adjunktiv

Adjunktiv is a grammatical term used in some languages to denote a mood that marks non-real, hypothetical, or non-factual content. It is closely related to the subjunctive (konjunktiv) and in many grammars is described as an alternative or historical name for the same category of mood. In certain Scandinavian traditions, adjunktiv has been the traditional label for forms that express wishes, doubt, recommendation, or counterfactuality in subordinate clauses.

Usage and realization of adjunktiv vary by language and historical period. In modern Danish and Norwegian grammar, the adjunktiv as a distinct set of endings is often considered obsolete or rarely used. Contemporary practice tends to express non-real meaning through the subjunctive in older sources, periphrastic constructions with auxiliary or modal verbs, or, in some cases, through the indicative mood without a dedicated adjunktiv form. In Swedish and other related languages, the term is largely historical, and the non-real meanings are typically conveyed by other syntactic means rather than a dedicated mood.

Historically, adjunktiv developed from earlier Indo-European subjunctive forms and has parallels in other language families. In linguistic literature, the term may be employed to discuss the development and fate of the subjunctive mood, or to categorize particular historical forms found in texts. Some grammars treat adjunktiv as a separate mood with its own endings, while others use it as a regional label for what is broadly called the subjunctive.

Overall, adjunktiv is best understood as a traditional or regional term for a mood used to express non-reality, with varying realization across languages and eras, often overlapping with the subjunctive in modern descriptions.