'''Konjunktiv''' är ett bisatser som har med hypotetiska och möjliga förhållanden att göra. I de germanska språken har dock konjunktiven även övertagit funktioner från det försvunna moduset optativ, vilket man kan använda även i huvudsatser och som uttrycker talarens önskan, indirekta uppmaning eller syn på vad som vore lämpligast. 

==Konjunktiv i svenska==

Konjunktivet är i svenskan på stark utgång. I modern svenska förekommer konjunktiven främst i vissa stelnade uttryck. Några exempel (i presens konjunktiv) är:
*Leve Sverige!
*Prisad vare Herren!
*Jag ska banne mig...
*Rädde sig den som rädda sig kan!
*Bevare mig väl.
*Det vete katten.

Det finns två andra modus i svenskan: indikativ och imperativ. Konjunktiven förekommer i två tempus: presens och imperfekt. 

I dagens svenska är presens konjunktiv, i den mån det förekommer, endast använt just i den optativa funktionen. Ett exempel är "Gud välsigne er", som kan omskrivas med det modala hjälpverbet "må" till "Må Gud välsigna er". (Egentligen antar dock "må" just formen presens konjunktiv i sådana situationer; för verb med infinitivslut på tryckstark vokal är presens konjunktiv nämligen identisk med infinitiven.) "Måtte", "bör" och ibland "ska" är andra hjälpverb som kan användas vid omskrivningar av presens konjunktiv-satser. Eftersom presens konjunktiv i svenskan idag endast kan användas optativt, kan man argumentera för att det skall betraktas som just optativ, varpå svenskan får fyra modus.

Imperfekt konjunktiv (även kallat "preteritum konjunktiv") har dock inte längre någon optativ funktion, utan viss ursprunglig konjunktiv samt, framför allt, funktion som konditionalisform. Exempel på det senare är "Om du ''vore'' här, skulle jag kyssa dig". Traditionell att-satskonjunktiv förekommer endast efter verbet "önska": "Jag önskar att du ''vore'' här". Som synes är formen inte nödvändigtvis knuten till dåtid. Kategorin bär sitt namn mer av traditionella och etymologiska skäl.

De flesta svenska verb slutar i infinitiv (aktivum) på trycksvagt -a. Presens konjunktiv av dessa verb bildas genom att a:et byts ut mot ett e: lev''a''&nbsp;→&nbsp;lev''e''. För övriga svenska verb, vilka slutar på tryckstark vokal, används ingen ändelse, till exempel "Ske din vilja" (verbets ''e'' tillhör här stammen).

Imperfekt konjunktiv existerar som särskild form endast hos fjärde deklinationens verb, de så kallade "starka verben". Även här används e-suffix, men det till en speciell rot som imperfekt konjunktiv delade med de gamla pluralisformerna för dåtid. För de allra flesta av dessa verb är den stammen identisk med den "vanliga" imperfekt-/preteritumstammen, men om denna har ''a'' som stamvokal används en annan stam, vilken oftast är supinumstammen. Imperfekt konjunktiv av "springa" heter således inte "sprange" utan "sprunge". Vissa verb använder dock en särskild stam just för imperfekt konjunktiv och de gamla plurala dåtidsformerna. Det gäller även "gå" och "få". Dessa stammar lyder:

*vor- (vara) (''voro'', ''vore'')
*fing- (få) (''fingo'', ''finge'')
*ging- (gå) (''gingo'', ''ginge'')
*båd- (be) (''bådo'', ''både'')
*gåv- (ge/giva) (''gåvo'', ''gåve'')

In mood that exists in many languages. It is typically used in dependent clauses to express wishes, commands, emotion, possibility, judgment, necessity, or statements that are contrary to fact at present. The details of subjunctive use vary from language to language.

== The subjunctive in Indo-European languages==
The reconstructed Iranian or Persian languages and several others.  It had two closely related moods:  the subjunctive and the optative.  Many of its daughter languages combined or merged these moods.

In Indo-European, the subjunctive was formed by using the full ablaut grade of the root of the verb, and appending the thematic vowel *''-e-'' or *''-o-'' to the root stem, with the full, primary set of personal inflections.  The subjunctive was the Indo-European ''irrealis'', used for hypothetical or counterfactual situations.  

The optative mood was formed with a suffix *''-ieh<sub>1</sub>'' or *''-ih<sub>1</sub>'' (with a laryngeal).  The optative used the clitic set of secondary personal inflections.  The optative was used to express wishes or hopes.  

Among the Indo-European languages, only Albanian, Avestan, Ancient Greek, Sanskrit, and to some extent Old Church Slavonic kept the subjunctive and optative fully separate and parallel.  However, in Sanskrit, use of the subjunctive is only found in the Vedic language of earliest times, and the optative and imperative are in comparison less commonly used. In the later language (from c.500BC), the subjunctive fell out of use, with the optative or imperative being used instead.  However, the first person forms of the subjunctive continue to be used, as they are transferred to the imperative, which formerly, like Greek, had no first person forms.

== The subjunctive in English ==
=== Form ===
The subjunctive in Modern English is easily distinguished in a great variety of contexts where the sense is past tense, but the form of the subjunctive verb required is present:  "It was required that we go to the back of the line."   Were it not subjunctive, the form of "to go" for something in the past would have been ''went''.  Compare with the non-subjunctive:  "Everyone knows that we went to the back of the line."

{|style="border-collapse:collapse" border="1" cellpadding="5"
! || Present indicative || Present subjunctive || Past indicative || Past subjunctive
|-
|'''to own'''<br />(regular verb)
|I own<br />he/she/it '''owns'''<br />we/you/they own
|I own<br />he/she/it '''own'''<br />we/you/they own
|I owned<br />he/she/it owned<br />we/you/they owned
|I owned<br />he/she/it owned<br />we/you/they owned
|-
|'''to be'''
|I '''am'''<br />he/she/it '''is'''<br />we/you/they '''are'''
|I '''be'''<br />he/she/it '''be'''<br />we/you/they '''be'''
|I '''was'''<br />he/she/it '''was'''<br />we/you/they were
|I '''were'''<br />he/she/it '''were'''<br />we/you/they were
|}

As shown in the above table, the form of the subjunctive is distinguishable from the indicative in only three circumstances:

# in the third person singular of the present tense,
# with the verb ''to be'' in the present tense, and
# in the first person singular and third person singular of verb ''to be'' in the past tense.

The modal auxiliaries do not have present subjunctive forms.

In Early Modern English, the past subjunctive was distinguishable from the past indicative not only in the verb ''to be'' (as in Modern English) but also in the second-person singular of all verbs. For example: indicative ''thou sattest'', but subjunctive ''thou sat''. 

Nevertheless, in some texts in which the pronoun Shakespeare and some of his contemporaries.

====Present and past subjunctive====
The terms ''present subjunctive'' and ''past subjunctive'' can be misleading, as they describe ''forms'' rather than ''meanings'': the past and present subjunctives are so called because they resemble the past and present indicatives, respectively, but the difference between them is a difference in modality, not a temporal one.

For example, in "I asked that it be done yesterday," ''be done'' (a present subjunctive) has no present-tense sense; and likewise, in "If that were true, I'd know it," ''were'' (a past subjunctive) has no past-tense sense.

====The pluperfect subjunctive====
Since the "past subjunctive" is not a true past tense, it uses as its past tense what is structurally its perfect aspect form. This past tense is known as the ''past perfect subjunctive'' or ''pluperfect subjunctive''; it is formed using ''had'' (the past subjunctive of ''to have'') plus the verb's past participle.

The pluperfect subjunctive is used like the past subjunctive, except that it expresses a past-tense sense. So, for example:

*''If I '''had known''' (yesterday), I would have done something about it.''
*''If I '''had seen''' you, I definitely would have said hello.''
*''I wouldn't be here if he '''hadn't helped''' me.''

When used in the construction of a counterfactual statement as in the examples above, it is paired with the conditional perfect ''viz.'' "If I had [not] ''X'', then I would [not] have ''Y''". The (arguably) canonical example of the counterfactual actually eschews the pluperfect subjunctive: If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake. This should, of course, be ''If I Had Known…'' .

If a clause is in a past tense, then a clause subordinate to it cannot be in the past subjunctive, though it might be in the pluperfect subjunctive; however, if it is in a present tense, then a clause subordinate to it might be in either of the two, depending on meaning.

The pluperfect subjunctive is often replaced with the past subjunctive in colloquial speech, a substitution that is commonly considered incorrect. (See ''prescription and description''.)

(Note that by contrast, the ''present'' perfect subjunctive — ''that he have done'' — while logically and theoretically possible, is not much used in modern English.)

====Future subjunctive====
A future subjunctive can be constructed using the conjugated form of the verb "to be" plus the modal auxiliary verb "should".  Note that the "were" clauses result in the present conditional, while the "should" clauses result in the future indicative.  For example:

:* '''''If I were to die''' tomorrow, then you would inherit everything.''
:* '''''If you were to give''' the money to me, then I would say no more about it.''
:* '''''If I should go''', then will you feed the hens?''
:* '''''If he should fall''', who will carry the flag in his place?''

====Construction by inversion====
Where the subjunctive is used after “if” in a counterfactual condition (see below), the same effect can be achieved by omitting the “if” and inverting the verb and subject.

:* '''''If I were''' the President... / Were I the President...''
:* '''''If he had''' a car with him... / Had he a car with him...''
<!--:* '''''Come tomorrow''', I will be on that plane. ''-->

====Construction using a modal verb====
The subjunctive mood can be expressed using the modal verbs '''shall''' (should) and '''may''' (might).

:* '''''Should the teacher come''', I will speak with him.''
:* '''''(May) the Lord bless''' you and keep you.''
:* ''He wrote it in his diary '''so that he might remember'''.''

The word '''would''' (the past tense of "will") can also be used for the past (for example, "He wrote it in his diary so that he '''would''' remember"), but it cannot be used in the present or future tense ("'''Would''' the teacher come, I will speak with him" is incorrect and confusing).

=== Usage ===
As well as being preserved in fossilized phrases, the subjunctive is used in English to express a command, desire, hypothesis, purpose, doubt, or supposition.

==== Set phrases ====
The subjunctive is used in a number of fixed phrases, relics from an older form of the language where it was much more common. Some could be misconstrued as the imperative mood. Common examples are:

:* ''if need be''
:* ''as it were''
:* ''if I were you; were I you''
:* ''be that as it may''
:* ''(May God) bless you!'' 
:* ''come Monday (Tuesday, etc.)'' 
:* ''come what may'' 
:* ''(May God) damn it!'' 
:* ''far be it from'' (or ''for'') ''me'' 
:* ''till death do us part'' 
:* ''God save our gracious Queen'',  ''God bless America'', ''God keep our land glorious and free'', ''God rest ye merry gentlemen'', etc.
:* ''(May) Heaven forfend/forbid'' 
:* ''so be it'' 
:* ''suffice it to say'' 
:* ''woe betide'' 
:* ''(May) peace be with you''
:* ''long live the king''
:* ''the powers that be''
:* ''albeit'' (a synthesis of ''all be it'', i.e. ''although it be'')
:* ''truth be told''
:* ''rue the day''
:* ''would that it were''
:* ''rest in peace''
:* ''let (may) it be known''
:* ''a dream come true''

==== To express a command, request, or suggestion ====
Content clauses expressing commands, requests, or suggestions commonly use the present subjunctive; such a clause may be introduced by a verb like ''propose'', ''suggest'', ''recommend'', ''move'' (in the parliamentary sense), ''demand'', or ''mandate'', by an adjective like ''imperative'', ''important'', ''adamant'', or ''necessary'', or by a noun like ''insistence'' or ''proposal''. 

This use of the subjunctive is known as the '''mandative subjunctive''' or the '''jussive subjunctive''' and is said to be the most common use of the subjunctive in English.<ref>Quirk, Randolph; Greenbaum, Sidney; Leech, Geoffrey; Svartik, Jan (1985). "A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language". Longman. ISBN 0-582-51734-6</ref> Other authorities say this use is much less common than that in suppositions or hypotheses (e.g. "If she asked for help, I'd help her.") and is often not found in UK English, even in respected news media. 

Instead, UK English often uses present indicative or even past indicative − which are both considered incorrect by many people in the UK and (prescriptive) UK authorities on language usage − or a construction with "should". Much time is spent in the UK in trying to prevent this language change well underway in UK English, and the use with "should" is arguably better because not considered as ungrammatical by most. So instead of writing ''No wonder the Tory Party turned him down as a possible candidate, suggesting he went away and came back with a better public image.'' as in the Guardian (which would be almost impossible to find in any US newspapers, which would always use the traditional ''go away'' and ''come back''), it would be considered less ungrammatical to use ''should go away''. Some authorities like Ernest Gowers even recommend the use with ''should'' (in UK English) instead of the untenable traditional forms.<ref>Bryson, Bill. The Penguin Dictionary of Troublesome Words. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-051200-4</ref>

Note that the present subjunctive is used in these cases regardless of the actual time reference (which must be conveyed by the tense of the main verb):

*''I '''move(d)''' that the bill '''be put''' to a vote.''
*''I '''ask(ed)''' that he '''be shown''' mercy.''
*''It is (''or'' was) '''necessary''' that we '''not forget''' our instructions.''
*''Her '''insistence''' that he '''leave''' seems (''or'' seemed) rude.''

Some of these words have two senses: one that introduces a clause in the indicative, and one that introduces a clause in the subjunctive. For example, ''insist'' can mean ''assert forcefully and persistently'', in which case it introduces the indicative (''He insisted that he '''was''' innocent''), or it can mean ''demand forcefully and persistently'', in which case it introduces the subjunctive (''He insisted that he '''be given''' the chance to prove it'').  This use is typically North American English.  The verb in such constructions is sometimes mistakenly believed to be a sort of infinitive, contributing to the notion of the dying subjunctive.

Sometimes the verb of a main clause can be in the subjunctive mood, without any explicit word like the above; this carries the force of a third-person request. This is the usage found in many set expressions, such as ''God bless you''.

:* ''America, America, '''God shed''' His grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood'' ("America the Beautiful")
:* '''God save''' our gracious Queen

The traditional English text of the Aaronic blessing is cast entirely in the subjunctive, with jussive force:
:''The Lord bless thee and keep thee.  The Lord make his face to shine upon thee.  The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace.''

==== To express a wish ====

The past subjunctive is used after the verb ''to wish'': ''I wish he '''were''' here'' or ''I wished he '''were''' there.''  This use of the subjunctive is sometimes known as the "volitional" subjunctive:

:* ''Oh I wish I '''were''' in the land of cotton.
''

==== To express a hypothesis ====
The past subjunctive is used after the conjunction ''if'' in a contrary-to-fact protasis. For example:

:* ''If I '''were''' a millionaire, I would buy a sports car.''
:* ''If he '''had''' a car with him, he could drive us there.''
:* ''If I '''were''' a rich man...''

In the same vein, the past subjunctive is used following the conjunctions ''as if'' and ''as though'' to express a contrary-to-fact situation that reality is supposed to resemble:

:* ''She looked '''as though she were going''' to kill him, but after glaring for a bit, she just stormed off.''
:* ''He tried to explain it — '''as if he knew''' anything about the subject!''

Note that the past subjunctive is sometimes used in expressing situations that are not necessarily contrary to fact:

:* ? ''I'm torn; if I '''were''' to go with choice ''A'', I'd be better off in the short term, but if I '''were''' to go with choice ''B'', I might be better off in the long term.''
:* ? ''Bring an umbrella; looks as if it '''were''' going to rain soon.''

==== To express a purpose ====

The conjunction ''lest'', indicating a negative purpose, generally introduces a subjunctive clause:

:* ''I eat '''lest I die'''.''
:* ''I'll place the book back on the shelf, '''lest it get''' lost.''

The conjunction ''in order that'', indicating a positive purpose, also sometimes introduces a subjunctive clause, though it more commonly introduces a clause using the auxiliary verb ''may'' (or in the past tense, ''might''):

:* ''I'm putting your dinner in the oven '''in order that it (may) keep''' warm.''
:* ''He wrote it in his diary '''in order that he (might) remember'''.''

==== To express a doubt or supposition ====
The subjunctive is sometimes used after other conjunctions to express doubt or supposition, although this usage is nowadays more often replaced by the indicative.

:* ''I will not let thee go, except [=unless] thou '''bless''' me.'' (Genesis 32:26)
:* ''Murder, though it '''have''' no tongue, will speak.''
:* ''Whoever he '''be''', he shall not go unpunished.''
:* ''But [=although] he '''were''' dead, yet shall he live.'' (New Testament)

=== Hypercorrect usage ===
The subjunctive has sometimes been used simply as a conditioned variant that follows "if" and similar words even in the absence of a hypothetical situation.

:* ''Johnny asked me if I were afraid.'' (Barbara in ''Night of the Living Dead'' (1968))

In the example quoted, "if" is a substitute for the unambiguous word "whether" ("Johnny asked me whether I was afraid"), and lacks the usual, "in the event that" meaning that it has in other usage such as "If we go to bed now, we'll be up at three o'clock".

=== Demise of the subjunctive ===
In many dialects of English, the indicative can take the place of the subjunctive, although this is considered erroneous in formal speech and writing.  The similarity of the subjunctive and the past tense has led to the confusion between the two, and the error is evident in various pop culture references and music lyrics.

:* ''If I was President...'' 
:* ''If he was a ghost... ''
:* ''If I was a rich girl...''

However, in the context of the examples above, inversion cannot occur with the indicative as it would with the subjunctive; the following are ungrammatical, except insofar as they could be misinterpreted as questions:

:* ''Was I the President...''
:* ''Was he a ghost...''

Furthermore, many of the fossil phrases are often re-analyzed as imperative forms rather than as the subjunctive.

According to the Random House College Dictionary, "''Although the subjunctive seems to be disappearing from the speech of many, its use is still the mark of the educated speaker."''<ref>{{cite book
|author=Stein, Jess, Ed.
|title=Random House College Dictionary, Revised
|publicher=Random House
|year=1989
|page=1308
}}</ref>

The subjunctive is not uniform in all varieties of spoken English. However it is preserved in speech, at least in North American English and in many dialects of British English. While use of the subjunctive in natural, informal speech is almost universal among educated speakers, its use is becoming very infrequent among large portions of the population.  Some dialects replace it with the indicative or construct it using a modal verb (except perhaps in the most formal literary discourse).

Through the years, some have advocated the formal extinguishment of the subjunctive. W. Somerset Maugham said, "''The subjunctive mood is in its death throes, and the best thing to do is to put it out of its misery as soon as possible."''<ref>{{cite book 
|author=Maugham, William Somerset
|title=A Writer's Notebook
|publisher=Doubleday
|year=1949
|page=p. 323
|oclc=365849
}}</ref>

== Germanic languages ==
In the optatives.  In German, subjunctives are typically marked with an ''-e'' ending, and often with i-umlaut, showing once more the presence of the *''-i-'' suffix that is the mark of the old optative.  In Old Norse, an ''-i'' typically marks the subjunctive; ''grefr'', "he digs", becomes ''grafi'', "let him dig".  While most of the signs of this suffix have been removed in Modern English, the change from ''was'' to ''were'' in the modern English subjunctive of ''to be'' also marks addition of a vowel sound to the subjunctive form, and as such represents an echo of the Indo-European optative marker of five thousand years ago.

=== The subjunctive in German ===
In German it is generally accepted that there are two forms of the subjunctive mood - '''Konjunktiv I''' ('present' subjunctive, often abbreviated as KI) and '''Konjunktiv II''' ('past' subjunctive, often abbreviated as KII), both of which can actually be expressed in (almost) all tenses.

The '''KI''' is normally used to express indirect (reported) speech. For example:

''Er sagte mir, er sei nicht bereit.'' — He told me that he wasn't ready.  In this case, present subjunctive 'sei' replaces the present indicative 'ist'.

This carries a neutral to slightly disclaimerish meaning: the claim reported may be (to the reporter using Konjunktiv) true or not, or unknown.
 
If the speaker doubts the statement, Konjunktiv II may be used, however the usage of Konjunktiv forms does not always follow the principles strictly (Konjunktiv II may replace Konjunktiv I; Konjunktiv I sounds rather formal).

''Es wurde gesagt, er habe keine Zeit für so (et)was.'' — It is said that he has no time for this kind of thing.  In this case, present subjunctive 'habe' replaces the present indicative 'hat'.

Many examples of the subjunctive can be found in German newspapers and magazines.

The KI for regular verbs in German is formed by adding ''-e'', ''-est'', ''-e'', ''-en'', ''-et'', ''-en'' to the stem. The verb ''sein'' (''to be'') deviates somewhat from this rule, producing ''ich sei; du sei(e)st; er sei; wir seien; ihr sei(e)t; sie seien''. While the use of Konjunktiv I for reported speech is considered "correct" German, its use in colloquial speech is in continual decline.

It is possible to express the KI in various tenses, including the perfect (''er sei da gewesen'') and the future (''er werde da sein'') although the latter is rarely used. The Konjunktiv I in the preterite and conditional does exist, but they are identical to their indicative equivalents and are not worth considering in day-to-day communication.

The '''KII''' is used to form the conditional tense and, on occasion, as a replacement for the Konjunktiv I when both indicative and subjunctive moods of a particular verb are indistinguishable. Although every verb in the German language can be expressed in the Konjunktiv II, only a small number are actually used in this mood in colloquial speech, such as ''sein'' (''ich wäre''). 

The simplest method of forming the conditional in spoken German is to render the verb ''werden'' (''to become'') in the Konjunktiv II form (''würde'') and append the infinitive of the action, as in ''An deiner Stelle würde ich das nicht tun'' (I wouldn't do that if I were you). This analytic method is opposed to the synthetic method: ''An deiner Stelle täte ich das nicht'', which in the day-to-day communication is tendencially less frequent.

In written German, however, the synthetic form (''ich täte'') is seen by many dictionaries as the only proper form for the term, while the analytical form (''ich würde tun'') is a substitute that should be avoided as far as possible.
Only the synthetic form is regarded as the language better, if you speak German upscale.

The '''KII''' is formed from the stem of the umlaut is appended to the stem vowel if possible (i.e. if it is ''a'', ''o'', ''u'' or ''au''), for example: ''ich war'' → ''ich wäre'', ''ich brachte'' → ''ich brächte''. 

''See also'' German grammar.

=== The subjunctive in Dutch ===
Dutch has the same subjunctive tenses as German (described above), but nowadays they are almost never used. The same two tenses as in German are sometimes considered subjunctive and sometimes conditional.

Some sentences that are used often in Dutch still contain the subjunctive mood:

*'''''Leve''' de koningin!'' (Long live the Queen!)
*''Men '''neme''''' (One takes (found in recipes))
*''Uw naam '''worde''' geheiligd'' (Hallowed be your name (Lord's Prayer))
*''Zo waarlijk '''helpe''' mij God almachtig'' (So help me God (when swearing an oath))
*''Het '''zij''' zo'' (So be it)
*''God '''zegene''' u'' (God bless you)
*''De HERE '''zegene''' u en '''behoede''' u; de HERE '''doe''' Zijn aangezicht over u lichten en '''zij''' u genadig; de HERE '''verheffe''' Zijn aangezicht over u en '''geve''' u vrede'' (May the LORD bless you, and keep you; May the LORD make his face shine to upon you, and be gracious to you; May the LORD turn his countenance to you and grant you peace (Priestly Blessing))

The above sentences are all in the present tense, the past tense subjunctive mood of ''zijn'' (to be) is also used rather frequently to indicate a non-reality, something that didn't happen. It translates with the English past subjunctive ''were'':

*''Hij '''ware''' gekomen, als u hem geen pijn had gedaan'' (He ''would have'' come, if you hadn't hurt him)
*''De graaf sprak over de diefstal van honderd goudstukken als '''ware''' het een kleinigheid'' (The count spoke about the theft of hundred gold coins as if it ''were'' a small thing)

== Latin and the Romance languages ==
The Latin subjunctive is mostly made of optative forms, while some of the original subjunctive forms went to make the Latin future tense, especially in the Latin third conjugation.  In Latin, the *''-i-'' of the old optative manifests itself in the fact that the Latin subjunctives typically have a high vowel even when the indicative mood has a lower vowel; Latin ''rogamus'', "we ask", makes a subjunctive ''rogemus'', "let us ask."  

The subjunctive mood retains a highly distinct form for nearly all verbs in Portuguese, Spanish and Italian (among other Latin languages), and for a number of verbs in French.  All of these languages inherit their subjunctive from Latin, where the subjunctive mood combines both forms and usages from a number of original Indo-European inflection sets (described above), including the original subjunctive and the optative mood.

In many cases, the Romance languages use the subjunctive in the same ways that English does; however, they use them in other ways as well. For example, English generally uses the auxiliary ''may'' or ''let'' to form desiderative expressions, such as "Let it snow." The Romance languages use the subjunctive for these; French, for example, would say, "Qu'il neige" and "Qu'ils vivent jusqu'à leur vieillesse." (However, in the case of the first-person plural, these languages have imperative forms: "Let's go" in French is "Allons-y.") Also, the Romance languages tend to use the subjunctive in various kinds of subordinate clauses, such as those introduced by words meaning ''although'' (English: "Although I'm old, I feel young"; French: ''Bien que je sois vieux, je me sens jeune.'')  In Spanish, phrases with words like ''lo que'' (that which, what), ''quien'' (who), or ''donde'' (where) and subjunctive verb forms are often translated to English with some variation of "whatever". (Spanish: "lo que sea", English: "whatever", "anything"; Spanish: "donde sea", English: "wherever"; Spanish: "quien sea", English: "whoever"; Spanish: "lo que quieras", English: "whatever you want"; Spanish: "cueste lo que cueste", English: "whatever it costs")