If Only: utinam

Level 5

Utinam plus the subjunctive: if only.

How It Works

Wish	Verb	Example
could still come true	present	Utinam veniat! May he come!
not true now	imperfect	Utinam adesset! If only he were here!
not true in the past	pluperfect	Utinam venisset! If only he had come!

The negative is utinam ne: Utinam ne hoc dixissem! (If only I had not said this!).

The Psalm line in the examples is a wish that is still open, so it takes the present subjunctive.

A wish does not need utinam. Fiat lux and the lines of the Pater Noster are wishes as well, and a later entry explains them.

Utinam Marcus veniat!
May Marcus come!
The present subjunctive veniat is a wish that can still come true.
Utinam adesset!
If only he were here!
The imperfect adesset wishes for something that is not true now.
Utinam venisset!
If only he had come!
The pluperfect venisset wishes for something that did not happen.
Utinam ne hoc dixissem!
If only I had not said this!
Utinam ne is the negative. The pluperfect dixissem looks back at the past.
Utinam dirigantur viae meae ad custodiendas iustificationes tuas!
If only my ways might be directed to keep your statutes!
Psalm 118:5. Dirigantur is a passive present subjunctive, a wish that can still come true.

Using the present subjunctive for a wish that is not true.
Utinam adsit!
Utinam adesset!
Adsit is correct Latin for a different meaning: may he be here, a wish that could still come true. To wish that he were here when he is not, use the imperfect adesset.

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

If Only: utinamLevel 5

Utinam changes meaning with the tense of the subjunctive after it, so the subjunctive tenses come first.

utinam

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