut         

specto watch, look at           

spero hope    

spiro breathe 

tempto or tento try (out)     

veto forbid    

voco call       

 

 

Notice the following, where there is a danger of confusion; )( means 'distinguish from':

 

aro plough	arat	aret
)( areo be dry	aret	areat
fugo chase away	fugat	fuget
)( fugio flee	fugit	fugiat
iuvo help	iuvat	iuvet
)( iubeo command	iubet	iubeat
mano drip, seep	manat	manet
)( maneo stay	manet	maneat
paro prepare	parat	paret
)( pareo appear	paret	pareat
)( pario give birth	parit	pariat
puto think (that ...)	putat	putet
)( puteo be rotten, stink	putet	puteat
servo keep, preserve, save	servat	servet
)( servio serve	servit	serviat
volo fly	volat	volet
)( volo want	(irregular verb: see Unit 16)

 

Remember: If a verb ends in -AT and is NOT first conjugation, then it is SUBJUNCTIVE.

 

14.2.3 Common verbs of the second conjugation (E-coloured)

 

ardeo burn (be hot)   ardet  ardeat

augeo increase           auget  augeat

caleo be hot   calet   caleat

doceo teach    docet  doceat

fleo weep       flet    fleat

frigeo be cold, 'fall flat'        etc. - same pattern throughout

gaudeo be glad

iubeo tell (someone to do something), command

moneo warn

moveo move

oleo smell (of)

placeo please

prohibeo forbid

respondeo answer

rideo laugh

sedeo sit

sileo be silent

spondeo promise

suadeo persuade

taceo say nothing

timeo fear

video see

 

 

Confusible verbs:

 

audeo dare	audet	audeat
)( audio hear	audit	audiat
iaceo lie	iacet	iaceat
)( iacio throw	iacit	iaciat
iubeo command	iubet	iubeat
)( iuvo help	iuvat	iuvet
maneo stay	manet	maneat
)( mano drip	manat	manet
pareo obey, appear	paret	pareat
)( paro prepare	parat	paret
)( pario give birth, produce	parit	pariat
puteo be rotten, stink	putet	puteat
)( puto think (that ...)	putat	putet

 

14.3 Subjunctive: the other persons; passives & deponents.

 

14.3.1 Once you have got the basic principle about the vowels, as outlined above, nothing else about the Subjunctive is very difficult. In this section we shall look at the way the characteristic vowel of the subjunctive combines with the personal endings. There is one entirely new personal ending to deal with: the First Person Singular.

 

FIRST PERSON SINGULAR (active voice)

 

14.3.2 The First Person Singular of the subjunctive always ends in -m (in contrast to the -o of the indicative). Combined with the characteristic vowels, the endings are -em in the First Conjugation, and -am in the others.

 

            Examples

 

            First Conjugation:

rogem let me ask (vs. rogo I ask).

 

            Other conjugations:

maneam let me stay (vs. maneo I stay)

            dicam let me say (vs. dico I say)

            audiam let me hear (vs. audio I hear).      

 

            Examples in context:  

 

            Flumina amem silvasque

         (Virgil, Georgics 2.486) Let me love rivers and forests

 

            Aures vestras permulceam

            (Apuleius, Golden Ass 1.1) Let me caress your ears (i.e. with storytelling)

 

14.3.3 The introduction of this ending now creates a further complication: it is the same as the accusative ending of nouns in the first declension (-am) or third declension (-em) as the case may be. When you find an unknown word, therefore, you have to be particularly careful as to whether you are dealing with a noun or a verb. The context will tell you what to expect.

 

Just occasionally one encounters forms that can be analysed either as the first person singular of a verb in the subjunctive, or as the accusative of a noun or adjective. Such things can be horribly confusing, but forewarned is forearmed. The only ones you are likely to meet for the moment are:

 

veniam       subjunctive of venio: 'let me come'

                     or accusative of venia permission, pardon

 

scribam     subjunctive of scribo 'let me write'

                     or accusative of scriba scribe, secretary

 

vivam       subjunctive of vivo 'let me live'

                     or accusative feminine singular of vivus alive

 

laudem        subjunctive of laudo 'let me praise'

                     or accusative of laus praise.

 

Of course, confusion is also possible between words that are not spelt the same! For example, you may well need to distinguish between the following:

 

regam let me rule

regem king (acc.)

 

ducam let me lead

ducem leader (acc.)

 

pugnem let me fight

pugnam battle (acc.)

pugnum fist (acc.)

 

THE OTHER PERSONS

 

14.3.4 The other personal endings are exactly the same as for the Indicative:

 

            -S

         -T

         -MUS

         -TIS

         -NT.

 

When combined with the characteristic vowel of the subjunctive, these therefore become:

 

	First Conjugation	Other verbs
2 sing. 'you'	-es	-as
3 sing. 'he/she/it'	-et	-at
1 pl. 'we'	-emus	-amus
2 pl. 'you'	-etis	-atis
3 pl. 'they'	-ent	-ant

 

 

14.3.5 The Second Person Singular ends in -s; the subjunctive endings are therefore -es for the First Conjugation, and -as for the rest.

 

Beware, this time, of confusion with the accusative plural of nouns: e.g. laudes 2nd singular subjunctive of laudo, 'may you praise', or accusative plural of laus, 'praises'.

 

14.3.6 Here now is the complete set of forms of the Subjunctive in each conjugation, compared in each case with the Indicative:

 

 

First Conjugation:

 

Subjunctive

laudem laudes laudet laudemus laudetis laudent

 

versus Indicative

laudo laudas laudat laudamus laudatis laudant

 

Second Conjugation:

 

Subjunctive

moneam moneas moneat moneamus moneatis moneant

 

versus Indicative

moneo mones monet       monemus monetis monent

 

 

Third Conjugation:

 

Subjunctive

dicam dicas dicat      dicamus dicatis dicant

 

versus Indicative

dico dicis dicit dicimus dicitis dicunt

 

 

Third Conjugation (Group B):

 

Subjunctive

faciam facias faciat faciamus faciatis faciant

 

versus Indicative:

facio facis facit facimus facitis faciunt

 

 

Fourth Conjugation:

 

Subjunctive

audiam audias audiat audiamus audiatis audiant

 

versus Indicative:

audio audis audit audimus auditis audiunt

 

Note The Second, Third (b) and Fourth Conjugations keep their usual vowels e and i before the subjunctive endings. The pairs of vowels ea and ia are characteristic of the Subjunctive of these conjugations and usually make it quite easy to recognise, even in a verb you don't know.

Examples

 

Videamus Let us see.          

 

Gaudeas May you rejoice / be happy.

 

            Audiant omnes Let everyone listen.

 

Vivamus, mea Lesbia, atque amemus (Catullus 5) Let us live [i.e. enjoy life], my Lesbia, and let us love.

 

PASSIVE AND DEPONENT

 

14.3.7 The Passive and Deponent endings are made up from the usual personal endings preceded by the characteristic vowels of the Subjunctive. Note that the First Person Singular has -er or -ar, as contrasted with the -or of the Indicative.

 

1st conjugation:

-E-R  -E-RIS        -E-TUR       -E-MUR      -E-MINI      -E-NTUR

 

Other verbs:

-A-R -A-RIS        -A-TUR       -A-MUR      -A-MINI     -A-NTUR

 

         Examples

 

         Sanctificetur nomen tuum (lit. May your name be sanctified)

Hallowed be thy name.

            vs. indicative sanctificatur.

 

            Detur venia iuventuti (lit. Let pardon be given to youth)

            Let us forgive young men their mistakes.

            vs. indicative datur

 

        

            Deponent:

 

            Moriamur

         Let us die.

         vs. indicative morimur.

 

            Progrediantur omnes fortiter

            Let everyone go forward bravely

            vs. indicative progrediuntur.

 

14.4 Using the Subjunctive: further details

 

NEGATION OF THE SUBJUNCTIVE

 

14.4.1 Negative wishes are expressed by the word nê (long e) plus the appropriate form of the Subjunctive. Contrast non used with the Indicative.

 

            Examples

 

            Ne veniat Let him not come.

 

            Ne occidatur Let him not be killed.

 

            Ne moriamur Let us not die.

 

            Haec ne dicantur Let these things not be said.

 

            Ne vos morer Let me not delay you (Don't let me hold you up).

 

 

14.4.2 Ne together with the second person of the Subjunctive is used for negative commands or recommendations.

 

            Hoc ne dicas Don't say that

 

            Ne obliviscaris Don't forget

 

Note (a) Negative commands of this kind tend to have a general or proverbial feel about them. Specific commands are expressed in a different way (see Unit 16).

 

Note (b) In poetry, ne is also found with the Imperative: ne crede do not believe it; equo ne credite, Teucri do not believe in the horse, Trojans.

 

FIRST PERSON OF THE SUBJUNCTIVE IN QUESTIONS

 

14.4.3 The First Person of the Subjunctive is used in questions asking for help or advice as to what to do (called deliberative questions):

 

Quid faciam? What am I to do?

 

Veniam an non veniam? Shall I come or shall I not come?

 

Eloquar an sileam? Shall I speak or be silent?

 

            Veniamus an non? Are we to come or not?

 

SUBJUNCTIVE OF THE VERB 'TO BE'

 

14.4.4 The verb 'to be' has a Subjunctive that does not fall into any of the regular patterns and has to be learnt separately. It is formed on the stem si- with the usual personal endings of the Subjunctive:

 

            sim let me be vs. indicative sum

            sis may you be

            sit let him/her/it be / may he/she/it be

            simus let us be          vs. indicative sumus

            sitis may you (pl.) be

            sint let them be / may they be           vs. indicative sunt

 

            Note (a) Beware of mistaking sitis for the noun sitis thirst.

 

            Note (b) There are alternative, old-fashioned forms siem, sies etc. found in earlier Latin texts and in Roman legal and religious language.

 

Examples in context

 

            Ne sim tibi inimicus Let me not be an enemy to you

            Ne sis molestus Don't be a nuisance

            Sitis felices May you be happy

            Sit Latium, sint Albani per saecula reges,

         sit Romana potens Itala virtute propago

           (Virgil, Aeneid 12.826-7)

            Let there be Latium; let there be Alban kings through the ages;

            Let the Roman stock be powerful through Italian virtue.

The compounds of sum work the same way, e.g.

 

            absum I am absent: Subjunctive absim let me be absent.

 

Absit omen! lit. Let the omen be absent! (used to express a wish that an apparently prophetic or ominous occurrence should prove not to be so).

 

 

'UTINAM'

 

14.4.5 Wishes are often introduced by the particle utinam. This word is related to ut 'how', 'as', and may originally have meant 'how might it happen that...?', introducing a question. The conventional translation is 'would that...' but this will not do in modern colloquial English. The best translation is probably 'I wish ...' (as long as one realises that utinam is not a first-person singular verb!).

 

Utinam videat I wish he would see

 

Utinam ne occidatur I wish he could avoid being killed

 

CONCESSIONS

 

14.4.6 The Subjunctive in the meaning 'let it be ...' is used to concede that something may be true or that something may happen. It is often accompanied in this usage by e.g. sane of course, or licet lit. it is allowed. In English, we might add 'suppose', 'granted', 'I admit', 'as far as I'm concerned', or 'for all I care'.

 

            Sit illud verum Suppose that's true ...

           

            Credas licet You may believe it as far as I'm concerned

 

Amet sane, modo ne molestus sit Let him fall in love, of course, only don't let him be a nuisance

 

Exercise

 

You can now read the Lord's Prayer in Latin:

 

Pater noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum; veniat regnum tuum; fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo, et in terra. Panem nostrum cotidianum da nobis hodie, et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo.

 

Notes  

 

qui who

fiat from fio which means 'become', 'be made', or 'be done'. It is used as a passive of facio do/make, which has no passive in use. It follows the pattern of the fourth conjugation, but lacks some of the expected forms (e.g. no 1st person plural).

et in terra also on earth: this usage of et belongs to later Latin; Classical Latin would say etiam.

And here is a well-known Christmas carol in its original Latin version. Notice the subjunctives: adoremus and cantet.

 

Adeste fideles

Laeti, triumphantes;

Venite, venite in Bethlehem.

Natum videte

Regem angelorum.

Venite adoremus x 3

Dominum.

 

Deum de deo,

Lumen de lumine,

Parturit mater virgo.

Deum verum,

Genitum, non factum.

Venite adoremus x 3

Dominum.

 

Cantet nunc hymnos

Chorus angelorum;

Cantet nunc aula caelestium.

Gloria

In excelsis Deo.

Venite adoremus x 3

Dominum.

 

Notes

 

adeste plural imperative of adsum

natum acc. of natus born

genitum acc. of genitus begotten

factum acc. of factus made, created

           

 

 

END OF UNIT 14