Questions tagged [conjunctive]

For questions about the mood known as conjunctive or subjunctive.

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What conjunctive function does "ruat caelum" have in "Fiat justitia, ruat caelum"?

"Fiat justitia, ruat caelum" is often rendered as "May justice be done though heaven falls/may fall". While I have no problem with the translation of "Fiat justitia", I ...
Moguntius's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
190 views

What are the meaning and usage of quodsi?

quodsi is a conj. meaning "but if", with "adversary force". Does it lead a conditional clause or a concession one? What does "but if" mean actually? Thanks.
Tim's user avatar
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'diceres vocem eius audiri posse' in 'Fabulae Syrae' in the story of Arachne (pag. 83), what is the correct translation of diceres?

In 'Fabulae Syrae' capitulum xxxii, in the second story 'Arachne' (pag. 83) while depicting the tapestry that Arachne wove, including the scene of Europa being carried off by Juppiter, this line ...
Moshicus's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
251 views

How would one express this type of conditional in Latin?

Out of optimism, stupidity or both I am attempting to translate Alice in Wonderland into Latin. I just came across this bit: “Well!” thought Alice to herself, “after such a fall as this, I shall ...
mike rodent's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
206 views

How to say a prayer in latin grammaticaly?

Magic, for practical all of history, was the invocation of a spirit. This is true of religion. In the old testament, there are implications that other divine beings exist (e.x. "you shall have no ...
Vtex's user avatar
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4 votes
0 answers
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how 'nunc' is used as a correlative?

I came across this sentence in Jerome's letter to Innocentius: "Nunc mihi ēuānēscentibus terrīs ‘caelum undique et undique pontus’ nunc unda tenebrīs horrēscēns et caecā nocte nimbōrum spūmeī ...
VivatLinguaLatina's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
62 views

Under what circumstances is the interrogative subjunctive used?

I know that sometimes I see the subjunctive used when the person is asking a question of fact. However, it isn't clear why they would use the subjunctive mood versus the indicative. For example, there ...
Tyler Durden's user avatar
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272 views

'fuam' and 'forem' not available in first and second person plural?

I found alternative forms of present and imperfect conjunctive forms of 'esse' on the german-latin dictionary website https://latin.cactus2000.de/showverb.php?verb=esse&form=esse : I realized ...
Cyb3rKo's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
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Subjunctive αἰδέσεται rather than αἰδέσηται?

Homer several times uses the subjunctive αἰδέσεται. I would have expected this to be αἰδέσηται, and wiktionary agrees with me. I guess the lack of an augmented initial vowel is a hint that this is a ...
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9 votes
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214 views

Dominus vobiscum / omitted `esse' in subjunctive mood (sit)?

In Catholic liturgy, there is this ubiquitous expression used to join or precede important prayers where the priest salutes the assembly by wishing (or so I think) that the Lord be with them: Dominus ...
Rafael's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
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Cum clause with an indicative verb

Good day. I have been using the book Latin to GCSE 2 to study cum clauses recently. The chapter that I have been reading really drives home the point that they are used with the appropriate tense of a ...
WhatKnaveryIsThis's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
111 views

Does "Ob Eam Causam" introduce an indirect question

I apologize if there's an obvious answer here I'm missing, but I can't figure out why this line from De Bello Gallico 5.33 is subjunctive: "At Cotta, qui cogitasset haec posse in itinere accidere ...
Joan's user avatar
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9 votes
2 answers
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Why subjunctive mood in this sentence from a Vatican document?

In this recent question we looked at the following sentence from the apostolic constitution Provida Mater Ecclesia: § 2. Instituta, salvis communibus iuris canonici normis quae ipsa respiciant, ...
Sebastian Koppehel's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
121 views

iuvare ut + subjunctive

In English, I might ask you to "help me [to] do" some task. Would the most (classically) idiomatic Latin equivalent be an ut clause (e.g., "iuva ut faciam ...")? My only reason for ...
SoupyTwist's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
128 views

Why subjunctive in "Cumque transissent septem dies..."

I'm working my way through the Vulgate and in Genesis 7:10, the text is: cumque transissent septem dies aquae diluvii inundaverunt super terram transissent here is third-person plural pluperfect ...
D. A. Hosek's user avatar
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1 answer
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Servus dominum orabat ne se verbera–

Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata, cap. XXVIII, pensum A (p. 230) begins by asking the reader to fill in the blank in this sentence, with the appropriate conjunctive imperfect conjugation: Servus ...
Ben Kovitz's user avatar
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8 votes
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Does the indefinite pronoun/determiner "quă" only exist as an enclitic?

I recently learned that there is an indefinite determiner and pronoun quă used in the feminine nominative singular and neuter nominative/accusative plural with the sense "any(one)" (...
Asteroides's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
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Why would the subjunctive be used when the indicative seems to be required?

In the following passage from Fabulae Faciles: Amāzonēs impetum virōrum fortissimē sustinuērunt, et contrā opīniōnem omnium tantam virtūtem praestitērunt ut multōs eōrum occīderint, multōs etiam in ...
Tyler Durden's user avatar
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7 votes
2 answers
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Subjunctive with adverb “quam”

Passage: “Quam autem civitati carus fuerit, maerore funeris indicatum est.” Cic. Amic. 11 My translation in English: «Moreover, how dear he was to the citizenry was indicated by the grief of his ...
Felix Nescienti's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
126 views

A Completed Action in the Mind OR Indirect Speech?

There are currently two theories (of which I am aware) to explain the use of the perfect subjunctive, in examples from the Latin Vulgate, included in brianpck's answer to Q: Memento quod <...
tony's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
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(Informal) Indirect Speech

In Q: Memento quod <subjunctive> brianpck cited five examples from the Latin Vulgate (Fourth Century). Taking one of these: "memento quod et ipse servieris in Aegypto et eduxerit te inde ...
tony's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
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Why the Perfect Subjunctive?

In this question, R.B. Jawad asked for a translation of two sentences. The second of these: "canuntur quando reversi fuerint et appropinquant regias ecclesie (sic)." was translated by brianpck: ...
tony's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
111 views

Livy Book 1 27.1 type of subjunctive, sequence of tenses

Invidia vulgi, quod tribus militibus fortuna publica commissa fuerit, vanum ingenium dictatoris corrupit. What kind of subjunctive is fuerit and why. What tense is corrupit — perfect with or ...
Martin O'Reilly's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
356 views

What is the difference between Future Perfect Indicative and Perfect Subjunctive

In Reginaldus Foster's text book Ossa Latinitatis Sola, he states that, apart from the First Person Singular, the forms for Future Perfect Indicative and Perfect Subjunctive are the same. And, indeed, ...
Figulus's user avatar
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9 votes
1 answer
640 views

Subjunctive mood in Latin

Should I say "Velisne/Velitisne panem?" To mean "Do you want/would you like some bread? Or would I use Visne/Vultisne? So, would I use subjunctive to ask or the indicative mood?
Quidam's user avatar
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Why was the subjunctive mood 'so called because the Greek subjunctive mood is used almost exclusively in subordinate clauses'?

Concerning the adjective "subjunctive", OED (3rd ed., 2012) mentions (emphasis mine): Post-classical Latin subiunctivus is a translation equivalent of Hellenistic Greek ὑποτακτικός , which as a ...
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11 votes
1 answer
1k views

Use of "sit" instead of "est" in Virgil

I came across the quotation "Nunc scio quid sit amor" (Virgil, Ecl. VIII.43), and I’d like to know why the subjunctive "sit" is used instead of "est" here. Since it means "Now I know what love is" and ...
R Emmett Chumbley's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
252 views

Subjunctive mood in comparison

In Spinoza's Ethics we see: nihil in natura clarius quam quod unumquodque ens sub aliquo attributo debeat concipi I know meaning of the sentence. My question is about debeat. Why is this verb ...
Ali Nikzad's user avatar
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8 votes
1 answer
156 views

weird pluperfect subjunctive in Eutropius

In Rōma Æterna, p. 239, in a passage from Eutropius, book 28, comes the paragraph: P. Scīpiō in Hispāniā cum Poenīs dēbellāvit quārtō decimō annō eius bellī; et ā Tarracōne in Āfricam ad Syphācem, ...
Joel Derfner's user avatar
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2 votes
4 answers
159 views

Ethics of Spinoza - Translation of "sit" and "satis"

Spinoza's ethics, On the God, Proposition 8, Scholium 2: ut satis attendenti sit manifestum 4 translations of this sentence: White: as is evident to any one who pays a little attention Shirley: ...
Ali Nikzad's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
535 views

Deploying "Ut"/ "Quod"/ "Quin" plus Subjunctive

The use of ut + subjunctive in final/ purpose clauses is well-known/ well-established. But "quod" & "quin" seem to be deployed in near-identical circumstances e.g. in Ex 197 (North & Hillard): ...
tony's user avatar
  • 8,225
3 votes
2 answers
129 views

Sequence of Tenses: Translating the subjunctive

This is probably a pretty basic question, but I am new to Latin and am having trouble understanding the subjunctive. The sentence "Pūgnāverō ut nautam superem" is translated to "I shall have fought ...
Kevin Miller's user avatar
8 votes
2 answers
392 views

Present Subjunctive Passive

North & Hillard Ex. 213; Q5: the following is to be translated into Latin: "I am willing to send anyone at all to find out what is going on." The answer: "volo quemvis (quemlibet) mittere ...
tony's user avatar
  • 8,225
5 votes
1 answer
174 views

Accusative in genitive relative clause with verb finiebat

I am working on Satyricon, currently chapter 30, and have stumbled upon a passage with a grammar that baffles me: Et quod praecipuē mīrātus sum, in postibus triclīniī fascēs erant cum secūribus ...
Canned Man's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
477 views

Expressing English modalities of advice in Latin

English has expresses advice in the present and past through the use of the following modal constructions: present: You should [...] present negated: You shouldn't [...] past: You should have [...] ...
Ethan Bierlein's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
73 views

Wondering how to translate imperfect subjunctives (in a conditional sentence)

I have to translate this sentence for homework: si verba patris a liberis non audita essent, timerent. I believe the verb form in both the protasis and apodosis is imperfect subjunctive. I am ...
TheIronKnuckle's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
190 views

Help finding the use of the subjunctive

In the sentence, "centurio nos rogavit ut captivos custodiremus," what is the use of the subjunctive. It's not a cum clause, indirect question, or result clause. That leaves purpose and indirect ...
BlackCoffee's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
269 views

What is the difference between conjunctive present and perfect with ne?

I have seen both present and perfect forms of the conjunctive for negative orders or requests, for example ne canas and ne cecineris. What is the difference? Is one more an order and the other more a ...
Joonas Ilmavirta's user avatar
11 votes
1 answer
265 views

Why doesn't Caesar use the subjunctive consistently?

In the Commentaries, Caesar writes: Horum omnium fortissimi sunt Belgae, propterea quod a cultu atque humanitate provinciae longissime absunt, minimeque ad eos mercatores saepe commeant atque ea ...
Tyler Durden's user avatar
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8 votes
1 answer
87 views

Use of subjunctinve in a North & Hillard translation exercise

North & Hillard Ex. 228 includes: Next day Caesar had again an army which, though diminished, was prepared to face all dangers manfully. A footnote states: "Of the concessive conjunctions ...
tony's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
260 views

Reflexive Pronouns & Indirect Statements

The answer key to North & Hillard, Ex. 235 proposes the following Latin translation of:"...until the king, frightened by the ambassador's boldness, promised to do what the Senate decreed." ......
tony's user avatar
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13 votes
1 answer
4k views

When to use cum + subjunctive and when cum + indicative

So I have never, ever, ever been able to grasp fully any explanation in any textbook of when to use "cum" with the subjunctive and when to use it with the indicative, because the examples they give ...
Joel Derfner's user avatar
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7 votes
1 answer
993 views

how to tell when to use cum temporal and when cum circumstantial

So I have never, ever, ever been able to grasp fully any explanation in any textbook of the difference between cum temporal and cum circumstantial, because the examples they give always seem to ...
Joel Derfner's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
139 views

Oratio obliqua and case agreement between accusative subject and subject in subordinate subjunctive

Given an accusative subject of oratio obliqua, if that subject is or words declined with it it are repeated in a subordinate subjunctive, are they accusative or nominative in the subjunctive? Exemplī ...
Joel Derfner's user avatar
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9 votes
1 answer
191 views

Which adverbs of possibility and probability warrant the subjunctive?

On my previous question (thus begins the chain) I wrote a comment saying "Illa est bona idea. Fortasse rogem cras." I used the subjunctive because I take "fortasse" to mean "maybe", which to me ...
ktm5124's user avatar
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6 votes
2 answers
359 views

subjunctive after "Hoc est, quod"

I'm reading Ficīnus's Latin translation of Plato's Apology and came across the following passage, two things in which baffle me. (They're unrelated, so I'm making them two separate questions.) ...
Joel Derfner's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
125 views

Passive Subjunctive Translated as Active

Moreland has this line: Cognoscebamus quo tempore dux mortem illis patriam neglegentibus minatus esset This is an indirect question, hence the sequence of tenses: main verb takes Imperfect; ...
Walser's user avatar
  • 241
7 votes
0 answers
109 views

Imperative vs Hortatory Subjunctive [duplicate]

According to this, Subjunctive can be used to express "an exhortation or a command". When should Hortatory Subjunctive be used and when Imperative is favoured? What is the difference in meaning?
user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
2k views

The use of subjunctive in the future

I came across the usage of subjunctive the other day. I read that if the main verb is in the present, future or perfect with have, the subjunctive is in the present whereas if the main verb is in the ...
Himal's user avatar
  • 63
9 votes
1 answer
361 views

Using subjunctive in relative clause linked to indirect command

I'm enquiring about the translation of this sentence: I ordered the soldier, who was walking in the garden, to collect flowers. Using 'imperare' as the verb to order, my question is whether '...
Cataline's user avatar
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