subjunctive

English

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

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