[1] Do that! │ direct command
I want you to do that │ indirect command
In English, an indirect command is constructed with (1) the
verb + (2) the direct object of the person + (3) the infinitive of the verb:
(1) I want (2) you / him / them (3) to do that.
(1) He would like (2) me / her (3) to do that.
[2] In other languages this idea is rephrased. Each language
uses a conjunction plus a finite verb rather than an infinitive, and both
French and Spanish use the subjunctive:
Fr: Je veux ¦ que tu le fasses (subjunctive) │
literally: I want ¦ that you do it.
Sp: Quiero ¦ que lo hagas (subjunctive) │ literally:
I want ¦ that you do it.
Neither German nor Russian use the subjunctive but they do
use a conjunction and a finite verb:
Gmn: ich will, ¦ dass du es tust (indicative)
│ literally: I want ¦ that you do it.
Russ: Ya khochu, ¦ chtoby ty eto sdelal (я
хочу, чтобы ты это сделал) │ literally: I want ¦ that you
should do that (get it done)
[3] English can imitate this construction although it
is formal, distant and somewhat archaic. Note, however, the way in which
auxiliary verbs step in.
The king desires that they should not be
afraid of him but should trust him, and would receive from him
not sorrow but happiness.
[4] From that antiquated English model we can move to the
Latin construction.
verb + ut / nē + subjunctive
[i] positive indirect command
(1) Volō ¦ (2) ut (3) dicās vēritātem.
Literally: (1) I want ¦ (2) that (3) you should
tell the truth.
= I want you to tell the truth.
- Quid inde aequom est darī mihi? dīmidium volō ¦ ut dīcās. (Plautus)
What is fair for me to be given, then? Half — I want ¦
you to say it.”
[ii] negative indirect command
(1) Moneō ¦ (2) nē (3) faciātis (Cicero)
Literally: I warn
/ advise that you should not do it
= I advise / warn you not to do it.
- Ōrō nē nocturnās religiōnēs iocum rīsumque faciātis (Petronius)
I beg you not to make a joke and laughter of the
night-time religious rites.
[5] The primary and historic tense sequences apply
[i] Primary Sequence
- nōn rogō [present indicative] ¦ ut tollās [present subjunctive] eōs dē mundō sed ¦ ut servēs [present subjunctive] eōs ex mālō (Vulgate)
Literally: I do not ask that you take them out of the
world but that you protect them from the evil one
= I do not ask you to take them … but to protect
them
- Mārcellus mīlitibus persuādet [present indicative] ¦ ut sē recipiant [present subjunctive] in castra (Bellum Alexandrinum)
Literally: Marcellus persuades the soldiers that
they should withdraw to the camp.
= Marcellus persuades the soldiers to withdraw
to the camp.
- Abs tē ¦ petō [present indicative] ¦ ut mihi hoc ignōscās [present subjunctive] (Cicero)
Literally: I ask ¦
from you, ¦ that you (may) forgive me for this
= I ask you to forgive …
- Postulō [present indicative] ¦ ut mihi respondeat [present subjunctive] (Cicero)
I demand ¦ that he replies to me
- Inde tribūnīs centuriōnibusque imperat [present indicative] ¦ ut viam equitibus patefaciant [present subjunctive] (Livy)
Literally: Then he orders / gives a command to the tribunes
and centurions ¦ that they should open a way for the cavalry.
= then he orders the tribunes and centurions to open a
passage for the cavalry.
- Rogat eōs atque ōrat [present indicative] ¦ nē oppugnent [present subjunctive] fīlium suum (Cicero)
Literally: He asks and begs them ¦ that
they should not attack his son.
= He asks and begs them not to attack …
[ii] Historic Sequence
- Ter Dominum rogāvī [perfect indicative] ut discēderet [imperfect subjunctive] ā mē (Vulgate)
Three times I asked the Lord, that it should leave
me.
- Cīvitātī persuāsit [perfect indicative] ¦ ut dē fīnibus suīs cum omnibus cōpiīs exīrent [imperfect subjunctive] (Caesar)
Literally: He persuaded the state ¦ that they
should go out of their territories with all their troops
= He persuaded the state to withdraw from their
territories with all their forces
- Hominem convēnī et ab eō ¦ petīvī [perfect indicative] ¦ ut quam prīmum tē nōbīs redderet [imperfect subjunctive] (Cicero)
Literally: I met the man and asked ¦ from him ¦ that
he should return you to us as soon as possible.
= … and asked him to return you to us …
- Exitū annī Q. Fabius Maximus ā senātū ¦ postulāvit [perfect indicative] ¦ ut aedem Veneris Erycīnae … dēdicāre licēret [imperfect subjunctive] (Livy)
Literally: Towards the close of the year Q. Fabius Maximus asked
¦ from the Senate ¦ that it be permitted to dedicate the
temple of Venus Erycina
= …asked the Senate to allow him …
- Fīnitimīs imperāvit [perfect indicative] ¦ ut ab iniūriā et maleficiō sē suōsque prohibērent [imperfect subjunctive] (Caesar)
Literally: He commanded / gave an order to the
neighbouring peoples ¦ that they should keep themselves and their people
from injury and wrongdoing
= He ordered the neighbouring peoples to keep …
- Tunc Ēlias ōrāvit [perfect indicative] ¦ nē plueret [imperfect subjunctive] super terram, … (Mediaeval: Geoffrey of Monmouth referring to the biblical account)
Literally: Then Elijah prayed ¦ that it should not
rain upon the earth
= Then Elijah prayed for it not to rain …
However, if we continue that sentence, it is a very good
illustration of the same verb being used in (1) the subjunctive and (2) the
indicative, and clearly shows the thinking that underpins the two moods.
- Tunc Ēlias ōrāvit (1) nē plueret super terram, ¦¦ et (2) nōn pluit annōs trēs et mēnsēs sex.
(1) Then Elijah prayed that it would not rain; La:
subjunctive – this is something that he wanted to happen, but, at the point when
the action took place, it was not yet fullfilled
(2) …and it did not rain for three years and six
months; La: indicative – factual – it did happen
Sometimes, a single sentence can convey what “lies beneath”
subjunctive usage.
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