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subjunctive

UK/səbˈd͡ʒʌŋktɪv/US/səbˈd͡ʒʌŋktɪv/
nounC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #13,795 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: subjunctives

The subjunctive is the verb form used for wishes and things not real. The subjunctive mood, use the subjunctive, in the subjunctive.

English has almost lost it, and what survives shows up in if I were you and in demands like I insist that he be present. Romance languages use it constantly, which is why it is the hurdle every learner meets.

Definitions of subjunctive

  1. 1nounsubjunctiveThe verb form used for wishes and things not real.C1

    “Many learners of French struggle with the subjunctive after expressions of doubt.”

subjunctive is a form.

Where it comes from

Latin subiunctivus means serving to join, from subiungere, to subjoin.

  1. Latin

    subiunctīvus — serving to join, connecting, in grammar applies to the subjunctive mode

  2. English, today

    subjunctive

Built from

  • subiungō · Latin — to add, join, subjoin
  • sub- · Latin — under
  • iungō · Latin — to join, yoke

From Latin subiunctīvus (“serving to join, connecting, in grammar applies to the subjunctive mode”), from subiungō (“to add, join, subjoin”), from sub- (“under”) + iungō (“to join, yoke”). See join.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

subjunctive in the wild

  • The subjunctive is one of the irrealis moods, which refer to what is not necessarily real.

    Subjunctive mood

  • Two of the tenses, namely both subjunctive futures, are now obsolete for most practical purposes.

    Spanish verbs

  • Traditionally, the term is applied loosely to cases in which one might expect a subjunctive form in related languages, especially Old English and Latin.

    English subjunctive

  • For instance, "It's essential that he be here" uses the subjunctive mood while "It's essential that he is here" does not.

    English subjunctive

  • For instance Latin indirect speech uses the infinitive for statements and the subjunctive for questions.

    Indirect speech

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the iungō family

join

subjunctive — used about once every 27,725 pages · #13,795 · point at the bar for the others