Fearing Clauses

Latin uses ne + the subjunctive to express fear. If the governing verb is in the present or future, the subjunctive of the fearing clause will be in the present tense. The imperfect subjunctive is used for past time governing verbs. English expresses fearing clauses with "lest", "that" or without any conjunction at all. Here are some examples:

	Antonius timebat ne in manus hostium caderet, "Antonius was afraid (lest/that) he might fall into the hands of the enemy".
	Cleopatra verebatur ne Octaviano proderetur, "Cleopatra was afraid (lest/that) she would/might be betrayed to Octavian".

Fearing clauses are naturally negative. Although "ne" is generally a negative subordinating conjunction, it is not translated as a negative. If the clause is to be negated, it is done so with "ne non":

timemus ne pueri domum ante noctem non redeant, "we are afraid (lest/that) the children may not return home before night".

When the subject of the governing clause and the fearing clause are the same (e.g. "I was afraid to do something"), the infinitive can be used instead of a fearing clause:

timebamus longius progredi, "we were afraid to advance further".

Other Noun Clauses

Indirect Commands
Indirect Questions
Indirect Statement
Fearing Clauses

----------------------------------

Main Index

Syllabus
Handouts
Latin Reference

----------------------------------

Related Topics

Last Updated March 18, 2003

Questions, comments and corrections should be sent to Brian K. Harvey, Kent State University