(:title Subjunctive:)
====
(:div class="noprint" style="font-size:0.85em":)PICS:arrowlink.gif"internal link" [[FORUM:quiz.php?c=10 | Verb exercises]] PICS:link_icon.gif"link" [[AXS:ax.pl?http://www.verbix.com/languages/dutch.shtml | Online Verb Conjugator]]
(:divend:)
====
(:div class="translated":)
{$TransBy} [[Main.AboutMe|Bieneke Berendsen]]
(:divend:)
====
The subjunctive is a grammatical mood that we use to express that something ''might, should'', or hopefully ''will'' happen. This is a very brief definition of a rather complicated grammatical term, but it should suffice for the explanation of the Dutch subjunctive. We do not use it very often and if we do, it is usually part of a fixed expression.

!!! Forming the Dutch subjunctive

In English, we do not distinguish between singular and plural subjunctives, but in Dutch we do. However, the plural form is rarely used.

The plural subjunctive is the same as the infinitive. For the singular form, we have to subtract -n from the infinitive.

%block class='rule'% 
Singular subjunctive: infinitive minus -n\\
Plural subjunctive: infinitive

Singular subjunctive:
====

(:table width='90%' cellspacing='0' align='center' class='gray':)
(:cellnr width='50%' class='gray':)Lang '''leve''' de koning!
(:cell class='i':)Long '''live''' the king!
(:cellnr class='gray':)'''Moge''' de beste schaker winnen.
(:cell class='i':)'''May''' the best chessplayer win.
(:tableend:)

====
Plural subjunctive:
====

(:table width="90%" cellspacing="0" align="center" class="gray":)
(:cellnr width="50%" class="gray":)Lange '''leven''' de buren!
(:cell class="i":)Long '''live''' the neighbours!
(:cellnr class="gray":)'''Mogen''' de beste schaatsers winnen. 
(:cell class="i":)'''May''' the best ice-skaters win.
(:tableend:)

====
Although the subjunctive can be conjugated in all eight tenses, we only use it in the present tense. 

!!! Subjunctive forms of zijn
Just like in English, the verb ''zijn'' (to be) is an exception: Next to the present form, we also use the past. However, its use is limited to the fixed expression 'were it not'.


====

(:table width="90%" align="center" cellspacing="0" class="gray":)
(:cellnr width="33%" class="gray":)'''Tense'''
(:cell class="gray" width='33%':)'''Dutch'''
(:cell class="gray" width='34%':)'''English'''
(:cellnr class="gray":)Present singular
(:cell class="gray":)zij
(:cell class="i":)be
(:cellnr class="gray":)Present plural
(:cell class="gray":)zijn
(:cell class="i":)be
(:cellnr class="gray":)Past singular
(:cell class="gray":)ware
(:cell class="i":)were
(:cellnr class="gray":)Past plural
(:cell class="gray":)waren
(:cell class="i":)were
(:tableend:)

====
The singular forms are still commonly used in the expressions 'be it' and 'were it not'.
====

(:table width="90%" cellspacing="0" align="center" class="gray":)
(:cellnr width="50%" class="gray":)Ze zal toch naar Amsterdam gaan, '''zij het''' met een ander vervoermiddel.
(:cell class="i":)She will still go to Amsterdam, '''be it''' with a different means of transportation.
(:cellnr class="gray":)'''Het zij''' zo. 
(:cell class="i":)So '''be it'''.
(:cellnr class="gray":)We zouden morgen naar Amsterdam gaan, '''ware het niet''' dat de treinmachinisten morgen weer staken.
(:cell class="i":)We would go to Amsterdam tomorrow '''were it not''' that the train conductors are on a strike again.
(:tableend:)

====
The plural forms are virtually non-existent in modern Dutch.
====

(:div id="next":)
<input name="next page" type="button" class="nextButton" title="next page" onmouseover="className='nextButtonOn'" onmouseout="className='nextButton'" onclick="location='?n=Verbs.ot07'" value="{$NextPage}  >" />
(:divend:)