Uses of the Subjunctive

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If you are a student of Latin, you may think of the subjunctive as indescribably vague, where so long as you add some English modal (“would, could, might, may”), your translation will probably be ok. The Latin subjunctive, it turns out, isn’t quite this nebulous. The Greek subjunctive is less so. There are fewer and clearer instances in which Greek uses the subjunctive. In turn, there is less ambiguity in how we translate. The following describes most uses of the subjunctive that you will encounter in Greek.

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Independent uses

Hortatory Subjunctive

We use the subjunctive in the first person (singular or plural) for exhortations:

See commands for more.

Deliberative Subjunctive

The deliberative subjunctive is a sort of hortatory subjunctive that asks a question. That is, instead of encouraging ourselves by saying “let’s do this!” the deliberative subjunctive asks us “should we do this?”

Negative Command

The subjunctive (negated with μή) can replace a negative imperative in the second person (singular or plural). This is also called the prohibitive subjunctive:

See commands for more.

Cautious assertion or denial (μὴ οὐ) — cazzo e’

Urgent prohibition or emphatic denial (οὐ μή)

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Dependent uses

The Generalizing Subjunctive

with ἄν)

Purpose Clauses

also clauses of effort (ἵνα, ὅπως, ὡς)

Indirect Question

An indirect question is simply a question…..

Fear Clauses

With μή, meaning “in case” in colloquial English.