Hi Kevin: On page 68 of Kolln & Funk, we do discuss the use of the subjunctive in that-clauses after verbs tht convey a strong suggestion or recommendation: suggest, insist, recommend. (e.g., We suggested that Mary go with us.) I think that the verb prefer works the same way, and I suspect that if your questions were turned into statements, you might not have a question about it: I prefer that we wait a little longer. I don't think you'd be tempted to use the past here, would you? Happy editing, Martha Kolln >Hi all. > >Forgive me for interrupting the very lively discussion >about the fate of grammar teaching, but I have a >question about the form of a verb in a that-clause >following the verb "prefer" (and others like it). >Which of the two verbs do you prefer (!): > >(1) Would you prefer that we wait a little longer? > >(2) Would you prefer that we waited a little longer? > >I know that verbs of preference and verbs that express >a suggestion or a recommendation, among others, >typically require the base (or subjunctive) form of >the verb in the subordinate clause. Examples like (1) >abound in reference books. On the other hand, I've >looked for examples like (2) in Quirk et al., in Kolln >& Funk, and in other sources, but I couln't find any. > >Notice that by changing the auxiliary/modal in the >main clause you get different acceptability results >(or at least that's my intuition): > >(3) Do you prefer that we wait a little longer? > >(4) ??Do you prefer that we waited a little longer? > > >(4) seems odd to me (but I'm not certain), whereas (3) >seems perfectly OK. If the acceptability results are >accurate, then it appears that it's the conditional in >(1) that triggers either form. The auxiliary in (3) >and (4) disallows this type of variation. > >Personally, I think that both (1) and (2) are used in >American English. I don't think this is a dialectal >difference within North America, but I may be wrong >(I'm from Louisiana originally, where the Cajun >influence is strong). > >I'd like to know what others think. If anyone could >refer me to some sources that cover this topic, I >would greatly appreciate it. > >Thanks, > >Kevin Lemoine, Editor >Ph.D. in Romance Linguistics > > > >__________________________________________________ >Do You Yahoo!? >Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger. >http://im.yahoo.com