# Subjunctive in Latin



## George 1967

How do you translate

Sim

Essem

Fuerim 

Fuissem

in terms of the subjunctive in Latin ?

Thank You.


----------



## Scholiast

saluete amici

In forty-odd years of schoolmastering, this has been the commonest question posed by pupils/students.

The answer is, as usual, that it depends on the context. Several subjunctive uses in Latin correspond with the English modal verbs such as 'may', 'should' (+ another verb), but that does not exhaust the list. Why not post more details of what you need to know, and why?

Σ


----------



## George 1967

Hello Scholiast,

I am doing a long- term sub for the Latin teacher who is out of commission at our school.



In the grammar section of the textbook they have:

Sim  -  I may have been

Essem - I might have been

but then they say "etc" when it gets to Perfect/Pluperfect

Fuerim - 

Fuissem - 


Now from reading more on the subjunctive I can see that context is very important but 

is there a starting point as the grammar gives for Sim/Essem.


Thank You


----------



## Scholiast

Greetings again


George 1967 said:


> I am doing a long- term sub for the Latin teacher who is out of commission


I see. My best advice then is to log on to Perseus (online Classics reference library: www.perseus.tufts.edu), within which you will find Allen and Greenough's _New Latin Grammar for Schools and Colleges_), from which there is an extract below, with A&G's own cross-references to their numbered sections (accessible just by clicking on the on-screen panel at the top of the page), which provide both explanations and examples.


The Hortatory Subjunctive is used in the present tense to express an _exhortation_, a _command_, or a _concession._（§§ 439, 440).
The Optative Subjunctive is used to express a _wish._ The present tense denotes the wish as possible, the imperfect as unaccomplished in present time, the pluperfect as unaccomplished in past time (§ 441).
The Subjunctive is used in questions implying (1) _doubt_, indignation, or (2) an _impossibility_ of the thing's being done (Deliberative Subjunctive, § 444).
The Potential Subjunctive is used to suggest an action as possible or _conceivable_（§ 446).
This list does not exhaust the subjunctive uses, but it will give you a start.

Σ


----------



## 涼宮

Scholiast said:


> In forty-odd years of schoolmastering, this has been the commonest question posed by pupils/students.



In your experience, do English speakers generally struggle more with tenses than with cases when learning Latin? 

To me, if someone were to learn Latin from the perspective of a monolingual English speaker, tenses/mood would probably be the hardest part to grasp, especially the subjunctive. 

I imagine it must be a pain for many students to wrap their heads around such a ''strange'' concept. For this specific case it must be sad that English lost its subjunctive mood, a Romance language speaker would find sim/essem/fuerim/fuissem to be very clear and easy to grasp since there's a direct equivalent.


----------



## Scholiast

Greetings, seasonal as well as plainly amiable

Interesting question. Native English-speaking pupils/students don't usually have great difficulty with the nominal cases, or the Latin tenses. But you are right...


涼宮 said:


> To me, if someone were to learn Latin from the perspective of a monolingual English speaker, tenses/mood would probably be the hardest part to grasp, especially the subjunctive.


These are indeed the awkwardest things for an English-speaker to fathom. I well remember this from my own teenage years, when the subjunctive was a mystery, and the Greek 'moods' wholly alien. Only later have I come to realise that aspect and modality are inherent in English too, though rather differently articulated.
No-one now knows what an English subjunctive is. It survives in a few set phrases, such as 'if I *were* you...', because kids are 'taught' nowadays by ignorant teachers who have themselves been inadequately schooled. That's why we need Latin!

Σ


----------

