GermanLesson 2 of 2 in the course German verbs

Subjunctive Forms and Uses Across Germanic, Romance, and Other Languages

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 3 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

This lesson introduces the subjunctive as a grammatical mood and explains how it contrasts with the indicative.

A grammatical mood is a feature of a verb or clause that helps show how a speaker presents an utterance. The subjunctive—also called the conjunctive in some languages—often presents an event as uncertain, desired, judged, imagined, required, or otherwise not asserted as a straightforward fact.

All flashcards

Subjunctive mood
A mood often used for wishes, doubts, evaluations, requirements, and hypothetical situations.
German Konjunktiv I
A German subjunctive form especially associated with indirect or reported speech.
German Konjunktiv II
A German subjunctive form commonly used for conditional and hypothetical statements.
Spanish imperfect subjunctive
A Spanish form with commonly used -ra and -se endings, generally interchangeable.
Subjunctive meaning across languages
Comparable meanings may be expressed through endings, particles, conjunctions, or other moods.

Quiz questions

  1. What is German Konjunktiv I particularly associated with?Answer: Indirect or reported speech.
  2. How is a traditional German Konjunktiv II form commonly built?Answer: From the preterite stem, with appropriate endings and umlaut where possible.
  3. How is the French passé du subjonctif formed?Answer: With être or avoir and a past participle.
  4. Which markers are used to build Polish subjunctive constructions?Answer: The particle by and conjunctions such as żeby or aby.
  5. How does Turkish express meanings that may be subjunctive in other languages?Answer: Through several moods, including the optative, necessitative, imperative, and conditional.

Based on the Wikipedia article Subjunctive mood, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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