Independent Clauses vs. Dependent Clauses

Before we get into the specifics of the subjunctive mood, let's review the difference between the two types of clauses.

In Latin, the subjunctive mood is used in two distinctive ways: there are independent uses and there are dependent uses. How you approach the translation of a subjunctive verb will depend very much on which of these two uses is in effect.

Independent Uses - an independent subjunctive is being used in an independent clause, which is a clause that can stand alone as its own sentence. Independent clauses are also called main clauses. For independent uses, the subjunctive mood is used as the verb in an independent clause. The subjunctive verb does not require other verbs to support it, which is why we call the clause independent. The independent uses include:
- Potential Subjunctives
- Imperative Subjunctives
- Optative Subjunctives (wishes)
- Deliberative Questions
Dependent Uses - a dependent subjunctive is being used in a dependent clause, which is a clause that cannot stand alone as its own sentence. Dependent clauses are also called subordinate clauses. For dependent uses, the subjunctive verb is used to further explain, describe, or set conditions on the independent clause. These uses include: indirect commands and questions, purpose clauses, result clauses, circumstantial clauses, and conditional clauses. The focus of this module is to learn two dependent uses of the subjunctive mood:

- Indirect Questions
- Indirect Commands

Regardless of whether working with independent or dependent subjunctive verbs, there will only be four tenses used: present, imperfect, perfect, or pluperfect.

[CC BY-NC-SA 4.0] UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED | IMAGES: LICENSED AND USED ACCORDING TO TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION - INTENDED ONLY FOR USE WITHIN LESSON.