Fearing Clauses
A fearing clause follows a verb of fearing (timeō, vereor, metuō) and reports what someone fears will or will not happen. The logic of nē and ut is reversed from other constructions.
How Fearing Clauses Work
After a fear verb:
- nē + subjunctive = positive fear — "I fear that something will happen"
- ut + subjunctive = negative fear — "I fear that something will not happen"
Memory aid: with fear verbs, nē means "that" (not "not to"); ut means "that not". This is the opposite of their meaning in purpose clauses.
Why? Because the original nē was a wish ("may it not happen") — the speaker fears the bad thing will occur. The fear verb flips the expected meaning.
Worked Examples
- timeō nē hostēs veniant. — I fear that the enemy will come. (nē + present subjunctive = positive fear)
- verēbār nē caperēmur. — I was afraid that we would be captured. (nē + imperfect subjunctive = positive fear, secondary sequence)
- timēbat ut amīcī redirent. — He was afraid that his friends would not return. (ut + subjunctive = negative fear)
- metuō nē hoc verum sit. — I fear that this is true. (nē after metuō = positive fear)
Exam tip: With fearing verbs, nē means "that" (positive fear) and ut means "that not" (negative fear). This is the opposite of their meaning in purpose clauses. The fear verb in the main clause is your first signal — once you spot timeō, vereor, or metuō, the nē/ut logic switches.
See Also
- Purpose Clauses — nē/ut with the standard logic
- Indirect Commands — also use ut/nē + subjunctive