Volitive

Volitive refers to a grammatical mood or modality whose function is to express volition—will, desire, intention, exhortation, or command. In some languages, volition is encoded by a distinct volitive mood; in others, volitional meaning is expressed by other forms such as the optative, hortative, jussive, subjunctive, or by periphrastic constructions with modal verbs.

Use and meaning: Volitive forms typically express wishes or prayers (may you…) or exhort someone to act (let him go; let us return). They may also mark the speaker’s wish for an event to occur in the future. In some languages, volitive forms are finite verbs; in others, they are non-finite markers or affixes.

Relation to other moods: The volitive is often distinguished from the imperative, which issues a direct command; from the optative, which expresses a wish; and from the hortative, which invites a group to act. The exact boundaries and terminology vary across languages and grammars; some treat volitive as a subtype of the subjunctive or jussive.

Cross-linguistic patterns: Availability of volitive marking is uneven. Some languages have a clearly defined volitive morphologically; in others, volition is expressed pragmatically through adverbs or particles rather than through morphology.

Examples: In English, expressions like “Let him speak” or “May you be happy” convey volition, though there is no standalone volitive mood as in some other languages. In languages with a dedicated volitive, a verb might take a special suffix, particle, or form to mark volition.

See also: mood, optative, hortative, jussive, subjunctive, imperative.