INDICATIVE AND SUBJUNCTIVE COMPARED 151
| 4. |
He remained until the ship arrived Mānsit dum nāvis pervēnit |
4. |
He waited until the ship should arrive Exspectāvit dum nāvis pervenīret[1] (idea of expectation) |
| 5. |
Cæsar sends men who find the bridge Caesar mittit hominēs quī pontem reperiunt |
5. |
Cæsar sends men who are to find (or to find) the bridge Caesar hominēs mittit quī pontem reperiant (idea of purpose) |
Note. From the sentences above we observe that the subjunctive may be used in either independent or dependent clauses; but it is far more common in the latter than in the former.
347.
EXERCISE
Which verbs in the following paragraph would be in the indicative and which in the subjunctive in a Latin translation?
There have been times in the history of our country when you might be proud of being an American citizen. Do you remember the day when Dewey sailed into Manila Bay to capture or destroy the enemy’s fleet? You might have seen the admiral standing on the bridge calmly giving his orders. He did not even wait until the mines should be removed from the harbor’s mouth, but sailed in at once. Let us not despair of our country while such valor exists, and may the future add new glories to the past.
LESSON LXII
THE SUBJUNCTIVE OF PURPOSE
348. Observe the sentence
Caesar hominēs mittit quī pontem reperiant,
Cæsar sends men to find the bridge
The verb reperiant in the dependent clause is in the subjunctive because it tells us what Cæsar wants the men to do; in other words, it expresses his will and the purpose in his mind. Such a use of the subjunctive is called the subjunctive of purpose.
- ↑ pervenīret, imperfect subjunctive.
