UNIT TWELVE
    
     Mood-formants: Imperative; optative; conditional.
    
    Imperative Mood
    
     The imperative mood is the mood of command and order, and in this mood we find the bare stem of the verb used. This occurs in the 2nd p. sg. In the other persons endings are used. In the other persons endings are used.
    

	epĕ vulam, pĕlem, şyram			let me read, know, write!
	esĕ vula, pĕl, şyr			read! know! write!
	văl vulatăr, pĕltĕr, şyrtăr		let him read, know, write!
	epir vular, pĕler, şyrar		let‘s read, let‘s know, let‘s write!
	esir vulăr, pĕlĕr, şyrăr		read! know! write!
	vĕsem vulachchăr, pĕlchchĕr, şyrchchăr	let them read, know, write!

    The negative imperative adds the postposed morpheme mar in the 1st p. sg. and pl.‚ and the preposed morpheme of similar meaning, an, in the other persons, viz.
    

	vulam mar				pĕlem mar
	an vula					an pĕl
	an vulatăr				an pĕltĕr

	vular mar				pĕler mar
	an vulăr				an pĕlĕr
	an vulachchăr				an pĕlchchĕr

    Examples of the usage in this mood are the following.
    

	atja epir anar			well then, let‘s go down (to the earthly world)
	lesh tĕnchene ansa kurar	let‘s go down and see the other world
	esĕ ăna syhla			you watch him
	an şyvăr			don‘t sleep
	tytta an jar			hold on and don‘t release him
	hăvah kaj			go yourself!
	pĕtĕm Raşşeje kursa surer	let‘s ride and see all of Russia
	şüle kajar-i je şĕre kajar-i	shall we go to the sky or to the earth
	kus kajsa kan ĕntĕ		go and return and rest now 
	halĕ hu pytan 			now you hide yourself
	şyvra karas pulăsem sürechchĕr	Let carp-fish go in the water!

    
    
    Conditional Mood
    
     This mood is used for actions in which the possibility of the action occurring is only probable, or is contingent upon some other happening. Thus, it is translated by words like “would, if“ etc. It is characterized by the conditional morpheme {(Ă)ttĂm}. Note the close resemblance of these forms to those of the durative past formation in -ttăm. The conditional has a short ă before the ending. The 1st and 2nd ps. are also often used with the past morpheme -chchĕ‚ to create the nuance “would have.“ Note the lack of vowel harmony in the 3rd p. sg. and pl.
    
    

	vulăttăm	pĕlĕttĕm		şyrăttăm	kajăttăm
	vulăttăn	pĕlĕttĕn		şyrăttăn	kajăttăn
	vulĕchchĕ	pĕlĕchchĕ		şyrĕchchĕ	kajĕchchĕ

	vulăttămăr	pĕlĕttĕmĕr		şyrăttămăr	kajăttămăr
	vulăttăr	pĕlĕttĕr		şyrăttăr	kajăttăr
	vulĕchchĕş	pĕlĕchchĕş		şyrĕchchĕş	kajĕchchĕş

    
    
    The negation to the above employs the allomorph -m- of the negative morpheme.
    
    

	vulamăttăm	pĕlmĕttĕm
	vulamăttăn	pĕlmĕttĕn
	vulamĕchchĕ	pĕlmĕchchĕ

	vulamăttămăr	pĕlmĕttĕmĕr
	vulamăttăr	pĕlmĕttĕr
	vulamĕchchĕş	pĕlmĕchchĕş

    
    The negative may also employ the suffixed morpheme –chchĕ. Examples of this mood are the following.
    

	vulăttăm			I would read (but I have no book)
	ilĕttĕm				I would buy (but I have no money)
	kalăttăm			I would say (If I dared)
	kajmăttăm			I wouldn‘t go (but I can‘t refuse)
	ilmĕttĕm			I wouldn‘t buy it (but I have to)
	jarăttăm ta			I would release you, but
	‘kajăttăm ta ürkenetĕp‘ 	“I would go, but I am lazy“ he said

     An artificial past tense is formed to the conditional by the use of the nomen perfecti in -nă to which the conditional of pul ‘to be, become‘ is added, thus, şyrrnă pulăttăm “I would have written“ lit. I would become one who has written.
    
    
    Optative (Subjunctive) Mood
    
     This mood expresses the hope that something will come to be, in the sense “would that it should happen, would that he come,“ or the concessive idea of “even if he should come.“ It is relatively little used, and in its formation appears to arise from two form-classes, the 2nd p. forms being suppletive.
    
    

	vulăpin		pĕlĕpin		larăpin
	vulăsăn		pĕlĕsĕn		larăsăn
	vulin		pĕlin		larin

	vulăpărin	pĕlĕpĕrin	larăpărin
	vulăsăr		pĕlĕsĕr		larăsăr
	vulăşin		pĕlĕşin		larăşin

    
    The negative forms of the above are the following.
    
    

	vulamăpin	pĕlmĕpin	larmăpin
	vulamăsăn	pĕlmĕsĕn	larmăsăn
	vulamin		pĕlmin		larmin

	vulamăpărin	pĕlmĕpĕrin	larmăpărin
	vulamăsăr	pĕlmĕsĕr	larmăsăr
	vulamăşin	pĕlmĕşin	larmăşin

    
     There is also an artificial past tense formed from the nomen perfecti in -na plus the subjunctive of pul-, thus:
    

	şyrnă pulăpin				şyrman pulăpin
	etc.					etc.

    According to the Chuvash grammarians, a true optative mood is formed by adding the morpheme -chchĕ to the forms given in the first paragraph. However, today, such expression of desire as “would that…“ is rendered by the imperative mood.