Optative Sentences

Optative Sentence: Overview

An optative sentence is a sentence that expresses a prayer, wish, curse, or other sentiments. This kind of sentence begins with “may” or “wish” and sometimes “may” remains hidden. Examples of such optative sentences are,

May the king live long.

Long live the queen.

May God bless us all.

I wish you all success in life.

I wish you a happy, safe, and prosperous journey.

Meaning of Optative Sentences

In English grammar, an optative mood in an optative sentence is a grammatical mood that describes hope or wishes regarding a given action. It is related to the subjunctive mood (a grammatical feature that indicates the speaker’s attitude toward something, such as a wish, emotions, judgment, possibility, opinion, obligation, or action that has yet to occur). The optative mood in optative sentences is actually a superset of cohortative mood (these are verbal expressions used to encourage or discourage an action; for example, in the sentence “the movie is soon going to start, let us go,” the phrase “let us go” expresses a cohortative mood that encourages the action) but is different from desiderative mood (verbs that are derived from more basic verbs).

In most cases, the optative sentence starts with “long” or “may” or “wish” and ends with a full stop. Sometimes an optative sentence contains an optative subjunctive subject to express a wish or desire. Such examples are, 1) So be it, 2) Long live India, 3) Far be it from her to spoil all the fun in the match. 

Some optative sentences begin with “let.” It introduces a wish for something or an optative mood. For example, let the world be filled with love and empathy. 2) Let there be peace all over the light; 3) Let there be the light that falls on every human being on the planet.

Optative sentences can also start with “may,” such as “May you have a safe and happy Diwali.” 2) I wish you happiness and success in your life; 3) I wish you health and happiness in your life. This kind of optative sentence expresses a strong wish or desire. It is incorporated into a sentence construction that generally belongs to a formal kind of sentence or formal kind of writing.

Structure of Optative Sentence

The meaning of an optative sentence usually describes a boon or a curse. It usually ends with an exclamation mark (!), or rarely ends with a full stop (.). For this reason, it is sometimes included in the category of exclamatory sentences. Here are some examples:

May God bless you with a child! (This indicates prayer)

Would I be a poet? (This expresses a desire or wish)

May you live happily ever after. (This symbolizes a blessing)

Oh, had I been more conscious!

I wish I had enough money to fulfill all my wishes!

May God bless you all.

May you succeed in life.

I wish he were rich!

May you have a long life.

God’s will be done.

I wish I were your pal.

An optative sentence can be structured in a number of ways, including

1.may + noun or pronoun + verb + others

May God continue to bless each and every one of you!

God bless you and keep you safe!

May the Almighty help us to navigate this tragedy!

May his soul rest in peace!

Maybe their team will win the competition!

I wish you to become a rich and successful man in the future!

May God break your mouth! “

May God destroy your work!

May the captain of our team live long and prosper!

Maybe he will get the job and excel!

I wish you a happy and prosperous life!

May we all have a happy and safe journey!

May God grant you a child!

May God have mercy on our lives!

May they remain! “

I wish your sister a speedy recovery from the disease!

Maybe she cooks delicious food!

May he be abundantly rewarded!

May you prosper in life!

May you be happy in life!

May you shine in life!

May her brother be smart!

May your sister be successful!

May their family be prosperous!

Maybe you will be a renowned doctor!

Maybe they have a garden!

Maybe she has a pond!

May the village have a hospital!

2. Long + verb + noun or pronoun + another.

Examples:

Long live the revolution!

Long live my children!

Long live the Queen!

Long live our president!

Long live the king!

3. wish + noun or pronoun + others

I wish you a very happy birthday!

I wish him all the best in life.

I wish you a happy, peaceful, and prosperous life!

I wish you good luck!

I wish you a safe and happy journey!

I wish you a very good result!

I wish you a good day!

I hope you have a big house!

4. There are some other structures for the optative sentence. It completely depends on the essence of the sentence, and the reader must understand whether the sentence expresses any desire or wish. examples

Have a wonderful day!

Have a nice and safe journey!

Have a good result.

Have a successful interview.

All the best. (It can be expressed as ‘wish you all the best)

Best of luck! (It can also be expressed as wishing you the best of luck or wishing you all the best).

New Year’s greeting (Same as above, this sentence can also be elaborated as “Wish you a happy new year.”

Conclusion

Optative sentences are a very important aspect of the English language. Sometimes optative sentences are incorporated using indirect speech, and “wished”, “prayed” are generally used as reporting verbs. Such examples are: He wished me a good luck.