MS: Lesson - Dependent Verbs in the Indicative Mood

Dependent Verbs in the Indicative Mood

We will address dependent subjunctives in a moment. Before we do, though, we need to review how dependent clauses work in the indicative mood. Though there are several exceptions, in general the tense of an indicative verb in a dependent clause expresses a relationship to the introductory verb. English tends to treat tense more literally in a dependent clause, demonstrating the time of the action directly. Let's take a moment to compare how the tense of the Latin verb in a dependent clause is translated into English.

**Tense in Indicative Dependent Clauses**
Dependent Verb Tense	Shows	Latin Example	English Translation	Explanation
Present	action happening at the same time	Dum Pseudolus dicit, discipuli audiebant.	While Pseudolus talked, his students were listening.	The talking is happening at the same time as the listening. In English, the tenses match - both are expressed in the past tense. In Latin, the verb in the dependent clause is present tense.
Past	action happening earlier than the independent clause	Ubi Pseudolus advenit, Selene eum adiuvit.	When Pseudolus had arrived, Selene helped him.	Selene could not help Pseudolus until after he arrived, so Latin puts the verb in the dependent clause in the past tense. In English, this can be expressed with the pluperfect: had arrived.
Future (rare)	action happening later than the independent clause	Prius Pseudolus adveniet, libros inveniamus.	Before Pseudolus arrives (will arrive), let us find our books.	A future tense verb in a dependent clause is quite rare. But here, we see that Pseudolus has not yet arrived, so we are encouraging ourselves to get ready before he gets there. In English, note that a present tense verb handles this expression well enough.