Subjunctive (Ancient Greek)

The subjunctive mood (Greek ὑποτακτική (hupotaktikḗ) "for arranging underneath", from ὑποτάσσω (hupotássō) "I arrange beneath") along with the indicative, optative, and imperative, is one of the four moods of the Ancient Greek verb. It can be used both in the meaning "should" (the jussive subjunctive) and in the meaning "may" (the potential subjunctive).

When used in its jussive sense ("should"), the subjunctive can be used in sentences such as the following:

• 1st person suggestions ("let me say", "let's go")
• Deliberative questions ("what should I do?")
• Negative commands ("don't be surprised!")

In its potential sense ("may"), the subjunctive is often used in indefinite conditional or similar clauses referring to the future or indefinite present time. These can be:

• Clauses referring to a single event at an indefinite future time ("if by chance...", "until such time as..." or "before such time as...")
• Clauses referring to repeated events in an indefinite present time ("whenever...", "whoever...", "if ever..." etc.)

Such subordinate clauses are introduced by a conjunction or relative pronoun combined with the particle ἄν (án), e.g. ἐάν (eán) 'if', ὅταν (hótan) 'whenever', ὅσαν (hósan) 'whoever' etc. When the context is past, the optative is used in such clauses, without the particle ἄν (án).

The potential subjunctive, usually without ἄν (án), is also used in subordinate clauses such as the following:

• Purpose clauses ("so that it can happen")
• After verbs of fearing or doubt ("I fear it may happen", "I doubt if it can happen")

In a past time context a writer has a choice to use either the subjunctive or the optative mood in such sentences.

Without an introductory verb, but preceded by μή (mḗ) "not", the potential subjunctive can also be used for:

• Doubtful or emphatic assertions about the future ("it may be that.." or "it is certain that...")

The two moods subjunctive and optative together cover most of the areas covered by the Latin subjunctive. However, one area for which the subjunctive is used in Latin but not in Greek is for counterfactual situations in the present or past (e.g. "it would be happening", "it would have happened"). For this area of meaning the imperfect and aorist indicative tenses are used in Ancient Greek.

The subjunctive is still used today in Modern Greek, whereas the optative has died out.

The subjunctive can usually be recognised easily from the fact that it almost always has the letters ω (ō) or η (ē) in the ending, for example εἴπωμεν (eípōmen), γένηται (génētai). It exists in three tenses only: the present, the aorist, and the perfect. The perfect is, however, rarely used.

The difference between the present and aorist subjunctive is one of aspect rather than of time. In sentences looking forward to the future such as "I am afraid it may happen", the aorist describes single events, whereas the present subjunctive primarily refers to on-going situations or habitually repeated events. In sentences describing repeated events at an indefinite time such as "whenever he has finished, he sits down", the aorist refers to events which, though repeated, precede the time of the main verb.

Except sometimes in Homer, the negative used with the subjunctive is always μή (mḗ).^[1]