(5) To express hypothetical comparison (as if):—se wulf folgode forþ mid þǣm hēafde, swelce hē tam wǣre (the wolf followed on with the head, as if he were tame); hē ġe·lǣhte āne lēon, and tō·bræġd hīe tō styċċum, swelce hē tō·tǣre tiċċen (he seized a lion and tore her to pieces, as if he were rending a kid).
(6) In conditional clauses, generally with ġif or būtan, and in concessive clauses with þēah, þēah þe:—God wāt þæt ic nyle ā·būgan fram his bīgęngum ǣfre, swelte ic, libbe ic (God knows that I will not swerve from his worship ever, whether I die or live); þās flotmęnn cumaþ, and þē cwicne ġe·bindaþ, būtan þū mid flēame þīnum fēore ġe·beorge (these pirates will come and bind thee alive, unless thou savest thy life with flight); God hielt Ēadmund hālne his līchaman oþ þone miċlan dæġ, þēah þe hē on moldan cōme (God will keep Edmund
with his body whole until the great day, although he has come to earth—been buried). Sometimes the idea of 'if' must be got from the context:—clipiaþ tō þissum ġieftum swā hwelce swā ġē ġe·mēten (summon to this wedding whomsoever ye meet, = if ye meet any one); hīe be·hēton hiere sċeattas wiþ þǣm þe hēo be·swice Samson (they promised her money in consideration of her betraying Samson, = if she would...).
When the statement is assumed as unreal, instead of merely hypothetical, as in the above instances, both clauses are put in the subjunctive, the preterite being substituted for the present, as in Modern English also, where if I were ... implies I am not.... The modern distinction between if I were and if I had been, the former corresponding to the present indicative I am not, the latter to the preterite I was not, is not made in Old English, which uses gif ic wǣre in both instances. Sometimes the 'if'-clause has to be supplied in thought:—mē lēofre wǣre þæt ic on ġe·feohte fēolle wiþ þǣm þe mīn folc mōste hiera eardes brūcan (I would rather fall in fight that my people might possess their country), where we must supply some such clause as ġif hit swā bēon mihte (if it might be so—if it were possible to save my people by my death).
(7) In clauses dependant on a negative sentence:—nis nān þing þe his mihte wiþ·stande (there is nothing that resists his might). Sometimes the negation must be gathered from the context, as in se hālga is mǣrra þonne męnn mæġen ā·smēan (the saint is more illustrious than men can conceive = the saint is so illustrious that no men can conceive it).
(8) In other cases, to express uncertainty, futurity, &c.: þīn rīċe ġe·wītt fram þē, oþ þæt þū wite þæt God ġe·wielt manna rīċa (thy kingdom shall depart from thee, till thou knowest that God rules the kingdoms of men); uton
weorþian ūrne naman, ǣr þǣm þe wē sīen tō·dǣlde ġeond ealle eorþan! (let us make our name famous, before we are dispersed over the earth).
The preterite subjunctive is often expressed by should and would with an infinitive, as in Modern English.
Scolde is used after verbs of desiring, requesting and commanding:—biddende þone Ælmihtigan þæt hē him ārian scolde (praying the Almighty to have mercy on him). In the following example the verb of commanding is understood from the noun ǣrende:—hē sęnde tō þæm cyninge bēotlic ǣrende, þæt hē ā·būgan scolde tō his mannrǣdenne, ġif hē his fēores rōhte (he sent to the king an arrogant message, that he was to turn to his allegiance, if he cared about his life).
Wolde is used after verbs of purpose:—se cyning ēode inn þæt he wolde ġe·sēon þā þe þǣr sǣton (the king went in to see those who were sitting there).