Latvian Verbs (Part XIII)
- Person: first, second, third person
- Number: singular vs. plural
- Tense: present, past, future
- Conjugation classes: 1st conjugation, 2nd conjugation, 3rd conjugation
- Irregular verbs
- Reflexive verbs
- Complex tenses: complex present, complex past, complex future
- Participles: declinable, partially declinable, indeclinable
- Mood: indicative, imperative, subjunctive, etc.
- Voice: active vs. passive
Mood (continued)
Subjunctive mood (vēlējuma izteiksme)
The subjunctive mood deals in fantasy. Whatever is said in the subjunctive is not (currently) real or actual, but it is conceivable. Sometimes the subjunctive mood is called the "conditional" mood, since the sentence may list the "conditions" under which a certain hypothetical event might occur. Here are a a few example sentences containing subjunctive forms, which are shown in orange:
- Ilga gribētu būt slavena balerīna. Ilga would like to be (a) famous ballerina.'
- Ja tēvs dotu man automašīnu, es nekad nebūtu mājās. 'If (my) father gave me (a) car, I would never be (at) home.'
- Kaut Raimonds paspētu koncertu. 'If only Raimond could make (the) concert.'
- Lai Jūsu visskumīgākā diena nākotnē nebūtu sliktāka nekā Jūsu vispriecākā diena pagātnē! 'May the saddest day of your future be no worse than the happiest day of your past.'
- Lai vinnētu miljonus, tomer ir vajadzīgs nopirkt lozi! 'In order to win millions, (it) is still necessary to buy (a) ticket!'
The verb form which expresses the subjunctive mood is based on the infinitive stem. It is indeclinable, and is derived by adding the suffix -tu (or -tos, if the verb is reflexive) to the infinitive stem.
To take specific examples, the subjunctive forms of the verbs sie‑t 'to tie' and glāb‑t‑ies 'to save oneself' would be derived as follows: sie- → sie‑tu ; glāb- → glāb‑tos.
Sometimes the subjunctive is used to express an extra degree of politeness. Compare the following two sentences; they contain different forms of the verb varēt 'to be able to':
- Vai Jūs varētu man pateikt, kur tramvaja pietura atrodās? 'Could you tell me where (the) trolley-bus stop is?'
- Vai Jūs varat man pateikt, kur tramvaja pietura atrodās? 'Can you tell me where (the) trolley-bus stop is?'
The first sentence (which contains the subjunctive form varētu) is merely a polite question about the location of the trolley-bus stop. The second sentence (which contains the second person plural present tense indicative form varat) is asking if the person addressed is (mentally or physically) capable of providing this information.
(Note: the word Jūs is used for formal address. Thus, although it grammatically calls for a plural verb form, the individual addressed may be a single individual. When the formal use of jūs is intended, it is capitalized, as above.)
To continue with verbs, click on → Verbs (Part XIV).