Editing Subjunctive mood (section)

==Semitic languages==

===Arabic===
In [[Classical Arabic]], the verb in its [[imperfect]] aspect (''al-muḍāri‘'') has a subjunctive form called the ''manṣūb'' form ({{lang|ar|منصوب}}). It is distinct from the imperfect indicative in most of its forms: where the indicative has "-u", the subjunctive has "-a"; and where the indicative has "-na" or "-ni", the subjunctive has nothing at all. (The "-na" ending in the second and third-person plural feminine is different: it marks the gender and number, not the mood, and therefore it is there in both the indicative and subjunctive.)
* Indicative third singular masc. ''yaktubu'' "he writes / is writing / will write" → Subjunctive ''yaktuba'' "he may / should write"
* Indicative third plural masc. ''yaktubūna'' "they write" → Subjunctive ''yaktubū'' "they may write"
* Indicative third plural fem. ''yaktubna'' "they write" = Subjunctive ''yaktubna'' "they may write"

The subjunctive is used in ''that''-clauses, after Arabic ''an'': ''urīdu an aktuba'' "I want to write." However, in conditional and precative sentences, such as "if he goes" or "let him go", a different mood of the imperfect aspect, [[Jussive mood#Arabic|the jussive]], ''majzūm'', is used.

In many spoken Arabic dialects, there remains a distinction between indicative and subjunctive; however, it is not through a suffix but rather a prefix.

In [[Levantine Arabic]], the indicative has ''b-'' while the subjunctive lacks it:
* third sing. masc. ''huwwe byuktob'' "he writes / is writing / will write", versus ''yuktob'' "he may / should write"
* third plural masc. ''homme byukotbu'', versus ''yukotbu''

[[Egyptian Arabic]] uses a simple construction that precedes the conjugated verbs with (''law'' "if") or (''momken'' "may"); the following are some examples:
* (Law/Momken enti tektebi. "If /Maybe you write") (s.f)
* (Law/Momken enti katabti. "If /Maybe you wrote") (s.f)
* (Law/Momken enti konti tektebi."If /Maybe you would write") (s.f)
* (Law/Momken enti ḥatektebi. "If /Maybe you will write") (s.f)

[[Tunisian Arabic]] often precedes the imperfective indicative verb by various conjunctions to create the subjunctive:

'''Ma''':
*Mē ʕandak '''ma''' tekteb. You have nothing '''to''' write
Literally: not at.you '''subj_tool''' you_write

'''Ken''' for wish, hope or opinion:
*Netmanna, '''ken''' nʃūfak nējeħ nhār. I wish i'd see you successful one day: ''Wish''
*'''Ken''' yeʃlēqu. (I) hope they find out: ''Hope''
*(Men rayi,) '''Ken''' temʃi tertēħ. (In my opinion,) It's better [for your health] to relax: ''Opinion''

'''Taw''' for a highly expected possibility:
*Abqa hne, '''taw''' toxles. Stay here (and) you will/could get paid

'''Ra''' for inevitability but it's, in most cases, accompanied with "ken" in the other clause:
*Ken tkūn ðˤʕīf, '''rak''' bēʃ tetʕeb fe ħyētak. Once you get weak, you'll suffer in life

===Hebrew===
Final short vowels were elided in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] in prehistoric times, so that the distinction between the Proto-Semitic indicative, subjunctive and jussive (similar to Classical Arabic forms) had largely been lost even in Biblical Hebrew. The distinction does remain for some verbal categories, where the original final morphemes effected lasting secondary changes in word-internal syllabic structure and vowel length. These include weak roots with a medial or final vowel, such as {{Transliteration|hbo|yaqūm}} {{gloss|he rises / will rise}} versus {{Transliteration|hbo|yaqom}} "may he rise" and {{Transliteration|hbo|yihye}} {{gloss|he will be}} versus {{Transliteration|hbo|yehi}} {{gloss|may he be}}, imperfect forms of the ''hiphil'' stem, and also generally for first person imperfect forms: {{lang|hbo|אֵשֵׁב}} (imperfect indicative of 'sit') vs. {{lang|hbo|אֵשְׁבָה}} (imperfect cohortative=volitive of 'sit'). In modern Hebrew, the situation has been carried even further, with forms like {{Transliteration|he|yaqom}} and {{Transliteration|he|yehi}} becoming non-productive; instead, the future tense (prefix conjugation) is used for the subjunctive, often with the particle {{Transliteration|he|she-}} added to introduce the clause, if it is not already present (similar to French {{lang|fr|que}}).
* {{lang|he|ש'''יבוא'''}} {{Transliteration|he|She'''yavo'''}} – {{gloss|Let him '''come'''}} or {{gloss|May he '''come'''}} (literally, {{gloss|That (he) '''will come'''}})
* {{lang|he|אני רוצה ש'''יבוא'''}} {{Transliteration|he|Ani rotzeh she'''yavo'''}} – {{gloss|I want him '''to come'''}} (literally, {{gloss|I want that (he)''' will come'''}})

Biblical subjunctive forms survive in non-productive phrases in such forms as the third-person singular of {{gloss|to be}} ({{lang|hbo|להיות}} {{Transliteration|hbo|lihyot}}, {{lang|hbo|יהי/תהי}} or {{lang|hbo|יהא/תהא}}) and {{gloss|to live}} ({{lang|hbo|לחיות}} {{Transliteration|he|likhyot}}, {{lang|he|יחי/תחי}}), mostly in a literary [[Register (sociolinguistics)|register]]:
* {{lang|he|'''יחי''' המלך}} {{Transliteration|he|'''Y'khi''' ha-melekh}} – {{gloss|Long '''live''' the king}} (literally, {{gloss|'''Live''' the-king}})
* {{lang|he|לו '''יהי'''}} {{Transliteration|he|Lu ''Y'hi''}} – {{gloss|Let it be}} (literally, {{gloss|if it '''be'''}}) (a popular song in Hebrew, by [[Naomi Shemer]])

===Akkadian===
Subordinate clauses in [[Akkadian language|Babylonian]] and Standard Babylonian [[Akkadian (language)|Akkadian]] are marked with a ''-u'' on verbs ending in a consonant, and with nothing after vocalic endings or after [[ventive]] endings. Due to the consonantal structure of semitic languages, and Akkadian sound laws, the addition of the -u might trigger short vowels in the middle of the word to disappear. [[Akkadian language|Assyrian]] Akkadian uses a more complicated system with both -u and -ni as markers of subordination. The ending -ni was used in the instances where -u could not be used as stated above. During Middle and Neo Assyrian the -ni ending became compulsory on all subordinate verbs, even those that already had the -u, resulting in -ni and-ūni as markers of subordination.<ref>Huenergard, John, ''Grammar of Akkadian Third Edition'', Eisenbrauns 2011</ref>