Subjunctive

The subjunctive mood is used to express wishes, desires, or outcomes that are dependent on certain conditions being met. In modern English, modal verbs or if-statements are often used to convey the subjunctive mood. For example, 'it might rain later' or 'if I had studied more, I would have passed the exam'. However, in Old English it is more common for the form of the verb to change. Subjunctive forms of verbs still occasionally occur in modern English, for example, 'If I were fluent in Old English' is expressing a statement that is not a fact (it is an imagined situation) using a different form of the verb 'to be' than the expected first person past 'If I was...'.

Old English Subjunctives

In Old English, almost every verb has a subjunctive form. These forms are most often used when something is expressed that is contrary to fact (such as a desire or condition) or where the speaker doesn't want to state something as a fact (when reporting something that was said, for example.) The subjunctive is often used with mental verbs, such as 'þencan - to think'; with verbs of ordering and requesting, such as 'beodan - to order'; and verbs and adjectives of appropriateness, such as 'gedafenian - to be fitting'.

There is one subjunctive form of a verb for singular and one for plural. The singular subjunctive form is the root of the verb with -e added, and the plural form is the root of the verb with -en- added. Examine the sentences below, 'Gif heo to Rome fare - If she would travel to Rome' and 'Þæt ge þa sang hieren - That ye might hear the song'.

In first person present singular and first and third person past it can be hard to distinguish a subjunctive form from the usual indicative -e ending. For example, examine the verb 'sittan - to sit' in the following sentences: 'Swylc swa ic æt swæsendum sitte mid minum ealdormannum - As if I were to sit at the feast with my nobles.' (subjunctive) and 'Ic æt swæsendum sitte mid minum ealdormannum - I sit at the feast with my nobles' (indicative). Sentences opening with adverbs like 'swylc swa - such as/as if', 'gif - if', 'butan - unless' or 'þeah - though/although' are usually expressing a condition, and we would expect a subjunctive form to be used, so in these cases the context usually makes it clear that a condition or a counterfactual statement is being made.

Similarly, a subjunctive is required after the use of the verb 'willian - to wish', as this is expressing a desire. For example, examine the sentence, 'Alexander wolde þæt his mærþa wæren maran þonne Ercoles - Alexander wished that his fame might be greater than Hercules''.

However, there are also places where a subjunctive is used when no desire or condition is expressed. For example, it is often found when reporting something that was said, or following a verb of command. In many cases it is appropriate to translate these sentences with modal verbs such as 'should/would/could/might' in modern English, but sometimes the normal indicative form is fine. Examine the sentence below: 'Odda het ðæt he to him come' which uses the singular subjunctive come with it's -e ending, and is perhaps best translated 'Odda ordered that he should come to him'.

Whilst almost all subjunctives are formed with the addition of -e (singular) and -en (plural) to the root of the verb, the verb 'beon' has its own subjunctive forms in both present and past. These are listed in the table below. Note that these forms also end in -e (sie and wære) and -en (sien and wæren) like other subjunctives, and so should be easy to spot. It is worth learning to recognise these forms of 'beon' as they are some of the most commonly encountered verbs.