Mood: mood
| Values: | Adm | Cnd | Des | Imp | Ind | Int | Irr | Jus | Nec | Opt | Pot | Prp | Qot | Sub |
Mood is a feature that expresses modality and subclassifies finite verb forms.
Ind: indicative or realis
The indicative can be considered the default mood. A verb in indicative merely states that something happens, has happened or will happen, without adding any attitude of the speaker.
Examples
- [cs] Studuješ na univerzitě. “You study at the university.”
- [de] Du studierst an der Universität. “You study at the university.”
- [fr] Tu le fais. “You do it.”
- [tr] eve gidiyor “she is going home”
- [tr] eve gitti “she went home”
- [et] Sa ei tule. “You are not coming.”
- [pt] Ela foi para casa. “she went home.”
- [sq] Ti flet shqip. “You speak Albanian.”
Imp: imperative
The speaker uses imperative to order or ask the addressee to do the action of the verb.
Examples
- [cs] Studuj na univerzitě! “Study at the university!”
- [de] Studiere an der Universität! “Study at the university!”
- [tr] eve git “go home!”
- [tr] eve gidin “go home!” (plural)
- [tr] eve gitsin “[let him] go home!” (3rd person imperative)
- [sa] ब्रूहि राजः / brūhi rājaḥ “tell the king”
Cnd: conditional
The conditional mood is used to express actions that would have taken place under some circumstances but they actually did not / do not happen. Grammars of some languages may classify conditional as tense (rather than mood) but e.g. in Czech it combines with two different tenses (past and present).
Examples
- [cs] Kdybych byl chytrý, studoval bych na univerzitě. “If I were smart I would study at the university” (note that only the auxiliary bych is specific to conditional; the active participle byl is also needed to analytically form the conditional mood, however, it will only be tagged as participle because it can also be used to form past tense indicative.)
- [tr] eve gittiyse “if she went home”
- [tr] eve gidiyorsa “if she is going home”
- [tr] eve giderse “if she goes home”
- [tr] eve gidecekdiyse “if she was going to go home”
Pot: potential
The action of the verb is possible but not certain. This mood corresponds to the modal verbs can, might, be able to. Used e.g. in Finnish. See also the optative.
Examples
- [tr] eve gidebilir “she can go home”
- [tr] eve gidemeyebilir “she may not be able to go home”
Sub: subjunctive / conjunctive
The subjunctive mood is used under certain circumstances in subordinate clauses, typically for actions that are subjective or otherwise uncertain. In German, it may be also used to convey the conditional meaning.
Examples
- [fr] Je veux que tu le fasses “I want you to do it” lit. I want that you it do.Sub
Jus: jussive / injunctive
The jussive mood expresses the desire that the action happens; it is thus close to both imperative and optative.
Unlike in desiderative, it is the speaker, not the subject who wishes that it happens.
Used e.g. in Arabic. We also map the Sanskrit injunctive to Mood=Jus.
Examples
- [sa] मैवं वोचः / maivaṁ vocaḥ “Do not speak this way”
Prp: purposive
Means “in order to”, occurs in Amazonian and Australian languages, such as Arabana.
Examples
- [ard] Antha yukarnda puntyi manilhiku. “I am going to get some meat.”
Qot: quotative
The quotative mood is used e.g. in Estonian to denote direct speech. The boundary between this mood and the non-first-hand Evidentiality is blurred.
Examples
- [et] Sa ei tulevat. “You are reportedly not coming.”
Opt: optative
Expresses exclamations like “May you have a long life!” or “If only I were rich!” In Turkish it also expresses suggestions. In Sanskrit it may express possibility (cf. the potential mood in other languages).
Examples
- [tr] eve gidelim ‘let’s go home’
- [sa] अप्रधानः प्रधानः स्यात् / apradhānaḥ pradhānaḥ syāt “the unimportant person may be (become) important”
Des: desiderative
The desiderative mood corresponds to the modal verb “want to”: “He wants to come.” Used e.g. in Japanese or Turkish.
Examples
- [ja] 食べたい / tabetai “want to eat”
Nec: necessitative
The necessitative mood expresses necessity and corresponds to the modal verbs “must, should, have to”: “He must come.”
Examples
- [tr] eve gitmeli “she should go home”
- [tr] eve gitmeliydi “she should have gone home”
Int: interrogative
Verbs in some languages have a special interrogative form that is used in yes-no questions. This is attested, for instance, in the Turkic languages. Celtic languages have it for the copula but not for normal verbs.
Examples
- [ug] يېدىڭىزمۇ؟ / yëdingizmu? “Have you eaten?”
- [ga] Nach in aghaidh easa atá sé ag snámh? “Isn’t he swimming against the tide / fighting a losing battle?”
- [gd] Rudeigin mu dheidhinn sgrìob a Venezuela, an e? “Something about a trip to Venezuela, isn’t it?”
Irr: irrealis
The irrealis mood denotes an action that is not known to have happened. As such, it is a roof term
for a group of more specific moods such as conditional, potential, or desiderative. Some languages
do not distinguish these finer shades of meaning but they do distinguish realis (which we tag with
the same feature as indicative, Ind) and irrealis.
Examples
- [quc] Xaq ta ne kimbʼe iwukʼ. “Let me be with you.” (“Que fuera yo con ustedes.”)
Adm: admirative
Expresses surprise, irony or doubt. Occurs in Albanian, other Balkan languages, and in Caddo (Native American from Oklahoma).
Examples
- [sq] Ti fliske shqip! “You (surprisingly) speak Albanian!”
Mood in other languages: [akk] [arr] [bej] [bg] [bm] [cs] [cy] [el] [eme] [en] [es] [ess] [et] [fi] [fr] [ga] [gd] [gn] [gub] [hbo] [hu] [hy] [it] [jaa] [ka] [ky] [mdf] [myv] [pcm] [qpm] [qtd] [quc] [ru] [say] [sl] [sv] [tpn] [tr] [tt] [u] [ug] [uk] [urb] [urj]