Negative Prohibition
In the last unit on negating imperatives, we learned that we can use the imperative of nōlō, nōlle, nōluī (nōli! and nōlite! for singular and plural respectively) with a complementary infinitive to issue a command that someone not do something.
Another way to express a negative command in the 2nd or 3rd person is to use a perfect subjunctive in an independent clause introduced by nē. We call this construction negative prohibition.
- nē timuerīs! Don’t be afraid!
- nē id aspexerītis! Don’t look at it!
The negative imperative, however, is more common.
Jussive Subjunctive
Like negative prohibition, the jussive subjunctive is an independent use of the subjunctive (meaning it stands on its own in a clause and does not rely on a main clause) that expresses a command in the third person. Note the difference between the jussive subjunctive and the imperative: the latter gives an order directly to a listener (second person), while the jussive subjunctive gives an order to a third person entity (a “he,” “she,” “it,” or “they”).
Take a look at the following examples:
- bona verba dīcat. Let him say good words.
- hanc linguam discant. Let them learn this language.
- ā marī veniat. Let her come from the sea.
Jussives are negated with nē:
- nē nōs videant. Let them not see us.
- nē id faciat. Let him not do it.
Hortatory Subjunctive
Like negative prohibition and the jussive subjunctive, the hortatory subjunctive is an independent use of the subjunctive that expresses a command in the first person. Note the difference between the hortatory subjunctive and the jussive: the latter gives an order to a third person entity, while the hortatory subjunctive gives an order to a first person entity, often in the plural (“we” or “us”). For this reason, a nickname for the hortatory subjunctive is the “salad subjunctive” (“let us leave” = “lettuce leave”).
- eāmus et ludum aspiciāmus. Let us go and watch the game.
- cēnam cum familiā nostrā habeāmus. Let us have dinner with our family.
- pulchrum carmen eōrum audiāmus. Let us listen to their beautiful song.
Like the jussive, the hortatory is negated with nē:
- nē canāmus. Let us not sing.
- nē eōs interficiāmus. Let us not kill them.