For those interested in the subjunctive, here's a brief exchange about a specific usage. While I prefer the bare form of the verb in this sentence, I wonder if the client might have been influenced in part by the subject "everything." Herb -----Original Message----- From: American Dialect Society [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Benjamin Lukoff Sent: 2008-03-19 04:41 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Subjunctive(?): not critical that ---------------------- Information from the mail header ----------------------- Sender: American Dialect Society <[log in to unmask]> Poster: Benjamin Lukoff <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: Subjunctive(?): not critical that ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------- On Wed, 19 Mar 2008, Benjamin Barrett wrote: > I recently wrote a sentence, which said in part, "it's not critical > that everything *tie* together." > > My client wants to know if it should be "ties." > > Is this a case of the fading subjunctive (in which case either is > okay), or is there something else going on here? "Tie" sounds fine to me here. It is the subjunctive, no? ------------------------------------------------------------ The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/