Latin for Beginners · Lesson LXI · Part 13: The subjunctive: forms and purpose clauses
61. The subjunctive mood: the present subjunctive
Goal: Your child conjugates the present subjunctive, active and passive, in all four conjugations and of sum, and can say what the subjunctive is for.
You'll need
- The book (the lesson pages)
- A notebook and pencil
- Index cards from earlier lessons
What's in the book
Part III, Constructions, opens here. The subjunctive as a fourth mood (§§ 342 and 343), the present subjunctive of all conjugations active and passive (§ 344) and of sum (§ 345), and a table comparing indicative and subjunctive sentences, with a short English exercise.
The lesson, step by step
Warm up
Ask: which moods do we know? Indicative (statements and questions), imperative (commands), infinitive. Today adds the fourth.
The new idea
The indicative states facts. The subjunctive expresses wishes, purposes, possibilities and expectations. Read the book's comparison table in pairs:
Fortis est
Fortis sit
'He is brave' versus 'May he be brave'.
Statim proficīscimur
Statim proficīscāmur
'We set out at once' versus 'Let us set out at once'.
How it is formed
The present subjunctive is made from the present stem. The sign is -e- in the first conjugation and -a- in the others. The personal endings are the ones your child already knows:
amem, amēs, amet, amēmus, amētis, ament
moneam, moneās, moneat, moneāmus, moneātis, moneant
regam, regās, regat, regāmus, regātis, regant
audiam, audiās, audiat, audiāmus, audiātis, audiant
Passive and sum
The passive uses passive endings: amer, amēris, amētur, and so on. Then sum:
sim, sīs, sit, sīmus, sītis, sint
Say the forms aloud
Read every paradigm in § 344 aloud together, then your child alone. Then conjugate the book's practice verbs: cūrō, iubeō, sūmō, iaciō, mūniō.
The English exercise
Read the book's short English passage. For each verb, ask: is this a plain fact (indicative) or a wish, purpose or possibility (subjunctive)?
Wrap-up
Your child conjugates the present subjunctive of regō and of sum from memory. Part III has no new vocabulary lists. Spend five minutes on old word cards instead.
Afterwards
Over two days: forms the first day, the comparison table and exercise the second. The book's teacher notes suggest memorizing the model sentences.
Tip
A simple trick for the vowel: first conjugation swaps a to e (amet); the others put in an a (moneat, regat, audiat).