The Three Key Features
Just as with indicatives, we encourage you to learn the key features that will help you recognize verbal forms as you encounter them in the Greek NT. Because subjunctives never have an augment, we now have only three key features.
| Subjunctives: 3 KEY FEATURES |
| Tense-Form |
Voice |
Stem |
Tense Former |
Ending Pattern |
| Present |
Active |
present |
|
⇠vowel⇢ Primary
Active |
Middle/
Passive |
present |
|
⇠vowel⇢ Primary
Middle-Passive |
The good news with subjunctives is that there are no new endings to learn. All subjunctives use the primary ending pattern. As you look over the table below, can you see the one consistent difference between present indicatives and present subjunctive?
| λύω in the Present Indicative and Subjunctive |
|
|
|
Indicative
Active |
|
Subjunctive
Active |
|
Indicative
Middle-Passive |
|
Subjunctive
Middle-Passive |
| Singular |
First |
λύω |
λύω |
λύομαι |
λύωμαι |
| Second |
λύεις |
λύῃς |
λύῃ |
λύῃ |
| Third |
λύει |
λύῃ |
λύεται |
λύηται |
| Plural |
First |
λύομεν |
λύωμεν |
λυόμεθα |
λυώμεθα |
| Second |
λύετε |
λύητε |
λύεσθε |
λύησθε |
| Third |
λύουσι(ν) |
λύωσι(ν) |
λύονται |
λύωνται |
The key to identifying subjunctive verbs is the lengthened connecting vowel. As you may have noticed, however, the lengthened vowel creates some overlapping forms.
λύω is the form for both of the following:
present, active, indicative, first-person, singular
present, active, subjunctive, first-person, singular
λύῃ is the form for all of the following:
present, m/p, indicative, second-person, singular
present, active, subjunctive, third-person, singular
present, m/p, subjunctive, second-person, singular
So, how can we know which form is being used? Usually, the context will make the decision clear. Consider the options for translating the following examples:
ἐγὼ χρείαν ἔχω ὑπὸ σοῦ βαπτισθῆναι, καὶ σὺ ἔρχῃ πρός με;
Indicative: “I need to be baptized by you, and (yet) you come to me?”
Subjunctive: “I need to be baptized by you, and (yet) you might come to me?”
—Matthew 3:14
Jesus has already come to John to be baptized, so ἔρχῃ reflects a present reality (from the speaker’s point of view). The indicative mood expresses this perspective well.
“διδάσκαλε, ἀκολουθήσω σοι ὅπου ἐὰν ἀπέρχῃ.”
Indicative: “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you are going.”
Subjunctive: “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you might go.”
—Matthew 8:19
In this case, there is a word that helps mark ἀπέρχῃ as a subjunctive. ἐὰν (εἰ + ἄν) already carries a sense of contingency. The subjunctive mood pairs with ἐὰν to communicate a potential (or even probable) but not yet actual reality. Later in this lesson, you will discover that ἐὰν is one of a handful of words that commonly anticipate a verb in the subjunctive mood.
εἰμί in the Subjunctive
In the subjunctive mood, εἰμί only occurs in the present tense. The forms are easily recognized as the bare primary active endings. You should memorize this chart.
| εἰμί in the subjunctive |
|
|
|
Subjunctive |
| Singular |
First |
ὦ I may be |
| Second |
ᾖς you may be |
| Third |
ᾖ he/she/it may be |
| Plural |
First |
ὦμεν we may be |
| Second |
ᾖτε you (pl.) may be |
| Third |
ὦσι(ν) they may be |
Practice
While the only new element from present indicatives is the lengthened connecting vowel, you will still benefit from practice in recognizing the subjunctive forms. Use the quizlet below to parse λύω as a present subjunctive.
Before we take a look at some specific examples, let's first add in the forms for the aorist subjunctives.