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The subjunctive mood can be very difficult to understand, even in Latin with its systematic approach to grammar. I try to unravel the mysteries of the subjunctive by comparing it to the other moods. It isn't the imperative (used for commands), nor the indicative (used for facts, or things close to facts). The subjunctive is used for untruths, possibilities, things that aren't quite real (or whose truth has yet to be determined).
subjunctive mood verbs
Let's learn how to conjugate a verb in the present active subjunctive. It's as easy as "we fear a liar" or "Wendy wears a giant diaper" (with, of course, a few irregulars). Keep in mind that the present subjunctive actually refers to actions happening at the same time as the main verb (unless it is the main verb, as it would be if it were a jussive, potential, optative, or deliberative).
active voice subjunctive mood verbs
The Perfect Active Subjunctive is an easy combination of the perfect stem, the infix -eri-, and the personal endings. But as you're forming it, keep in mind that it is only used with present tense main verbs to show an action that has been already completed.
The pluperfect subjunctive is similar to the pluperfect indicative, only instead of using as your endings the imperfect indicative of sum, it's the imperfect subjunctive. Just don't forget to change the first e to an i!
The present passive subjunctive is very similar to the present active subjunctive. You still have your vowel shift (We fear a liar or Wendy wears a giant diaper), but instead of the active endings, you use the passive ones. Simple, no? Don't forget that the passive of facio is fio, though. This will help you when you come to words like "fiat".
passive voice subjunctive mood verbs
The conjugation of verbs into the imperfect passive subjunctive is just as easy as into the imperfect active subjunctive. Except now we have to worry about deponents, though, and that might make life just a little bit more complicated. Don't worry, though: it's easy if you know the nuts and bolts of the imperfect tense.
The conjugation of a verb in the perfect passive subjunctive requires just a small change from the indicative mood of the perfect passive. Just change the form of sum to sim (or its other forms for other persons and numbers), and you're all set.
The pluperfect passive subjunctive is linked to the indicative conjugation of the pluperfect - swap out the imperfect indicative of sum with the imperfect subjunctive, and the conjugation falls easily into place.
This is the easiest of all Latin conjugations: take the 2nd principal part and just add your personal endings. No ifs, ands, or buts. No exceptions. This video looks a little bit deeper into how the imperfect active subjunctive is actually formed, and knowing what exactly makes up this conjugation will benefit you.
Conditions are if-then statements, and Latin has a very concrete set of regular conditions, both those that are likely to happen (using the indicative mood) and those that are more of a hypothetical nature (using the subjunctive mood). This video explores the six major real and unreal conditions.
subjunctive mood
