Subjunctive mood


The subjunctive is a grammatical mood—a feature of an utterance that indicates the speaker's attitude toward it. Subjunctive forms of verbs are typically used to express various states of unreality, such as wish, emotion, possibility, judgment, opinion, obligation, or action that has not yet occurred. The precise situations in which they are used vary from language to language. The subjunctive is one of the irrealis moods, which refer to what is not necessarily real. It is often contrasted with the indicative, a realis mood which principally indicates that something is a statement of fact.
In Modern English, subjunctive forms usually employ the bare form of the verb in the present subjunctive, or the use of were instead of was in past subjunctive constructions.
Subjunctives occur most often, although not exclusively, in subordinate clauses—particularly that-clauses. Examples of the subjunctive in English are found in the sentences "I suggest that you be careful" and "It is important that she stay by your side."

Indo-European languages

Proto-Indo-European

had two closely related moods: the subjunctive and the optative. Many of its daughter languages combined or merged these moods.
In Indo-European, the subjunctive was formed by using the full ablaut grade of the verb's root and appending the thematic vowel *-e- or *-o- to the root stem, with the full, primary set of personal inflections. The subjunctive was the Indo-European irrealis, used for hypothetical or counterfactual situations.
The optative mood was used to express wishes or hopes, and was formed with a suffix *-ieh1 or *-ih1. The optative used the clitic set of secondary personal inflections.
Among the Indo-European languages, only Albanian, Avestan, Ancient Greek, and Sanskrit kept the subjunctive and the optative fully separate and parallel. However, in Sanskrit, use of the subjunctive is found only in the Vedic language of the earliest times, and the optative and imperative were comparatively less common. In the later language, the subjunctive fell out of use. The optative or imperative were used instead, or subjunctive was merged with optative as in Latin. However, the first-person forms of the subjunctive continue to be used as they are transferred to the imperative, which formerly, like Greek, had no first person forms.

Germanic languages

In the Germanic languages, subjunctives are also usually formed from old optatives, with the present subjunctive marked with *-ai- and the past with *-ī-. In German, these forms have been reduced to a schwa, spelled -e. The past tense, however, often displays i-umlaut. In Old Norse, both suffixes evolved into -i-, but i-umlaut occurs only in the past subjunctive.

English

In Modern English, the subjunctive is realised as a finite but tenseless clause where the main verb occurs in the bare form. Since the bare form is also used in a variety of other constructions, the English subjunctive is reflected by a clause type rather than a distinct inflection.

German

German has:
  • Konjunktiv Präsens, which is a Konjunktiv I, e.g. "er gehe"
  • Konjunktiv Imperfekt, which is a Konjunktiv II, e.g. "er ginge"
  • Konjunktiv Perfekt, which is a Konjunktiv I too, e.g. "er sei gegangen"
  • Konjunktiv Plusquamperfekt, which is a Konjunktiv II too, e.g. "er wäre gegangen"
If the Konjunktiv II of the Futur I and of the Futur II are called "conditional", the numbers can be dropped.
=The present subjunctive occurs in certain expressions and in indirect speech. Its use can frequently be replaced by the indicative mood. For example, Er sagte, er sei Arzt is a neutral representation of what was said and makes no claim as to whether the speaker thinks the reported statement is true or not.
The past subjunctive can often be used to express the same sentiments: Er sagte, er wäre Arzt. Or, for example, instead of the formal, written Er sagte, er habe keine Zeit 'He said he had no time' with present subjunctive habe, one can use past subjunctive hätte: Er sagte, er hätte keine Zeit.
However, in speech, the past subjunctive is common without any implication of doubt by the speaker. Use of the indicative Er sagte, er ist Arzt and Er sagte, er hat keine Zeit is also common. This is often changed in written reports to the forms using present subjunctive.
The present subjunctive is regular for all verbs except the verb sein. It is formed by adding -e, -est, -e, -en, -et, -en to the stem of the infinitive. The verb sein has the stem sei- for the present subjunctive declension, but it has no ending for the first and third person singular. While the use of present subjunctive for reported speech is formal and common in newspaper articles, its use in colloquial speech is in decline.
It is possible to express the subjunctive in various tenses, including the perfect and the future. For the preterite, which forms the Konjunktiv II with a somewhat different meaning, indirect speech must switch to the perfect tense, so that: Er sagte: "Ich war da." becomes Er sagte, er sei da gewesen.
=The KII, or past subjunctive, is used to form the conditional. On occasion, it is also used as a replacement for the present subjunctive when the indicative and subjunctive moods of a verb are indistinguishable.
Every German verb has a past subjunctive conjugation, but in spoken German, the conditional is most commonly formed using würde with an infinitive. Würde is the KII form of werden, which is related to the English will or would rather than the literal to become. For example: An deiner Stelle würde ich ihm nicht helfen 'I would not help him if I were you'. In the example, the Konjunktiv II form of helfen is very unusual. However, using würde instead of hätte and wäre can be perceived anywhere from awkward to incorrect. There is a tendency to use the forms in würde rather in main clauses as in English; in subclauses, even regular forms can still be heard.
Some verbs exist where either construction can be used, such as with finden and tun. Many dictionaries consider the past subjunctive declension of such verbs the only proper expression in formal written German.
The past subjunctive is declined from the stem of the preterite declension of the verb with the appropriate present subjunctive declension ending as appropriate. In most cases, an Germanic umlaut is appended to the stem vowel if possible, for example: ich war → ich wäre, ich brachte → ich brächte.

Dutch

has the same subjunctive tenses as German, though they are rare in contemporary speech. The same two tenses as in German are sometimes considered subjunctive mood and sometimes conditional mood. In practice, potentially subjunctive uses of verbs are difficult to differentiate from indicative uses. This is partly because the subjunctive mood has fallen together with the indicative mood:
  • The plural of the subjunctive is always identical to the plural of the indicative. There are a few exceptions where the usage is clearly subjunctive, such as Mogen zij in vrede rusten compared to the singular Moge hij/zij in vrede rusten.
  • In the present tense, the singular form of the subjunctive differs from the indicative by the addition of -e. For example, the subjunctive God zegene je, mijn kind differs from the indicative God zegent je, mijn kind
  • In the past tense, the singular subjunctive form of weak verbs is identical to the indicative. Only for strong verbs, the preterite-present verbs, and some irregular weak verbs does the past subjunctive differ from the past indicative, and only in the singular form. For example, the subjunctive hadde, ware and mochte differ from the indicative "had", "was" and mocht.
Archaic and traditional phrases still contain the subjunctive mood:
  • Men neme...
  • Uw naam worde geheiligd
  • Geheiligd zij Uw naam
  • Zo waarlijk helpe mij God almachtig
  • Godverdomme
  • God zij dank
  • Dankzij...
  • Leve de koning

    Luxembourgish

has the same subjunctive tenses as German. For the periphrasis however, géif is used instead of würde or täte.

Swedish

Latin and the Romance languages

Latin

The Latin subjunctive has many uses, contingent upon the nature of a clause within a sentence:
Within independent clauses:
Within dependent clauses:
Historically, the Latin subjunctive originates from the ancestral optative inflections, while some of the original subjunctive forms went on to compose the Latin future tense, especially in the Latin third conjugation. The influence of *-i- from the old optative forms may be found in the typically high vowel of Latin subjunctives, even when the indicative mood has a lower vowel. For example, Latin rogamus 'we ask', in the indicative mood, corresponds to the subjunctive rogemus, 'let us ask', where e is a higher vowel than a.
Conjugation1st2nd3rd3rdIO4th
1st singularrogemhabeamcurramexcipiamveniam
2nd singularrogeshabeascurrasexcipiasvenias
3rd singularrogethabeatcurratexcipiatveniat
1st pluralrogemushabeamuscurramusexcipiamusveniamus
2nd pluralrogetishabeatiscurratisexcipiatisveniatis
3rd pluralrogenthabeantcurrantexcipiantveniant

The subjunctive mood retains a highly distinct form for nearly all verbs in Portuguese, Spanish and Italian, and for a number of verbs in French. All of these languages inherit their subjunctive from Latin, where the subjunctive mood combines both forms and usages from a number of original Indo-European inflection sets, including the original subjunctive and the optative mood.
In many cases, the Romance languages use the subjunctive in the same ways that English does, though there are exceptions. For example, English generally uses the auxiliary may or let to form desiderative expressions, such as "Let it snow". The Romance languages use the subjunctive for these; French, for example, says, Qu'il neige and Qu'ils vivent jusqu'à leur vieillesse. However, in the case of the first-person plural, these languages have imperative forms: 'Let us go' in French is Allons-y. In addition, the Romance languages tend to use the subjunctive in various kinds of subordinate clauses, such as those introduced by words meaning although, e.g. English: "Although I am old, I feel young"; French: Bien que je sois vieux, je me sens jeune.
In Spanish, phrases with words like lo que, quien, or donde and subjunctive verb forms are often translated to English with some variation of "whatever" or sometimes an indefinite pronoun. Spanish lo que sea, more literally translated as "the thing which is", is interpreted in English as "whatever" or "anything". Similarly, Spanish donde sea is English "wherever" and Spanish quien sea is English "whoever". For example, Spanish lo que quieras, literally "that which you want", is translated as English "whatever you may want"; Spanish cueste lo que cueste is translated to English as "whatever it may cost"; and Spanish donde vayas, voy is translated to English as "wherever you go, I go". The acronym W.E.I.R.D.O. is commonly used by English-speaking students of Spanish to learn the subjunctive. It usually stands for Wish Emotion Impersonal Expressions Recommendations Doubt Ojalá. With the exception of negative commands, the subjunctive is always activated in the second clause when a situation of "W.E.I.R.D.O" is present.

French

Present and past subjunctives
The subjunctive is used mostly with verbs or adverbs expressing desire, doubt or eventuality; it may also express an order. It is almost always preceded by the conjunction .
Use of the subjunctive is in many respects similar to English:
  • Jussive : Il faut qu'il comprenne cela
  • Desiderative: Vive la république!
Sometimes it is not:
  • Desiderative: Que la lumière soit!
  • In certain subordinate clauses:
  • * Bien que ce soit mon anniversaire:
French uses a past subjunctive, equivalent in tense to the passé composé in the indicative mood, called passé du subjonctif. It is the only other subjunctive tense used in modern-day conversational French. It is formed with the auxiliary être or avoir and the past participle of the verb. Unlike other Romance languages, such as Spanish, it is not always necessary that the preceding clause be in the past to trigger the passé du subjonctif in the subordinate clause:
Imperfect and pluperfect subjunctives
French also has an imperfect subjunctive, which in older, formal, or literary writing, replaces the present subjunctive in a subordinate clause when the main clause is in a past tense :
Similarly, pluperfect subjunctive replace past subjunctive in same context:

Italian

The Italian subjunctive is commonly used. However, especially in the spoken language, it is sometimes substituted by the indicative.
The subjunctive is used mainly in subordinate clauses following a set phrase or conjunction, such as benché, senza che, prima che, or perché. It is also used with verbs of doubt, possibility, and expressing an opinion or desire—for example, with credo che, è possibile che and ritengo che, and sometimes with superlatives and virtual superlatives.
  • English: I believe she is the best.
  • Italian: credo sia la migliore.
The Italian subjunctive is used after expressions like Penso che, where in French the indicative would be used. However, it is also possible to use the subjunctive after the expression Je ne pense pas que..., and in questions like Penses-tu que..., even though the indicative forms are also correct.
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is similar to, but still mostly distinguishable from, the present indicative. Subject pronouns are often used with the present subjunctive where they are normally omitted in the indicative; in the first, second, and third person singular forms they are the same, so the person is not implied by the verb. Irregular verbs tend to follow the first person singular form, such as the present subjunctive forms of andare, which goes to vada etc..
The present subjunctive is used in a range of situations when clauses take the subjunctive.
  • English: 'It is possible that they have to leave.'
  • Italian: È possibile che debbano partire.
  • English: 'My parents want me to play the piano.'
  • Italian: I miei genitori vogliono che io suoni il pianoforte.
The present subjunctive is used mostly in subordinate clauses, as in the examples above. However, exceptions include imperatives using the subjunctive, and general statements of desire.
  • English: 'Be careful!'
  • Italian: Stia attento!
  • English: Long live the republic!'
  • Italian: Viva la repubblica!
    Imperfect subjunctive
The Italian imperfect subjunctive is very similar in appearance to the French imperfect subjunctive, but is used much more in speech. Its forms are largely regular, apart from the verbs essere, dare and stare. Verbs with a contracted infinitive, such as dire revert to the longer form in the imperfect subjunctive.
The imperfect subjunctive is used in subordinate clauses taking the subjunctive where the sense of the verb requires the imperfect.
  • English: 'It seemed that Elsa was not coming.'
  • Italian: Sembrava che Elsa non venisse.
  • English: The teacher slowed down, so that we would understand everything.'
  • Italian: L’insegnante rallentava, affinché capissimo tutto.
The imperfect subjunctive is used in if clauses, where the main clause is in the conditional tense, as in English and German.
  • English: 'If I had a lot of money, I would buy many cars.'
  • Italian: Se avessi molti soldi, comprerei tante automobili.
  • English: 'You would know if we were lying.'
  • Italian: Sapresti se mentissimo.
    Perfect and pluperfect subjunctives
The perfect and pluperfect subjunctives are formed much like the indicative perfect and pluperfect, except the auxiliary verb takes the present and imperfect subjunctive respectively.
They are used in subordinate clauses which require the subjunctive, where the sense of the verb requires use of the perfect or pluperfect.
  • English: Although they had not killed the doctor, the police arrested the men.'
  • Italian: Benché non avessero ucciso il medico, la polizia arrestò gli uomini.
  • English: 'I would have done it, provided you had helped me.'
  • Italian: Lo avrei fatto, purché tu mi avessi assistito.

    Spanish

The subjunctive mood is a fundamental element of Spanish. The spoken language makes use of it to a much larger degree than other Latin languages and it is in no case homonymous to any other mood. It is common to find long, complex sentences almost entirely in the subjunctive.
The subjunctive is used in conjunction with impersonal expressions and expressions of emotion, opinion, desire or viewpoint. More importantly, it applies to most hypothetical situations, likely or unlikely, desired or not. Normally, only certitude of a fact will remove the possibility of its use. Unlike French, it is also used in phrases expressing the past conditional. The negative of the imperative shares the same form with the present subjunctive.
Common introductions to the subjunctive would include:
  • que... or de que... as in que sea lo que Dios quiera : 'Let it be what God wills'.
  • Si...: 'If...'
  • Donde: 'Where...'
  • Cuando: 'When...'
  • Aunque: 'Despite/although/even if...'
  • Ojalá... 'I hope...' e.g. Ojalá que llueva 'I hope it rains' or Ojalá que lloviera 'I wish it would rain'.
Nevertheless, the subjunctive can stand alone to supplant other tenses.
For example, "I would like" can be said in the conditional Querría or in the past subjunctive Quisiera, as in Quisiera que vinieras, i.e. "I would like you to come".
A second-language speaker's comfort with or avoidance of the subjunctive form can be an indicator of their level of proficiency in the language. Complex use of the subjunctive is a constant pattern in everyday speech among native speakers, but it is difficult to internallize, even for relatively proficient Spanish learners que vinieras.
An example of the Spanish subjunctive's subtlety may be found in the way tense modifies the expression "be it as it may" :
  • Sea lo que sea : 'No matter what/whatever.'
  • Sea lo que fuera : 'Whatever it were.'
  • Fuera lo que fuera :.
  • Sea lo que fuere. : 'Whatever it may be.'
  • Fuera lo que hubiera sido. : 'Whatever/no matter what it may have been.'
The same alterations could be made to the expression Sea como sea or 'no matter how' with similar changes in meaning.
Spanish has two past subjunctive forms. They are almost identical, except that where the first form has -ra-, the second form has -se-. Both forms are usually interchangeable, although the -se- form may be more common in Spain than in other Spanish-speaking areas. The -ra- forms may also be used as an alternative to the conditional in certain structures.
Present subjunctive
In Spanish, a present subjunctive form is always different from the corresponding present indicative form. For example, whereas English "that they speak" or French qu'ils parlent can be either indicative or subjunctive, Spanish que hablen is unambiguously subjunctive. The same is true for all verbs, regardless of their subject.
Present subjunctive is used when there are two clauses, separated by que. However, not all que clauses require the subjunctive mood. They must have at least one of the following criteria:
  • The verb of the main clause expresses emotion.
  • Impersonal expressions are used in the main clause.
  • The verb in the second clause is in the subjunctive.
For example:
  • Ojalá que me compren un regalo.
  • Te recomiendo que no corras con tijeras.
  • Dudo que el restaurante abra a las seis.
  • Lo discutiremos cuando venga.
  • Es importante que hagamos ejercicio.
  • Me alegro de que seas mi amiga.
Past subjunctive
Used interchangeably, the past subjunctive can end either in -se or -ra. Both forms stem from the third-person plural of the preterite. For example, the verb estar, when conjugated in the third-person plural of the preterite, becomes estuvieron. Then, drop the -ron ending, and add either -se or -ra. Thus, it becomes estuviese or estuviera. The past subjunctive may be used with "if... then" statements with the conditional mood. For example, Si yo fuera/fuese el maestro, no mandaría demasiados deberes.
Future subjunctive
In Spanish, the future subjunctive tense is now rare but still used in certain dialects of Spanish and in formal speech. It is usually reserved for literature, archaic phrases and expressions, and legal documents. The form is similar to the -ra form of the imperfect subjunctive, but with a -re ending instead of -ra, -res instead of -ras and so on. For example, Si así yo no lo hiciere, que Dios y la patria me lo demanden.
Phrases expressing the subjunctive in a future period normally employ the present subjunctive. For example: 'I hope that it will rain tomorrow' would simply be Espero que llueva mañana.
Pluperfect subjunctive
In Spanish, the pluperfect subjunctive tense is used to describe a continuing wish in the past. For example, Desearía que hubieras ido al cine conmigo el viernes pasado.. To form this tense, first the subjunctive form of haber is conjugated. Then the participle of the main verb is conjugated.
  • Me gustaría que 'hubieras ido'/'hubieses ido', pero él suspendió su examen de matemáticas.
The -se form of the imperfect subjunctive derives from the pluperfect subjunctive of Vulgar Latin, and the -ra from the pluperfect indicative, which combine to overtake the previous pluperfect subjunctive ending. The -re form is more complicated, originating in a fusion of the perfect subjunctive and future perfect indicative before losing the perfect in the shift to future subjunctive. So the -ra and -se forms always had a past meaning, but only the -se form always belonged with the subjunctive mood that the -re form had since its emergence.

Portuguese

In Portuguese, as in Spanish, the subjunctive is complex, being generally used to talk about situations which are seen as doubtful, imaginary, hypothetical, demanded, or required. It can also express emotion, opinion, disagreement, denial, or a wish. Its value is similar to that of the subjunctive in formal English:
Present subjunctive
  • Command: Faça-se luz! 'Let there be light!'
  • Wish: Viva o rei! 'Long live the king!'
  • Necessity: É importante que ele compreenda isso. 'It is important that he understand that.'
  • In certain, subordinate clauses:
  • * Ainda que seja o meu aniversário... 'Even though it be my birthday...'
  • * Antes que eu vá... 'Before I go...'
Imperfect subjunctive
As in Spanish, the imperfect subjunctive is in vernacular use. It is employed, among other uses, to make the tense of a subordinate clause agree with the tense of the main clause:
  • English: It is necessary that he speak . → It was necessary that he speak .
  • Portuguese: É necessário que ele fale . → Era necessário que ele falasse .
The imperfect subjunctive is also used when the main clause is in the conditional:
  • English: It would be necessary that he speak .
  • Portuguese: Seria necessário que ele falasse .
There are authors who regard the conditional of Portuguese as a "future in the past" of the indicative mood, rather than as a separate mood; they call it futuro do pretérito, especially in Brazil.
Future subjunctive
Portuguese differs from other Ibero-Romance languages in having retained the medieval future subjunctive, which is rarely used in Spanish and has been lost in other West Iberic languages. It expresses a condition that must be fulfilled in the future, or is assumed to be fulfilled, before an event can happen. Spanish and English will use the present tense in this type of clause.
For example, in conditional sentences whose main clause is in the conditional, Portuguese, Spanish and English employ the past tense in the subordinate clause. However, if the main clause is in the future, Portuguese will employ the future subjunctive where English and Spanish use the present indicative..
  • English: If I were king, I would end hunger.
  • * Spanish: Si fuera rey, acabaría con el hambre.
  • * Portuguese: Se fosse rei, acabaria com a fome.
  • English: If I am elected president, I will change the law.
  • * Spanish: Si soy elegido presidente, cambiaré la ley.
  • * Portuguese: Se for eleito presidente, mudarei a lei.
The first situation is counterfactual; the listener knows that the speaker is not a king. However, the second statement expresses a promise about the future; the speaker may yet be elected president.
For a different example, a father speaking to his son might say:
  • English: When you are older, you will understand .
  • Spanish: Cuando seas mayor, comprenderás .
  • French: Quand tu seras grand, tu comprendras .
  • Italian: Quando sarai grande, comprenderai .
  • Portuguese: Quando fores mais velho, compreenderás .
The future subjunctive is identical in form to the personal infinitive in regular verbs, but they differ in some irregular verbs of frequent use. However, the possible differences between the two tenses are due only to stem changes. They always have the same endings.
The meaning of sentences can change by switching subjunctive and indicative:
  • Ele pensou que eu fosse alto
  • Ele pensou que eu era alto
  • Se formos lá
  • Se vamos lá
Below, there is a table demonstrating subjunctive and conditional conjugation for regular verbs of the first paradigm, exemplified by falar .
Grammatical personPast subjunctivePresent subjunctiveFuture subjunctiveConditional
Eufalassefalefalarfalaria
Tufalassesfalesfalaresfalarias
Ele/Elafalassefalefalarfalaria
Nósfalássemosfalemosfalarmosfalaríamos
Vósfalásseisfaleisfalardesfalaríeis
Eles/Elasfalassemfalemfalaremfalariam

Compound subjunctives
Compound verbs in subjunctive are necessary in more complex sentences, such as subordinate clauses with embedded perfective tenses e.g., perfective state in the future. To form compound subjunctives, auxiliar verbs must conjugate to the respective subjunctive tense, while the main verbs must take their participles.
  • Queria que houvesses sido eleito presidente.
  • É importante que hajas compreendido isso.
  • Quando houver sido eleito presidente, mudarei a lei.
  • A cidade haver-se-ia afundado se não fosse por seus alicerces.
Grammatical personPast subjunctivePresent subjunctiveFuture subjunctiveConditional
Euhouvesse/tivesse faladohaja/tenha faladohouver/tiver faladohaveria/teria falado
Tuhouvesses/tivesses faladohajas/tenhas faladohouveres/tiveres faladohaverias/terias falado
Ele/Elahouvesse/tivesse faladohaja/tenha faladohouver/tiver faladohaveria/teria falado
Nóshouvéssemos/tivéssemos faladohajamos/tenhamos faladohouvermos/tivermos faladohaveríamos/teríamos falado
Vóshouvésseis/tivésseis faladohajais/tenhais faladohouverdes/tiverdes faladohaveríeis/teríeis falado
Eles/Elashouvessem/tivessem faladohajam/tenham faladohouverem/tivermos faladohaveriam/teriam falado

Romanian

Romanian is part of the Balkan Sprachbund and, as such, uses the subjunctive more extensively than other Romance languages. The subjunctive forms always include the conjunction să, which plays the role of a morphological structural element within these verbal forms. The subjunctive has two tenses: the past tense and the present tense. It is usually used in subordinate clauses.
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is usually built in the 1st and 2nd person singular and plural by adding the conjunction să before the present indicative I have'; indicative vii 'you come' to subjunctive să vii '. In the 3rd person most verbs have a specific subjunctive form which differs from the indicative either in the ending or in the stem itself. However, there is no distinction between the singular and plural of the present subjunctive in the 3rd person. For example, are 'he has' and au 'they have' in the subjunctive are să aibă ' he has' and să aibă ' they have'.
The present tense is by far the most widely used of the two subjunctive tenses and is used frequently after verbs that express wish, preference, permission, possibility, request, advice, etc.: a vrea 'to want', a dori 'to wish', a prefera 'to prefer', a lăsa 'to let, to allow', a ruga 'to ask', a sfătui 'to advise', etc.
When used independently, the subjunctive has modal and imperative values—it indicates a desire, a fear, an order or a request. The present subjunctive is used in questions having the modal value of should:
  • Să plec? 'Should I leave?'
  • Să mai stau? 'Should I stay longer?'
  • De ce să plece? 'Why should he/she leave?'
The present subjunctive is often used as an imperative, mainly for other persons than the second person. When used with the second person, it is even stronger than the imperative. The first-person plural can be preceded by the interjection hai, which intensifies the imperative meaning of the structure:
  • Să mergem! 'Let us go!' or Hai să mergem! 'Come on, let's go!'
  • Să plece imediat! 'I want him to leave immediately!'
  • Să-mi aduci un pahar de apă! 'Bring me a glass of water!'
The subjunctive present is used in certain set phrases used as greetings in specific situations:
  • Să creşti mare!
  • Să ne fie de bine!
  • Să-l porţi sănătos / sănătoasă!
  • Dumnezeu să-l ierte!
Past subjunctive
The past tense of the subjunctive mood has one form for all persons and numbers of all verbs: să fi followed by the past participle of the verb. The past subjunctive is used after the past optative-conditional of verbs that require the subjunctive, in constructions that express necessity or desire in the past:
  • Ar fi trebuit să fi rămas acasă. 'You should have stayed home.'
  • Ar fi fost mai bine să mai fi stat. 'It would have been better if we had stayed longer.'
When used independently, the past subjunctive indicates a regret related to a past-accomplished action that is seen as undesirable at the moment of speaking:
  • Să fi rămas acasă. 'We should have stayed at home.'

    Celtic languages

Welsh

In Welsh, there are two forms of the subjunctive: present and imperfect. The present subjunctive is barely ever used in spoken Welsh except in certain fixed phrases, and is restricted in most cases to the third person singular. However, it is more likely to be found in literary Welsh, most widely in more old-fashioned registers. The third-person singular is properly used after certain conjunctions and prepositions, but in spoken Welsh the present subjunctive is frequently replaced by either the infinitives, the present tense, the conditional, or the future tense.
Literary EnglishLiterary WelshSpoken EnglishSpoken Welsh
When need bePan fo angenWhen there'll be need Pan fydd angen
Before it beCyn boBefore it'sCyn iddi fod
In order that there beFel y boIn order for there to beEr mwyn bod
She left so that she be safeGadawodd hi fel y bo hi'n ddiogelShe left so that she'd be safeGadawodd hi fel y byddai hi'n ddiogel
It is time that I goMae'n amser yr elwyfIt's time for me to goMae'n amser imi fynd

The imperfect subjunctive, as in English, only affects the verb bod. It is used after pe and it must be accompanied by the conditional subjunctive e.g. Pe bawn i'n gyfoethog, teithiwn i trwy'r byd.
For all other verbs in Welsh, as in English, the imperfect subjunctive takes the same stems as do the conditional subjunctive and the imperfect indicative.

Scottish Gaelic

In Scottish Gaelic, the subjunctive does exist but still takes its forms from the indicative: the present subjunctive takes the dependent future forms and the past subjunctive takes the conditional forms. The subjunctive is normally used in proverbs or truisms in phrases that start with 'May...'. For example:
  • Gum bi Rìgh Ruisiart beò fada! 'Long live King Richard'.
  • Gum bi beanachd Dè oirbh uile! 'May God bless you all!'
  • Gun gabh e a fhois ann sìth. 'May he rest in peace.'
In a more demanding or wishful statement, the subjunctive may be used as a conjunction:
  • Se àm gum fàg e a-nis. 'It is time that he leave now.'
  • Tha e riatanach gun tèid iad gu sgoil gach là. 'It is necessary that they go to school every day.'
  • Dh'fhaighnich e nach faic mi ise. 'He asked that I not see her.'
The subjunctive in Gaelic will sometimes have the conjunction gun, which can be translated as 'that' or as 'May...' while making a wish. For negatives, nach is used instead.
Note that the present subjunctive is identical to the dependent future tense form, which lacks the ending -idh.
In Scottish Gaelic, the past subjunctive of the verb bi 'be' is robh, which is identical to the dependent form of the preterite indicative.
For every other verb in Gaelic, the past subjunctive is identical to the conditional.
Examples:
  • Nan robh mi beairteach, shiubhlainn air feadh an t-saoghail. 'If I were rich, I would travel all over the world.'
  • Mura dèanainn m' obair-dhachaigh, bhithinn ann an trioblaid. 'If I had not done my homework, I would have been in trouble.'
  • * Or: Mura robh mi air m' obair-dhachaigh a dhèanamh, bhithinn ann an trioblaid.

    Irish

In the Irish language, the subjunctive is considered an old-fashioned tense for daily speech but still appears often in print. Like in Scottish Gaelic, the Irish subjunctive conveys the idea of wishing something; it appears in some famous Irish proverbs and blessings.
The subjunctive is normally formed from go together with the subjunctive form of the verb, the subject, and the thing being wished for. For example:
  • Go dté tú slán. 'May you be well.'
  • Go dtuga Dia ciall duit. 'May God give you sense.'
  • Go ndéana an Diabhal toirneach de d'anam in Ifreann. 'May the Devil make thunder of your soul in Hell.'
  • Go mbeannaí Dia thú. 'May God bless you.'
The subjunctive is generally formed by taking the stem of the verb and adding on the appropriate subjunctive ending depending on broad or slender, and first or second conjugation. For example, to the stem of bog 'to move' is added -a giving as its subjunctive in the first person boga mé:
First conjugation:
mol 'to praise'mola mémola túmola sé/símolaimidmola sibhmola siad
bris 'to break'brise mébrise túbrise sé/síbrisimidbrise sibhbrise siad

Second conjugation:
beannaigh 'to bless'beannaí mébeannaí túbeannaí sé/síbeannaímidbeannaí sibhbeannaí siad
bailigh 'to collect'bailí mébailí túbailí sé/síbailímidbailí sibhbailí siad

There is also some irregularity in certain verbs in the subjunctive. The verb bí to be' is the most irregular verb in Irish :
Present indicativetá mé/táimtá tútá sé/sítá muid/táimidtá sibhtá siad
Present subjunctiveraibh méraibh túraibh sé/sírabhaimidraibh sibhraibh siad

The Irish phrase go raibh maith agat uses the subjunctive of bí and literally means 'may there be good at-you'.
Some verbs do not follow the conjugation of the subjunctive exactly as conjugated above. These irregularities apply to verbs whose stem already ends in a stressed vowel and thus, due to the rules of Irish orthography and pronunciation, cannot take another. For example:
Present indicativePresent subjunctive
téigh 'to go'té'ann túté tú
sáigh 'to stab'sánn túsá tú
luigh 'to lie down'luíonn túluí tú
feoigh 'to decay; wither'feonn túfeo tú

Although feoigh doesn't have a síneadh fada, the o in this position is stressed and thus the subjunctive is irregular.
Where the subjunctive is used in English, it may not be used in Irish and another tense might be used instead. For example:
  • Dá mba mise tusa, dhéanfainn staidéar le haghaidh an scrúdaithe amárach. 'If I were you, I would study for the exam tomorrow.'
  • Is mian liom go raibh tú anseo. 'I wish you were here.'
  • Tá sé tábhachtach go roghnóidh sé ar an mbealach ceart. 'It is important that he choose the right way.'
  • Nuair a bheidh/bheas tú níos sine, tuigfidh tú. When you're older, you'll understand.
Note that in English, the relative pronoun that can be omitted; in Irish, the corresponding go must be retained. Also, in English, the present tense is often used to refer to a future state, whereas in Irish there is less freedom with tenses. In this particular example, you will be older and it is then that you will understand.

Indo-Aryan languages

Hindi-Urdu

There are two subjunctive moods in Hindi-Urdu : the regular subjunctive; and the perfective subjunctive, which superficially has the same form as the perfective aspect forms of verbs, but still expresses future events. The perfective is only ever used with if clauses and relative pronouns. In a semantic analysis, this use of the perfective aspect marker would not be considered perfective, since it is more closely related to subjunctive usage. Only the superficial form is identical to that of the perfective.
The regular subjunctive mood can be put in two tenses: present and future. There is another mood, called the contrafactual mood, which serves as both the past subjunctive and the past conditional mood in Hindustani. Hindi-Urdu, apart from the non-aspectual forms, has three grammatical aspects. Each aspect can be put in five grammatical moods. The subjunctive mood can be put in the present tense only for the verb honā 'to be'; for any other verb, only the future sujunctive form exists. Subjunctive mood forms for all three grammatical aspects of Hindustani for the verbs honā 'to be' and karnā 'to do' are shown in the table below.

Slavic languages

The Slavic languages lost the Proto-Indo-European subjunctive altogether, while the old optative was repurposed as the imperative mood. Some modern Slavic languages have developed a new subjunctive-like construction, although there is no consistent terminology. For example, some authors do not distinguish the subjunctive mood from the optative mood, while others do.

Polish

The subjunctive mood is formed using the by particle, either alone or forming a single word with the complex conjunctions żeby, iżby, ażeby, aby, and coby. The mood does not have its own morphology, but instead has a rule that the by-containing particle must be placed in front of the dependent clause. Compare:
  • Upieram się, że wychodzi. 'I insist that he is leaving'
  • Upieram się, by wyszedł. 'I insist that he leave'
  • Upieram się, że wyszedłby. 'I insist that he would leave'
The subjunctive mood in the dependent clause is obligatory in the case of certain independent clauses. For example, it is incorrect to say *chcę, że to zrobi. The subjunctive mood must be used instead: chcę, by to zrobił.
The subjunctive can never be mistaken with the conditional, despite that in the case of the conditional mood the clitic by and derivatives can move.
  • Upieram się, że wtedy by nie wyszedł. 'I insist that he would not have left then '
  • Upieram się, że by wówczas nie wyszedł. 'I insist that he would not have left then//'
  • Myślę, że on by akurat wyszedł. 'I think that he would have just left '
  • Myślę, że gdyby wyszedł... conditional – 'I think that if he would have left...'
There is no conjunction, which would indicate the subjunctive. In particular, there is no żeby.
Compare to the closely related optative mood, for example the subjunctive nie nalegam, by wysłał list vs the optative oby wysłał list.

Bulgarian

Modal distinctions in subordinate clauses are expressed not through verb endings, but through the choice of complementizer – че or да . The verbs remain unchanged. In ordinary sentences, the imperfective aspect is most often used for the indicative, and the perfective for the subjunctive, but any combination is possible, with the corresponding change in meaning. For example, iskam da stanesh or iskam da stavash 'I want you to get up'. The latter is more insisting, since the imperfective is the more immediate construction. Thus:
  • Indicative
  • * знам, че си тук 'I know that you are here'
  • Subjunctive
  • * настоявам да си тук 'I insist that you be here'

    Semitic languages

Arabic

In Classical Arabic, the verb in its imperfect aspect has a subjunctive form called the manṣūb form. It is distinct from the imperfect indicative in most of its forms: where the indicative has -u, the subjunctive has -a; and where the indicative has -na or -ni, the subjunctive has nothing at all.
  • Indicative third singular masc. yaktubu 'he writes/is writing/will write' → Subjunctive yaktuba 'he may / should write'
  • Indicative third plural masc. yaktubūna 'they write' → Subjunctive yaktubū 'they may write'
  • Indicative third plural fem. yaktubna 'they write' → Subjunctive yaktubna 'they may write'
The subjunctive is used in that-clauses, after Arabic an: urīdu an aktuba 'I want to write.' However, in conditional and precative sentences, such as "if he goes" or "let him go", a different mood of the imperfect aspect, the jussive, majzūm, is used.
In many spoken Arabic dialects, there remains a distinction between indicative and subjunctive; however, it is not through a suffix but rather a prefix.
In Levantine Arabic, the indicative has b- while the subjunctive lacks it:
  • third sing. masc. huwwe byuktob 'he writes / is writing / will write', versus yuktob 'he may / should write'
  • third plural masc. homme byukotbu, versus yukotbu
Egyptian Arabic uses a simple construction that precedes the conjugated verbs with law 'if' or momken 'may'; the following are some examples:
  • Law/Momken enti tektebi. 'If /Maybe you write'
  • Law/Momken enti katabti. 'If /Maybe you wrote'
  • Law/Momken enti konti tektebi. 'If /Maybe you would write'
  • Law/Momken enti ḥatektebi. 'If /Maybe you will write'
Tunisian Arabic often precedes the imperfective indicative verb by various conjunctions to create the subjunctive:
  • Mē ʕandak ma tekteb. 'You have nothing to write'
Literally: not at.you subj_tool you_write
Ken for wish, hope or opinion:
  • Netmanna, ken nʃūfak nējeħ nhār. 'I wish I'd see you successful one day'
  • Ken yeʃlēqu. ' hope they find out'
  • Ken temʃi tertēħ. ' It's better to relax'
Taw for a highly expected possibility:
  • Abqa hne, taw toxles. 'Stay here you will/could get paid.'
Ra for inevitability :
  • Ken tkūn ðˤʕīf, rak bēʃ tetʕeb fe ħyētak. 'Once you get weak, you'll suffer in life'

    Hebrew

Final short vowels were elided in Hebrew in prehistoric times, so that the distinction between the Proto-Semitic indicative, subjunctive, and jussive had largely been lost, even in Biblical Hebrew. The distinction does remain for some verbal categories, where the original final morphemes effected lasting secondary changes in word-internal syllabic structure and vowel length. These include weak roots with a medial or final vowel, such as versus 'may he rise' and versus , imperfect forms of the hiphil stem, and also generally for first person imperfect forms: אֵשֵׁב vs. אֵשְׁבָה. In modern Hebrew, the situation has been carried even further, with forms like and becoming non-productive; instead, the future tense is used for the subjunctive, often with the particle added to introduce the clause, if it is not already present.
  • שיבוא – or
  • אני רוצה שיבוא –
Biblical subjunctive forms survive in non-productive phrases in such forms as the third-person singular of and , mostly in a literary register:
  • יחי המלך –
  • לו יהי –

    Akkadian

Subordinate clauses in Babylonian and Standard Babylonian Akkadian are marked with a -u on verbs ending in a consonant, and with nothing after vocalic endings or after ventive endings. Due to the consonantal structure of semitic languages, and Akkadian sound laws, the addition of the -u might trigger short vowels in the middle of the word to disappear. Assyrian Akkadian uses a more complicated system with both -u and -ni as markers of subordination. The ending -ni was used in the instances where -u could not be used as stated above. During Middle and Neo Assyrian the -ni ending became compulsory on all subordinate verbs, even those that already had the -u, resulting in -ni and -ūni as markers of subordination.

Uralic languages

Hungarian

This mood in Hungarian is generally used to express polite demands and suggestions. The endings are identical between imperative, conjunctive and subjunctive; it is therefore often called the conjunctive-imperative mood.
Examples:
  • Add nekem! 'Give it to me.'
  • Menjünk! 'Let's go.'
  • Menjek? 'Shall I go?'
  • Menj! 'Go!'
Note that "demand" is nowhere near as rude as it might sound in English. It is a polite but firm request, but not as polite as "would you...".
The characteristic letter in its ending is -j-, and in the definite conjunctive conjugation the endings appear very similar to those of singular possession, with a leading letter -j-.
An unusual feature of the mood's endings is that there exist a short and a long form for the second person singular. The formation of this for regular verbs differs between the indefinite and definite: the indefinite requires just the addition of -j, which differs from the longer ending in that the last two sounds are omitted. The short version of the definite form also drops two letters, but another two. It drops, for example: the -ja- in -jad, leaving just -d, as can be seen in add above.
There are several groups of exceptions involving verbs that end in -t. The rules for how this letter, and a preceding letter, should change when the subjunctive endings are applied are quite complicated, see the article Hungarian verbs.
As usual, gemination of a final sibilant consonant is demonstrated when a j-initial ending is applied:
When referring to the demands of others, the subjunctive is demonstrated:

Turkic languages

Turkish

There is no direct one-to-one correspondence between the subjunctive mood in other languages and the verbal moods in Turkish. Depending on the context, the subjunctive in other languages may be expressed in Turkish through the imperative, necessitative, optative, desiderative, or conditional moods.
Examples of the optative mood are:
  • gideyim
  • gitsin
  • gidelim
  • gitsinler.
Suggestions, desires and intentions are expressed with the optative verb. The suffixes -eyim, -elim, and other forms are used to form an optative verb. For example:
  • The suffix -eyim/-ayım is the first person singular.
  • * ağlamak ağlayayım
  • * uyumak uyuyayım.
  • The suffix -elim/-alım is the first person plural.
  • * Bugün araba sürelim.
  • * Bu akşam için kek yapalım.
An example of a conditional mode is Çalışırsa kazanır, çalıştıysa kazanır.
Some examples of the necessitative mood are:
  • Benim gelmem gerek
  • Dün toplantıya katılman gerekirdi
Some examples of the imperative mode are:
  • siz gelin
  • onlar gelsinler
Some examples of the desiderative mood are:
  • Ah! şimdi burada olsaydı
  • Keşke burada olaydı
  • Keşke arabam olsa da otobüse binmesem
  • Keşke arabam olsaydı da otobüse binmeseydim
  • Keşke arabam olsa o zaman otobüse binmem
  • Keşke arabam olsaydı o zaman otobüse binmezdim