Lesson 3 Subjuctive mood Flashcards
Personal endings for Latin verbs, active voice
Personal endings for Latin verbs, active voice
Singular Plural
1 -ō / -m -mus
2 -s -tis
3 -t -nt
Imperative of pōnō
pōnō, pōnere, posuī, positum: put, place
Singular Plural
1 *** ***
2 pōne = put! pōnite = put!
3 *** ***
Present active indicative conjugation of pōnō
pōnō, pōnere, posuī, positum: put, place
Singular Plural
1 pōnō pōnimus
2 pōnis pōnitis
3 pōnit pōnunt
Present active subjunctive conjugation of pōnō
pōnō, pōnere, posuī, positum: put, place
Singular Plural
1 pōnam pōnāmus
2 pōnās pōnātis
3 pōnat pōnant
Let Caesar put his legions in Gaul!
pōnat,
Let Pompey and Crassus put Cicero to work for the triumvirate!
pōnant
Let us put that knife in Caesar!
pōnāmus.
The indicative mood of the verb spells out facts. The word indicative
derives from index, which in Latin meant “informer.” Think of using
your index finger to point out a fact: “Which of your neighbors
moved his boundary stone onto your property?” “He did.”
The imperative mood is bossy; it’s used to give direct orders: “Put
the dinner on the table now, Julius!”
The subjunctive mood is more subtle and has many uses. As we said, it can be used to exhort. It can also be used with ut to express purpose or result:
o so that he may put: ut pōnat
o with the result that he may put: ut pōnat
The subjunctive mood can be used with nē to express negative
purpose or with ut nōn to express negative result:
o so that he may not put: nē pōnat
o with the result that he may not put: ut nōn pōnat
Other uses of the subjunctive include expressing doubt about
something someone else has said, when reporting an opinion,
when reporting an indirect question, when expressing a general
characteristic, and more
Present active subjunctive conjugation of vīvō
vīvō, vīvere, vīxī, vīctum: live
Singular Plural
1 vīvam vīvāmus
2 vīvās vīvātis
3 vīvat vīvant
Present active indicative conjugation of vīvō
vīvō, vīvere, vīxī, vīctum: live
Singular Plural
1 vīvō vīvimus
2 vīvis vīvitis
3 vīvit vīvunt
Present active subjunctive conjugation of bibō
bibō, bibere, bibī: drink
Singular Plural
1 bibam bibāmus
2 bibās bibātis
3 bibat bibant
Depending on the circumstances, “you should drink,” “you may drink,” “so that you may drink,” and “you drink” may be represented by bibās. How can this be? In Latin, the subjunctive represents the attitude of the speaker to the action. We represent attitude in English differently, hence,
the lack of one-to-one correspondence.
Present subjunctive conjugation of fīō
fīō, fierī, factus sum: be made, become, happen
Singular Plural
1 fīam fīāmus
2 fīās fīātis
3 fīat fīant
Present active indicative conjugation of dēsinō
dēsinō, dēsinere, dēsiī: cease, desist, stop
Singular Plural
1 dēsinō dēsinimus
2 dēsinis dēsinitis
3 dēsinit dēsinunt
Present active subjunctive conjugation of dēsinō
dēsinō, dēsinere, dēsiī: cease, desist, stop
Singular Plural
1 dēsinam dēsināmus
2 dēsinās dēsinātis
3 dēsinat dēsinant
Linguam Latīnam discō
I learn the Latin language
Linguam Latīnam discimus
We learn the Latin language
Linguam Latīnam discāmus.
Let us learn the Latin language.
Bibāmus, ut vīvāmus!
Let us drink, so that we may live!
Vīvimus, ut bibāmus.
We live, so that we may drink
Lesbia bibit, nē Catullus dēsinat ineptīre.
Lesbia drinks, lest Catullus
cease to be a fool. (Lesbia drinks so that Catullus will not cease to be
a fool.)
Bibite, Catulle et Lesbia, ut vīvātis!
Drink, Catullus and Lesbia, so that
you may live!
Bibite.
Y’all drink!
Dēsinātis ineptīre, nē Lesbia bibat.
Y’all should cease to be foolish, lest
Lesbia drink.
Linguam Latīnam discunt, ut in Rōmā antīquā vīvant
They learn the
Latin language so that they may live in ancient Rome.
bibimus
we drink
bibāmus
let us drink (we may drink/we should drink)
discunt
they are learning
discant
let them learn (they may learn/they should learn)
dēsinitis
you’all cease
dēsinātis
you’all may cease (you should cease)
The women learn.
Mulierēs discunt
The women may learn
Discant mulierēs
Let us learn the Latin language.
Linguam Latīnam discāmus
Stop! (addressing one person)
Dēsine!
Stop! (addressing more than one person)
Dēsinite!
The soldiers are eating so that they may live.
Edunt mīlitēs ut vīvant
Let the soldier eat and drink.
Edat bibatque mīles
Let us drink so that we may live.
Bibāmus ut vīvāmus
Caesar is conquering.
Vincit Caesar.
Caesar may conquer.
Caesar vincat
Let there be light! (Let light come into existence!)
Fīat lūx!
Greetings, (male and female) students!
Salvēte, discipulī discipulaeque!
As indicated in the key for exercise V, the present-tense subjunctive may be translated “let verb,” “may verb,” or “should verb.” (In actual Latin sentences, context often determines or suggests the best alternative.)
As indicated in the key for exercise VI, word order in Latin is variable. For example, verbs may come at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence, and a noun subject may be found anywhere in the sentence—not necessarily at the beginning. As you check your sentence translations against the answer key, focus less on word order and more on noun, adjective, and verb forms and endings.
