Miser Catulle, desinas ineptire!

In this lesson, subjunctive mood was induced. Changing a verb into subjunctive mood from indicative mood is to add vowel "a" and personal endings.

Indicative is to tell the truth, to point out something. Subjunctive mood is to exhort or tendence. Imperative mood is to command someone to do something (always command the 2nd person).


Using subjunctive mood for exhorting: ut/ne, so that/so that may not, induce a result that caused or with the result may not happen.

In English, purposes are expressed by infinitive, such as "Casca attends the Senate to put a dagger in Caesar", "to put a dagger in Caesar" is the purpose, in Latin, the expression is "Casca attends Senate so that he may put a dagger in Caesar.".

Other uses of the subjunctive include expressing doubt about something someone else has said, when reporting an opinion, when reporting an indirect question, when expressing a general characteristic, and more.

"You should/may drink", "So that you may drink" and "you drink" can all be expressed by subjunctive mood in Latin, in Latin, the subjunctive represents the attitude of the speaker to the action. We represent attitude in English differently, hence, the lack of one-to-one correspondence.

• Parsing
• Miser Catulle, desinas ineptire!
• Unhappy Catullus, you should stop to be a fool. ineptire is the infinitive form of verb ineptio, which means "to be foolish, play fool", the infinite verb here is to complement the verb desinas, which is the 2nd personal singular present tense subjunctive mood form of desino, which means "stop, cease", here is a pep talk that the author write to himself: "Unhappy Catullus, you should stop to be a fool"

• Linguam Latinam disco. -> I learn the Latin language.
• Linguam Latinam discimus. -> We learn the Latin language. discimus is the 1st person plural present tense indicative mood of disco.
• Linguam Latinam discamus. -> Let us learn the Latin language. discamus is the 1st person plural present tense subjunctive mood of disco, "We should learn Latin", yet, however, this sentence is to exhort, to urge, so that "Let us learn" is more appropriate.
• Bibamus, ut vivamus. -> Let us drink, so that we may live. ut, with the result that, vivamus, we may live, therefore, the 1st part of the sentence, bibamus, is more appropriate for "Let us drink", it's exhorting. The result is "urging" the cause.
• Vivimus, ut bibamus. -> We live, so that we may drink. This is for the result, an indicative mood in the 1st part of the sentence, we live, so that, we may drink, live is the cause that we may drink.
• Lesbia bibit, ne Catullus desinas ineptire. Lesbia drinks, so that Catullus will not stop to be a fool. Here the subjunctive mood is for the purpose, Lesbia drinks, so she get the purpose that Catullus will not stop to be a fool.
• Desnatis ineptire, ne Lesbia bibat. Y'all should stop to be fool, lest Lesbia drink. Here the morphology is akin to the Bibamus, ut vivatis: Y'all should do...so that... the purpose is "Let Lesbia not drink", or "lest Lesbia drink", how? Y'all stop to be fool. So, y'all should stop to be fool, so that Lesbia will not drink.
• Linguam Latinam discunt, ut in Roma antiqua vivant. They learn the Latin language, so that the may live in ancient Rome.
• Bibite, Catulle et Lesbia, ut vivatis! ...is this a threat?

• Verba

desino, desinere, desii: cease, stop
disco, discere, didici: learn
fio, fieri, factus sum: to be made, to happen, to become
linguam Latinam (direct object form; accusative), Linguae Latinae (of the Latin language; genitive)
lux: light
ne: used with subjunctive verbs to express negative purpose (so that … not)
vivo, vivere, vixi, victum: live

Present tense active(without mention, default) subjunctive:
ponam, ponas, ponat,ponamus,ponatis, ponant
desinam, desinas, desinat, desinamus, densinatis, densinant
discam, discas, discat, discamus, discatis, discant
bibam, bibas, bibat, bibamus, bibatis, bibant

Translate
bibimus: We drink
bibamus: let us drink/we should drink
discunt: they learn
discant: Let them learn/they should learn
desinitis: Y'all stop
desinatis: Y'all should stop
The women learn: Mulieres discunt
The women may learn: Mulieres discant
Let us learn Latin language: Linguam Latinam discamus
Stop! Desine! Desinite! (singular/plural)
The soldiers are eating so that they may live: Milites edunt, ut vivant.
Let us eat and drink: Edamus et bibamus
Caesar is conquering: Caesar vincit
Let there be light! (Let light come into existence!): Fiat lux!
Greetings, (male and female) students! : Salvete, discipuli, discipulaeque Linguae Latinae