subjunctive

English

Alternative forms

• subj. (abbreviation)

Etymology

From Latin subjunctīvus (“serving to join, connecting, in grammar applies to the subjunctive mode”), from subjungere (“to add, join, subjoin”), from sub (“under”) + jungere (“to join, yoke”). See join.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /səbˈd͡ʒʌŋktɪv/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌŋktɪv

Adjective

Examples (usages of verbs inflected in the subjunctive mood)
So be it. I wouldn’t do it if I were you. Were I a younger man, I would have fought back. I insisted that he leave immediately.

subjunctive (not comparable)

1. (grammar, of a verb) Inflected to indicate that an act or state of being is possible, contingent or hypothetical, and not a fact.

Translations

possible, contingent, or hypothetical; not a fact

Asturian: suxuntivu Basque: subjuntibo Bulgarian: подчинителен (podčinitelen) Catalan: subjuntiu (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 虚拟 (zh) (xūnǐ) Czech: konjunktiv m or inan French: subjonctif (fr) m Georgian: კავშირებითი (ḳavširebiti) German: subjunktiv, subjunktivisch Greek: Ancient: ὑποτακτικός (hupotaktikós) Irish: foshuiteach Italian: congiuntivo (it) m Lithuanian: tariamoji nuosaka (lt) f Old English: underþēodendlīċ Portuguese: conjuntivo (pt) m Scottish Gaelic: fo-leantach Spanish: subjuntivo (es) Swedish: konjunktiv (sv) n Tagalog: pasakali

See also

• irrealis (and compare others at irrealis mood § Hyponyms)

Noun

subjunctive (countable and uncountable, plural subjunctives)

1. (grammar, uncountable) Ellipsis of subjunctive mood.
2. (countable) A form in the subjunctive mood.

Translations

subjunctive mood — see subjunctive mood

Derived terms

• imperfect subjunctive
• present subjunctive
• subjunctive mode
• subjunctive mood

Related terms

• subjoin
• subjunction

Further reading

• Subjunctive mood on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• English subjunctive on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “subjunctive”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “subjunctive”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

Interlingua

Adjective

subjunctive

1. subjunctive

Related terms

• subjunctivo

Latin

Adjective

subjūnctīve

1. vocative masculine singular of subjūnctīvus