Moods Overview

Moods are a grammatical feature of verbs used to convey the intention of the speaker. There are three moods in Old English, the indicative, used when the speaker is making a statement, the imperative, used when giving a command, and the subjunctive, used when expressing a wish, an outcome conditional on other events, reporting something that was said, and statements contrary to facts. Verbs in Old English are inflected in order to show their mood. For example, examine the verb 'cuman - to come' in the sentences below.

Indicative

The normal mood of verbs is the indicative. The indicative mood is used for statements and questions. For example, 'Hwæt lærest þu on þæm minstere? - What do you teach in the monastery?' and 'We læraþ eald Englisc on þæm minstere⁠ - We teach Old English in the monastery'. The indicative has different inflections for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and plural in both the present and the past tense. The majority of Old English verbs will be in this mood, just as they are in modern English.

Imperative

When making a command or giving an order, the imperative form of the verb is used. There is one form when commanding an individual and one when commanding a group. The singular command is usually indentical to the infinitive of the verb with the -an ending removed. The plural command is usually identical to the present plural form of the verb. For example, examine the verb 'niman - to take' in the following sentences: 'Wið heafodwærc nim rudan ond wermod - For headaches, take rue and wormwood' and 'Nimað þis gold ond bicgað eow landare - Take this gold and buy your property'.

The imperative verb usually starts the sentence or clause and is not paired with a subject noun or pronoun. It is commonly seen in direct speech and instructional writing such as leechbooks.

Subjunctive

The subjunctive mood is used to express desires, outcomes conditional on other events, and statements contrary to facts. Subjunctive forms are rarer in modern English, but can be seen preserved in examples like, 'I wish I were a rich man' as opposed to 'I wish I was' or 'We suggest he be released' as opposed to 'We suggest he is released'.

In Old English subjunctives verb forms are more common, particularly after verbs of command or desire; calls to preform an action; or expressions which have doubt or are reported second hand. For example, 'Ne recce ic hwæt hie demen - Nor do I care what they might judge' and 'Ic wolde helpan þæs þe þær unscyldig wære - I wished to help whoever was not guilty'.

Singular subjunctives take the root of the verb (the infinitive without the -an ending) and add an -e while plural subjunctives add -en. So 'deman - to judge' becomes 'deme' in the subjunctive singular and 'demen' in the subjunctive plural. The past and present forms are identical.

Once you are comfortable with the idea of moods, continue on to the next module by clicking the link below.