Classical Languages - Latin - Syntax

Subordinate Clauses

Prerequisites: Tense, Mood and Voice in Main Clauses, Infinitive and Participle Constructions, Subjunctive, Invariable Words

Next: Purpose and Result

A subordinate clause (or dependent clause) has its own verb but cannot stand alone: it depends on another clause and does the work of a noun, an adjective or an adverb. Latin builds long, closely knit sentences from clauses of this kind, and the mood of the verb, the conjunction and the tense all carry meaning. This page is the overview of the section. It classifies the clauses, shows when Latin uses the indicative and when the subjunctive, states the sequence of tenses that governs the tense of the subjunctive, and treats briefly the causal, concessive and comparative clauses, which have no page of their own. The other clause types have their own pages, listed at the end.

What a subordinate clause does

A subordinate clause has the function of a part of speech:

Function	Clause	Example (constructed)	Translation
Adjective	relative clause	Puer quī currit meus frāter est.	The boy who is running is my brother.
Noun	indirect question	Rogō quis veniat.	I ask who is coming.
Noun	indirect command	Imperat ut veniant.	He orders them to come.
Adverb	temporal clause	Cum vēnit, gaudēbāmus.	When he came, we were glad.
Adverb	purpose clause	Venit ut videat.	He comes in order to see.
Adverb	conditional clause	Sī vēneris, gaudēbō.	If you come, I shall be glad.

Types of clause

Type	Introduced by	Mood	Where
Temporal	cum, ubi, ut, simul ac, postquam, dum, donec, quoad, antequam, priusquam	indicative for a fact; subjunctive for circumstance (cum) or an anticipated event (dum, antequam, priusquam)	Cum and temporal clauses
Causal	quod, quia, quoniam, quandō; cum; quippe quī	indicative for the writer's reason; subjunctive for an alleged reason, and with cum	this page
Concessive	quamquam; quamvīs, licet; etsī, etiamsī; cum	quamquam: indicative; quamvīs, licet: subjunctive; etsī: as a condition	this page, Conditionals
Conditional	sī, nisi, nisi forte, sīn, sī nōn	indicative or subjunctive according to the type	Conditionals
Purpose	ut, nē, quō, quī	subjunctive	Purpose and result
Result	ut, ut nōn with ita, sīc, tam, tantus, tālis, adeō	subjunctive	Purpose and result
Comparative	quam, ut, sīcut, velut, quasi, tamquam	indicative; subjunctive after quasi and velut sī	this page
Relative	quī, quae, quod	indicative, or subjunctive for purpose, characteristic, result	Indirect questions and relative clauses
Indirect question	quis, quid, cūr, ubi, num, -ne, utrum ... an	subjunctive	Indirect questions and relative clauses
Indirect statement, command, question	accusative and infinitive; ut, nē; interrogative words	infinitive or subjunctive	Indirect speech

The conjunctions are also listed in Invariable words.

Indicative or subjunctive?

The indicative states a fact from the point of view of the writer. The subjunctive presents something that is willed, intended, possible, imagined, or seen from another person's point of view. The mood is therefore the first thing to ask about in a subordinate clause.

The clause expresses	Mood	Example (constructed)
a fact that the writer states	indicative	Domī manet quod aegrōtat. He stays at home because he is ill.
an aim	subjunctive	Venit ut videat. He comes in order to see.
a consequence	subjunctive	Tam fessus erat ut dormīret. He was so tired that he fell asleep.
a question reported	subjunctive	Rogō quid faciās. I ask what you are doing.
a reason that someone else gives (alleged)	subjunctive	Socratēs damnātus est quod iuventūtem corrumperet. Socrates was condemned on the ground that he corrupted the young.
a general or characterising idea	subjunctive	Sunt quī dīcant. There are people who say.
a thing contrary to fact	subjunctive	Sī adesset, gaudērem. If he were here, I should be glad.

Some conjunctions take either mood, with a difference in meaning: cum, dum, antequam, priusquam and the relative pronoun.

Sequence of tenses

The tense of a subjunctive in a subordinate clause depends on the tense of the main verb, not on the time of the subordinate action alone. The main tenses are of two kinds:

Primary (or principal): the present, the future, the future perfect, and the perfect with the sense has done.
Historic (or secondary): the imperfect, the perfect with the sense did, and the pluperfect.

The subjunctive then shows only whether the subordinate action is simultaneous or later or earlier:

Time of the subordinate action	After a primary main verb	After a historic main verb
same time or later	present subjunctive	imperfect subjunctive
earlier	perfect subjunctive	pluperfect subjunctive

Subordinate action	Primary (constructed)	Historic (constructed)
same time	Rogō quid faciās. I ask what you are doing.	Rogāvī quid facerēs. I asked what you were doing.
earlier	Rogō quid fēcerīs. I ask what you did.	Rogāvī quid fēcissēs. I asked what you had done.
later	Rogō quid factūrus sīs. I ask what you will do.	Rogāvī quid factūrus essēs. I asked what you would do.

A future idea is expressed with the future participle and sim or essem, since the subjunctive has no future tense.
The historic present may be treated as primary or as historic.
The perfect follows the primary sequence when it means has done and the historic sequence when it means did.
A subordinate clause inside an indirect statement follows the sequence of the verb that introduces the report, as shown on the page Indirect speech.
There are exceptions: a result clause may take a perfect subjunctive after a historic main verb to state a fact, and the imperfect and pluperfect subjunctive of an unreal condition do not change. They are treated on the child pages.

Characteristic and attraction

Two further uses of the subjunctive appear in many clause types.

Clauses of characteristic. A relative clause that describes a type of person or thing, not one particular individual, takes the subjunctive. It follows an indefinite or general antecedent, often sunt quī (there are people who), nēmō est quī (there is no one who), quis est quī (who is there who):

Example (constructed)	Translation
Sunt quī dīcant.	There are those who say.
Nēmō est quī nōn timeat.	There is no one who does not fear.

Attraction of mood. A clause that is a part of a subjunctive or infinitive clause often takes the subjunctive too, because it belongs to the same thought: Dīxit sē quae vīdisset nārrātūrum esse. He said that he would tell what he had seen. (constructed; vīdisset is subjunctive because the clause is part of an indirect statement)

Causal, concessive and comparative clauses

Causal

Conjunction	Mood	Example (constructed)
quod, quia, quoniam, quandō	indicative: the writer's reason	Domī manet quod aegrōtat. He stays at home because he is ill.
quod with the subjunctive	an alleged reason	Laudātur quod fortis sit. He is praised on the ground that he is brave.
cum with the subjunctive	cause	Cum aegrōtet, domī manet. Since he is ill, he stays at home.

Hōrum omnium fortissimī sunt Belgae, proptereā quod ā cultū atque hūmānitāte prōvinciae longissimē absunt.

Of all these the Belgae are the bravest, because they are furthest from the culture and refinement of the Province. (Caesar, De Bello Gallico 1.1; quod with the indicative, a reason stated by the writer)

Concessive

Conjunction	Mood	Example (constructed)
quamquam	indicative	Quamquam fessus est, labōrat. Although he is tired, he works.
quamvīs, licet	subjunctive	Quamvīs sit dīves, miser est. However rich he may be, he is wretched.
etsī, etiamsī	as a condition (see Conditionals)	Etsī labōrat, gaudet. Even though he works, he is glad.
cum with the subjunctive	concession	Cum sit dīves, miser est. Although he is rich, he is wretched.

Quamquam animus meminisse horret luctūque refūgit, incipiam.

Although my mind shudders to remember and shrinks back in grief, I will begin. (Vergil, Aeneid 2.12–13; quamquam with the indicative horret)

Comparative

Conjunction	Mood	Example (constructed)
quam after a comparative	indicative	Maior est quam crēdēbam. He is greater than I believed.
tam ... quam	indicative	Tam doctus est quam pater. He is as learned as his father.
ut, sīcut, velut	indicative	Sīcut pater, doctus est. Like his father, he is learned.
quasi, velut sī, tamquam sī	subjunctive	Facit quasi nesciat. He acts as if he did not know.

Connecting relative and the long sentence

Latin often begins a new sentence with a relative pronoun that links it to the sentence before. It stands for et is or et haec (and this, and these things) and is translated by and, this, these things:

Quae cum ita sint, Catilīna, perge quō coepistī.

Since these things are so, Catiline, go on where you have begun. (Cicero, First Catilinarian 1.10; quae is a connecting relative, and cum ... sint a causal clause with the subjunctive)

The relative pronoun also builds the long sentence, in which each clause hangs on the one before:

Gallia est omnis dīvīsa in partēs trēs, quārum ūnam incolunt Belgae, aliam Aquītānī, tertiam quī ipsōrum linguā Celtae, nostrā Gallī appellantur.

Gaul as a whole is divided into three parts, of which the Belgae inhabit one, the Aquitani another, and a third the people who in their own language are called Celts and in ours Gauls. (Caesar, De Bello Gallico 1.1)

Clause	Kind	Mood
Gallia est omnis dīvīsa in partēs trēs	main	indicative
quārum ūnam incolunt Belgae, aliam Aquītānī	relative, linking back to partēs trēs	indicative
tertiam quī ipsōrum linguā Celtae, nostrā Gallī appellantur	relative with an antecedent understood: (those) who	indicative

All three clauses state facts, so all three use the indicative.

Classical Languages - Latin - Syntax - Subordinate Clauses