Ed--
Hmmm.
The questions are:
1.) Do you agree that "played" would be a subjunctive here?
2.) Do you agree that "play" would be an error?
3.) Do you think that second graders should be accountable for
subjunctives?
4.) If your answer to (3.) is affirmative, how would you teach them?
My answers:
1.) I guess I would have to say that "played" is a subjunctive; also, to my
ear, I would say "played," not "play."
2.) That said, I can hear "play" here as a subjunctive with "were to"
elided:
Would you like it if I were to play at Kids' Castle with you?
3.) Second graders should only be held accountable for subjunctives if we're
going to hold their parents accountable for them ;-)
I have a highly articulate 3rd grader and a fairly normal kindergartner.
The highly articulate 3rd grader might get the concept, but would not (and
does not) use the subjunctive consistently.
Wow. I look forward to hearing more about the teacher.
Seth
Dr. Seth Katz, Assistant Professor
Coordinator of Composition
Department of English
Bradley University
1501 W. Bradley
Peoria, IL 61625
(309) 677-2479
[log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Edward Vavra
Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2004 12:43 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Subjunctive mood in 2nd grade?
All right, this is a serious question (no tricks). I just received
an e-mail from a parent of a second grader. The question included the
following:
"She [the second grader] recently came home with some sentences to
edit, i.e., (7)would you like it if i play at kid's castle with You?
This sentence contains 7 mistakes.
She corrected 6 mistakes...Would you like it if I play at Kids' Castle
with
you? (Kids' Castle is a local park)
The teacher corrected the 7th mistake, Would you like it if I PLAYED
at
Kids' Castle with you? (caps for emphasis only).
Can you explain the reason for the use of the past tense of the verb
play?"
Among other things, my response was that "played" is not just past
tense, but a subjunctive. I also expressed curiosity about what
instruction, if any, the students had had about subjunctives. Finally, I
noted that I would be sending this question to the list, and I gave the
parent the address of the archives so that she can follow your
responses.
The questions are:
1.) Do you agree that "played" would be a subjunctive here?
2.) Do you agree that "play" would be an error?
3.) Do you think that second graders should be accountable for
subjunctives?
4.) If your answer to (3.) is affirmative, how would you teach them?
Thanks,
Ed
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/
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/
|
