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Part of being human means that we all have hopes, wishes, and desires. We all want things and want to make something of our lives. In essence, the optative mood is all about how we express these wants, wishes, and desires. Fig. 1 - The optative mood is often used to…
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Jetzt kostenlos anmeldenPart of being human means that we all have hopes, wishes, and desires. We all want things and want to make something of our lives. In essence, the optative mood is all about how we express these wants, wishes, and desires.
Fig. 1 - The optative mood is often used to express wishes.
In this article, we'll look at the different kinds of Grammatical Mood that exist in the English language, taking particular interest in the optative mood. We'll look at what the optative mood is, what its purpose is, and some different situations in which it can be used.
Before we delve straight into that, let's get some background information first. For instance, what even is a Grammatical Mood?
Let's explore:
The best place to start any exploration is at the very beginning. What is a grammatical mood?
A grammatical mood is a feature of grammar applied to verbs that is used to show how the verb is meant to be perceived or understood. Grammatical mood is a way of applying the writer or speaker's intentions to the verb so that the nuances (subtle differences or levels of meaning) of an utterance can be correctly understood by the reader or listener.
Basically, grammatical mood helps us to understand what a sentence means in the context of how the writer or reader intended it.
There are five key grammatical moods in the English language:
Try to come up with three additional examples for each of these grammatical moods! Are there any phrases you use in your daily life that would fall under any of these categories?
Whilst these are the most common grammatical moods, there are a couple of important additional moods you need to know about which we'll look at in this next section.
Fig. 2 - Grammatical moods do not necessarily correlate to our own emotions or 'moods'
As is the Case with many English Language topics, the umbrella of 'grammatical moods' not only has the main types described above but also several less commonly used grammatical moods. Just because these are less common, it doesn't mean they're less important. So without further ado, let's see what we're talking about in this section!
The key additional moods you need to know about are the optative and the potential. As the title of this article suggests, the main thing we're concerned about is the optative mood so we'll go into more depth with that one, but we'll have a brief look at the Potential Mood first.
The Potential Mood basically does what it says on the tin - it's all about indicating potential or possibility. The potential mood is used to demonstrate how the writer or speaker believes something is likely to happen. The potential mood can also be used to give permission, or to express willingness to do something.
For example:
'He could show up to the dinner party.' (indicating potential)
'You may borrow a pen for the exam.' (giving permission)
'I would definitely go to a pool party in the summer.' (expressing willingness)
Try to think of some more examples for each of the potential mood's purposes. Can you think of any situations where you might have used a potential phrase?
And since the point of this article is to learn about the optative mood, we'll give it its own section:
The optative mood is an expressive grammatical mood. What is it used for? How can we recognise it? Let's find out:
Optative is an adjective, which means it is a describing word.
The optative mood refers to a grammatical mood used to express wishes, desires, or hopes.
Optative can also be a noun when it is used to name the optative verb in a sentence. For example:
'I wish I were rich.' is an optative sentence, and the verb 'wish' is the optative.
To help consolidate this definition a bit better before we move on with the optative exploration, let's check out some quick examples of the optative mood in English with a bit of context:
As you can see, each of these examples expresses a wish or hope, which is a key indicator of the optative mood.
The optative mood in English does not have its own morphology (form or structure) but in other languages, there is a distinct morphological optative. For instance, in Greek, the optative mood can be easily identified by the presence of 'οι', 'ει', or 'αι' endings.
Fig. 3 - Greek and other languages use the optative mood more than English.
How can we identify whether an utterance in English uses the optative mood then? The optative mood is also quite similar to the subjunctive mood which adds another layer of complexity, however, there are ways to distinguish between the two grammatical moods.
There are several strategies you can use to identify whether an utterance is optative or not, and we'll start by looking at the difference between the optative mood and the subjunctive mood.
By now, you will have noticed that both the optative and the subjunctive are used to express desires and wishes, and this is why they can be difficult to tell apart.
The key difference between the two is that the subjunctive is most often used to talk about hypothetical situations or things that have not yet happened whereas the optative is used to express desires and wishes, hopes, and prayers.
Examples of subjunctive sentences:
Examples of optative sentences:
Optative sentences can also be used as curses (although unless you're a witch, it won't be very often that you curse people!)
Release your inner witch and try to come up with some of your own curses!
The optative mood is not very commonly used in English, or at least not as commonly as in other languages such as Greek and Sanskrit, which can make it tricky to identify. However, there are some words and features you can look out for to see if a sentence is optative:
certain modal verbs are commonly associated with the optative mood: e.g. 'may', 'would', 'should', 'could', 'might'.
Modal verbs are auxiliary verbs (verbs added to the main verb) that are used to express possibility or probability.
The structure 'if only' is a common feature of optative sentences: e.g. 'If only I had studied more!'
Sometimes, the optative mood can be created by leaving out certain words (such as the modal verbs described above) in such a way that the utterance is still understood in context: e.g. '(May you) Have a lovely birthday!'
The use of 'let's' or 'let us' can also signal an optative sentence: e.g. 'Let's give it a go!', 'Let us be alright.'
Try to write two or three more examples for each of these rules. This should give you some good practice at creating optative sentences.
'May you have every success.' is an example of an optative sentence because it contains the modal verb 'may', and it expresses a wish or hope.
Subjunctive is used to indicate something that is possible or hypothetical (e.g. 'If I weren't tone deaf, I'd sing in a choir') whereas an optative is used to express a choice or wish (e.g. 'Long may you prosper!')
The three moods in English include the indicative, the imperative, and the subjunctive.
The indicative mood is used to convey facts:
e.g. 'It is raining outside.'
The imperative mood is used to give commands or requests:
e.g. 'Please help wash the dishes.'
The subjunctive mood is used to convey desires, wishes, or proposals:
e.g. 'If I were coming to the party, I'd bring the salad.'
An imperative is an utterance that gives a command or request, whereas an optative is an utterance that expresses a wish or choice.
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SIGNUP SIGNUPFlashcards in Optative Mood15
Start learningWhat is a 'grammatical mood'?
A grammatical mood is a feature of grammar applied to verbs that is used to show how the verb is meant to be perceived or understood.
What is the subjunctive mood used for?
The subjunctive mood is used to express wishes, suggestions or obligations relating to hypothetical situations or situations that have not happened yet.
What is the interrogative mood used for?
The interrogative mood is used to ask questions or gain information.
What is the indicative mood used for?
The indicative mood is used to state a fact or something that is believed to be factual.
What is the imperative mood used for?
The imperative mood is used to give instructions or commands, or to make a request.
What is the conditional mood used for?
The conditional mood is used to express situations that rely on certain conditions.
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