LESSON XXXII: Subjunctive Active. Vivid Future Conditions.
What Is The Subjunctive?
312. The Greek verbs we have learned to this point have been either in the indicative mood or infinitives. The subjunctive mood is used in place of the indicative to express wishes, and exhortations. The subjunctive is also used in dependent clauses such as purpose clauses and fear clauses and also in certain types of conditional sentences. The different uses of the subjunctive will be presented in the following chapters.
It is first necessary to learn how to form the subjunctive. Only the present, aorist, and perfect tenses occur in the subjunctive. The perfect is rare.
313. The time expressed by the present and aorist subjunctive is generally future, the present expressing the action as going on or repeated, the aorist expressing simply its occurrence, as ἐὰν κωλύῃ, if he shall be hindering, or if he shall hinder (habitually), but ἐὰν κωλύσῃ, simply if he shall hinder.
PARADIGMS
314. Learn the conjugation of the subjunctive active of λύω in the present (λύω), aorist (λύσω), and perfect (λελύκω).
| Present Active Subjunctive Of λύω | |
|---|---|
| First Person Singular | λύω |
| Second Person Singular | λύῃς |
| Third Person Singular | λύῃ |
| Second Person Dual | λύη-τον |
| Third Person Dual | λύη-τον |
| First Person Plural | λύω-μεν |
| Second Person Plural | λύη-τε |
| Third Person Plural | λύωσι |
| Aorist Active Subjunctive Of λύω | |
|---|---|
| First Person Singular | λύσω |
| Second Person Singular | λύσῃς |
| Third Person Singular | λύσῃ |
| Second Person Dual | λύση-τον |
| Third Person Dual | λύση-τον |
| First Person Plural | λύσω-μεν |
| Second Person Plural | λύση-τε |
| Third Person Plural | λύσωσι |
| Perfect Active Subjunctive Of λύω | |
|---|---|
| First Person Singular | λελύκω |
| Second Person Singular | λελύκῃς |
| Third Person Singular | λελύκῃ |
| Second Person Dual | λελύκη-τον |
| Third Person Dual | λελύκη-τον |
| First Person Plural | λελύκω-μεν |
| Second Person Plural | λελύκη-τε |
| Third Person Plural | λελύκωσι |
Notes on the Formation of the Subjunctive
315. The subjunctive has the long vowel ω or η in place of the final vowels ο or ε and α of the tense suffixes found in the indicative (138, 140, 148). The form is ω before μ or ν in the personal endings, elsewhere η. The subjunctive uses the endings of the primary tenses (136). The aorist subjunctive is formed without the temporal augment of the indicative.
Future Vivid Conditions
317. When a supposed future case is stated distinctly and vividly (as in English, if I shall go, or if I go), the protasis has the subjunctive with ἐάν, and the apodosis has the future indicative or some other form of future time.
316. For example: ἐὰν πράττῃ (or πράξῃ) τοῦτο, καλῶς ἕξει, if he shall do this (if he does this), it will be well.
The protasis is here introduced by ἐάν, if, and has the subjunctive; it states a supposed future case vividly. The apodosis has its verb in the future indicative, but any other future form might occur.
GRAMMATICAL NOTES
840. Verbs signifying to name, choose or appoint, make, think or regard, and the like, may take a predicate accusative besides the object accusative. Thus, πατέρα Ξενοφῶντα ἐκάλουν, they called Xenophon ‘father,’ φίλον ποιήσωμεν τοῦτον, let us make him our friend, τὸν σατράπην φίλον οὐ νομιεῖ, he will not regard the satrap as a friend.
318. VOCABULARY.
| ἀπο-χωρέω, ἀπο-χωρήσω, etc. (cf. χώρᾱ, χωρίον) | give place, go away, withdraw. |
| βασιλεύω, βασιλεύσω, ἐβασίλευσα (cf. βασίλειος) | be king. |
| ἐάν by contraction ἄν or ἤν (εἰ + ἄν) | conj., if, with subjunctive. |
| ἐμπόριον, ου, τό | trading place, emporium. |
| παρ-έχω | hold beside or near, furnish, supply, give, cause. |
| πολιορκέω, πολιορκήσω, etc. | hem in a city, besiege. |
| πρᾶγμα, ατος, τό (cf. πράττω) | deed, thing, affair, difficulty; plur., affairs, trouble. |
| ὠφελέω, ὠφελήσω, etc. | help, assist, benefit. |
319. READ ALOUD AND TRANSLATE:
| 1. ἢν παρέχωμεν ἀγοράν, ἕξετε τὰ ἐπιτήδεια. |
| 2. ἐὰν μὴ ταῦτα ποιήσῃ, ἀδικήσει. |
| 3. ἢν δὲ ἀποχωρήσωσι, Κῦρος αὐτοὺς οὐ τῑμήσει. |
| 4. ἐὰν φίλον ποιήσῃς1 τοῦτον, ὠφελήσει. |
| 5. ἐὰν νῑκήσωμεν, τὴν χώρᾱν οὐ διαρπάσει. |
| 6. ἐὰν οὖν πέμψητε τοῦτον πρὸς Κῦρον, πλοῖα ἕξετε. |
| 7. ἐὰν δὲ μὴ πλοῖα ἄγῃ ἱκανά, τοῖς ἄλλοις χρησόμεθα. |
| 8. ἐὰν δὲ οἱ Κίλικες πράγματα παρέχωσι, Κῦρος πορεύσεται ἐπ᾿ αὐτούς. |
| 9. ἐὰν νῑκήσω, βασιλεύσω ἀντὶ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ. |
| 10. ἐὰν τὸ ἐμπόριον πολιορκήσῃς, ἀποχωρήσουσιν οἱ Κίλικες. |
NOTES.—1 Verbs signifying to make may take a predicate accusative (here φίλον) besides the object accusative (840).—2 Use the aorist.—3 οἱ ὑπὲρ τῆς ὁδοῦ.
321. Safe Passage of the “Syrian Gateway.”
ἐντεῦθεν ἐξελαύνει ἐπὶ πύλᾱς τῆς Κιλικίᾱς καὶ τῆς
Συρίᾱς. ἦσαν δὲ αὗται δύο τείχη, καὶ τὸ μὲν πρὸ τῆς
Κιλικίᾰς τεῖχος Συέννεσις εἶχε καὶ Κιλίκων φυλακή, τὸ δὲ
πρὸ τῆς Συρίᾱς Ἀρταξέρξου ἐλέγετο φυλακὴ φυλάττειν.
NOTES.—1. πύλᾱς: the article is omitted, since the word is used almost as a proper name.—2. ἦσαν: were, consisted of.—τείχη: nominative plural of the neuter noun τεῖχος, wall.—πρό: facing.—5. διὰ μέσου: between.
