This subjunctive occurs in Plautus and Terence, in Cicero, oftenest the letters, in Horace, Vergil, and Livy. Not in Caesar nor Sallust.
[1567.] (1.) The question may have no interrogative word, or may have -ne, especially in comedy: as,
([a.]) nōn tacēs? :: taceam? T. Ph. 987, you hold your tongue :: I hold my tongue? nē flē :: egone illum nōn fleam? Pl. Cap. 139, weep not :: what, I not weep for him? tū pulsēs omne quod obstat? H. S. 2, 6, 30, what, you, sir, punch whatever’s in your way? faveās tū hostī? ille litterās ad tē mittat? Ph. 7, 5, you, sir, sympathize with the enemy? he correspond with you? sapiēnsne nōn timeat? Ac. 2, 135, a sage not be afraid? (b.) ego mihī̆ umquam bonōrum praesidium dēfutūrum putārem? Mil. 94, could I have dreamed that I should ever lack the protection of the patriotic? (c.) ‘apud exercitum mihī̆ fuerīs’ inquit ‘tot annōs?’ Mur. 21, ‘to think of your having been with the army, bless my soul?’ says he, ‘so many years.’ (d.) mihī̆ cuiusquam salūs tantī fuisset, ut meam neglegerem? Sull. 45, could anybody’s safety have been so important in my eyes as to make me disregard my own?
[1568.] (2.) The question may have utī or ut: as,
tē ut ūlla rēs frangat? tū ut umquam tē corrigās? C. 1, 22, any thing break you down? you ever reform? pater ut obesse fīlīo dēbeat? Planc. 31, a father morally bound to work against his son?
[1569.] (3.) The question with utī or ut is sometimes attended by a remnant of another question with -ne or -n. In this combination, -ne either precedes, joined to an emphatic word, or it is attached directly to utī or ut: as,
([a.]) egone ut tē interpellem? TD. 2, 42, what I? interrupt you? illīne ut impūne concitent fīnitima bella? L. 4, 2, 12, what, they be allowed to stir up border warfare with impunity? virgō haec līberast :: meane ancilla lībera ut sit, quam ego numquam ēmīsī manū? Pl. Cur. 615, this girl is free :: my servant-girl? she to be free, when I have never set her free? (b.) utne tegam spurcō Dāmae latus? H. S. 2, 5, 18, what, I’m to shield a nasty Dama’s side? somnium. utine haec īgnōrāret su͡om patrem? T. Ph. 874, oh bosh, not to have known the father that begat her? See [1505] and [1532].
[1570.] It may be mentioned here, that the interrogative subjunctive is often used in subordinate sentences: see [1731].