Jussive mood

Examples

Arabic

Classical and Standard Arabic verbs conjugate for at least three distinct moods in the imperfect: indicative, subjunctive and jussive.

The main use of this mood is in negative commands.

The jussive form is also used in past tense sentences negated by lam لم (but not mā ما).

Esperanto

The jussive mood can be expressed in Esperanto using the volitive verb form, which is made by adding -u to a verb stem. : Iru! (Go!) : Mi petis, ke li venu. (I asked him to come.) : Li parolu. (Let him speak.) : Ni iru. (Let's go.) : Mia filino belu! (May my daughter be beautiful!)

Finnish

While there is a separate imperative form in Finnish, the jussive mood is used for the third person, where the imperative is not suitable. The jussive's ending is -koon ~ -köön in the singular and -koot ~ -kööt in the plural. The jussive can be used to express speakers' positions or opinions that somebody is allowed to do something or that somebody is expected to do something.

German

In the German language, the jussive mood is expressed using the present subjunctive (named Konjunktiv I or Möglichkeitsform I in German). It is typical of formal documents or religious texts, such as the Bible. Because it was more common in past centuries, it has often survived in proverbs:

It is still common that recipes are written in jussive mood:

Apart from that, jussive mood is still quite common in contemporary German. However, the pronouns he, she, and it might not be used directly; otherwise jussive would be mistaken for a dated form of courteous imperative. Instead, they will have to be replaced by "who", "someone", "everyone", "the new colleague" and so on:

Finally, an example for jussive that would have served as a courteous imperative when addressing people of lower, but not lowest, rank:

Note that Er is written in capital letters here. Even if this construction is not used anymore in common German, it will be recognized as being an imperative (German Wikipedia lists the example Sei Er nicht so streng! as a historic form of an imperative).

Hindi

For the non-aspectual verb forms, Hindi uses the subjunctive forms as imperatives for the formal 2nd person and the 3rd person singular and plural grammatical persons.

;jussive mood - 2P formal |आप बैठे रहें |aap baiṭhe rahein |[you].DIR [sit].PTCP [stay].JUS |You keep sitting!}}

;jussive mood - 3P singular |वो आये और लेके जाये |vo aaye aur leke jaaye |[he/she].DEM [come].JUS [and] [take].CONJ [go].JUS |(that) he come, take (it), and go!}}

;jussive mood - 3P plural |{ये लोग} वो काम अभी करें |{ye log} vo kaam abhi karein |[they].DEM [that].DEM [work].DIR [now].ADV [do].JUS |(that) these people do that work now!}}

Latin

In the Latin language, the present subjunctive has a usage labelled the "jussive subjunctive" or coniunctivus iussivus that expresses 3rd-person orders:

• Adiuvet ("Let him help.")
• Veniant ("Let them come.")

A jussive use of the present subjunctive is also attested for the second person in sayings and poetry, as well as in early Latin.

• iniurias fortunae [...] relinquas ("Leave behind [...] the wrongs of Fortune", saying from Cicero's Tusculanae Disputationes)
• doceas iter ("Show us the way", poetry from Virgil's Aeneid)

Russian

The jussive mood in modern Russian serves as an imperative (for issuing orders, commanding or requesting), but covers third person instead of second person. It is always formed with a particle пусть, which is derived from the verb пускать (to let, to allow).

: Imperative: Беги! (Run!) : Jussive: Пусть бежит (similar to Let him run)

Turkish

The jussive mood in Turkish serves as an imperative (for issuing orders, commanding or requesting), but covers third person (both singular and plural) instead of second person. The negative, interrogative and negative-interrogative forms are also possible.

: Imperative: koş! (Run!) : Jussive: koşsun! (similar to Let him/her run or he/she shall run) : Jussive: koşsunlar! (similar to Let them run or they shall run)

: Imperative: koşma! (Don't run!) : Jussive: koşmasın! (similar to Don't let him/her run or he/she shall not run) : Jussive: koşmasınlar! (similar to Don't let them run or they shall not run)

References

References

1. "What is jussive mood?". SIL International.
2. Abu Chakra, Faruk. (2018). "Arabic: An Essential Grammar". Routledge.
3. (6 August 2013). "Third Person Imperatives".
4. Bennett, Charles. (1918). "New Latin Grammar". Allyn and Bacon.
5. Hanslik, Rudolf. (June 2018). "Lateinische Grammatik". Hölder-Pichler-Tempsky.
6. (1903). "Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar for Schools and Colleges". Ginn and Company.