You might be thinking that what is an optative sentence. Till now we have learned about imperative, assertive, declarative, interrogative sentences. But this is something new. Logically, Optative sentences are not new to English Grammar, we have been using such sentences without knowing that they are a type of optative sentence. Hence we will begin with gaining in-depth knowledge about Optative sentences.
What are Optative Sentences?
Optative sentence is a type of grammatical category which deals with the mood and how to express it. You can consider moods as in wish, prayer, desire, curse, etc. Generally, you will find that an Optative sentence begins with words like ‘may’ or ‘wish. Sometimes you might also find these sentences beginning with ‘let’.
Examples of Optative Sentences
- May the king of Wakanda live long!
- Long live the king of Wakanda.
- May you have a life long enough to see your grandchildren!
- May God bless everyone.
- Best of luck!
- Wish you all the best.
- May you become powerful enough to buy what you love!
- May you live a long and happy life.
- Long live our Prime Minister.
- May God bless you.
- I wish I were young.
- May god ruin your business.
- May you be an Engineer.
- Wish you a very successful life.
- May he passes the examination.
- May god give you a daughter!
- May your team win the match!
- May God have mercy on your soul!
- May the Almighty help us all in this tragedy!
- Wish you a very happy married life.
- Suffice it to accept that you lost.
- May you stay healthy and strong forever.
- Wish you a happy and safe journey together.
- May your team win the match!
- May the captain of our team live long!
- May he get the job!
- May you live a happy life!
- May we lead a happy journey!
- May God give you a son!
- May God have mercy on the lives!
- May they stay here!
- May your sister recover very soon!
- May she cook tasteful food!
- May he earn a lot of money!
- May you prosper in life!
- May you ever be happy in life!
- May you shine in life!
- May her brother be smart!
- May your sister be successful.
Now, that you have known and understood the definition of Optative sentences, let’s move ahead to see how they can be used with different words and in a different way.
The Use Of Optative Sentences in Formulaic Expressions: By this, we mean that sometimes a type of irregular sentence might contain optative subjunctive sentence, used to express a wish or desire. An optative subjunctive sentence can survive with many different expressions but of a fairly fixed type. It can be combined with subject-verb inversions to make the sentence complete. For example,
- Far be it from her to spoil all the fun in the match.
- So be it.
- Long live the Britishers.
Optative Sentences with ‘Let’
With ‘let’ being a pragmatic particle, you can easily introduce your wish for something or your optative mood for something. For example,
- Let there be endless light that would fall upon each and every human being of this world.
- Let the world be filled with amazing love and compassion.
- Let there be peace among all the countries of the world.
Optative Sentences with ‘May’
Here, you will be using an optative sentence that is used to express your hopes or strong desires. It can be inverted in a sentence construction which will generally belong to a formal style. It is mostly used in a formal style of writing. For example,
- May you have a safe and happy Diwali.
- May you be happy and peaceful for all your lifetime.
- May you have ease and well-being.
Conclusion:
So, it always feels great to know something new each day. With Optative sentences you can easily express the way you wish or think or desire. Moreover, you got to know about the various application of Optative sentences. We hope you liked our post. If you still have some doubt regarding optative sentences and their application you can comment in the below section. Stay tuned to EnglishBix for more updates.
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