We say: ‘Long live the king!’ Why can’t we say ‘Long lives the king!’
The present subjunctive
2 answers from our tutors
Best answer
Yes. The present subjunctive. What we are saying here is "long may the king live" or "Let the king live long". Something like "Dear God, let the king live long". A wish.
You don't conjugate be because it's a wish, not the king doing an action.