Robert Grosseteste

On the Rainbow

Latin Grammar: Hortatory Subjunctive

Quanta autem sit radii angulariter adiuncti a recto incessu declinatio, sic imaginabimur. Intelligamus radium ab oculo per medium aëris secundum diaphanum incidentem in continuum et directum protrahi et a puncto, in quo incidit super diaphanum, lineam protrahi in profunditatem illius diaphani, quae cum superficie diaphani ex omni parte faciat angulos aequales.

Hortatory Subjunctive
The hortatory subjunctive is used to encourage someone to do something. This use naturally lends itself to the first person plural, as above we see intelligamus, “let us understand.”

2nd and 3rd person usage is sometimes called the jussive subjunctive and is used for commands. These two uses of the subjunctive are closely related. As with other subjunctives, the negative is ne.

The hortatory and jussive subjunctives most often occur in the present. They can also appear in the imperfect and pluperfect to refer to “unfulfilled obligations” in the past – that is, things that should have happened but didn't.

Turn the following sentences into hortatory (or jussive) subjunctives.

1. Intuemur formam iridis, et videmus eam arcum imitari. Intuemur =
videmus =
2. Utimur geometria ut iridem apprehendamus. Utimur =

3. Philosophus utitur geometria ut iridem apprehendat. utitur =

Philosophus oculos claudebat quando solem intuebatur.

In the subjunctive version, the implication will be: But he didn't, and now his eyes hurt.

claudebat =
5. Non putamus lineam facere angulos inaequales cum superficie diaphani. Non putamus =

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