Marshall, Thanks. I have wondered about teaching the subjunctive. Usually I don't teach it unless it comes up. It does seem to be dying like "whom" Both can sound affected and formal. -- Christine Reintjes Martin [log in to unmask] >From: marshall myers <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar ><[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Re: subjunctive >Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2004 14:44:47 -0400 > >Christine, > >Your student was partly correct except for one problem. In academic >writing "like" is not generally used as a conjunction. The student >sentence should be: "I sometimes felt AS THOUGH I were in a dream." > >AS THOUGH would call for the subjunctive since the clause following it >is "contrary to fact." or "hypothetical," as the precriptivists would say. > >The subjunctive mood, however, is a dying thing. I hear many >well-educated people who don't use the subjunctive at all. > >That's my take on your question. Perhaps others could weigh in on the >issue, too. > >Marshall > >Christine Reintjes wrote: > >>One of my students corrected this on her classmate's paper during peer >>editing. I wouldn't have done this. Who is right and why? >> >>I sometimes felt like I was in a dream. (original sentence) >>I sometimes felt like I were in a dream. (student's correction while >>peer editing) >> >>I'd use "were" if I wrote this: >>I sometimes felt as if I were in a dream. >>But not with "like" as the student did. >> >>Please advise. >> >>-- >> >>Christine Reintjes Martin >>[log in to unmask] >> >> >> >> >> >>> >> >>_________________________________________________________________ >>MSN 9 Dial-up Internet Access fights spam and pop-ups now 3 months >>FREE! http://join.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200361ave/direct/01/ >> >>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/ _________________________________________________________________ Getting married? Find great tips, tools and the latest trends at MSN Life Events. http://lifeevents.msn.com/category.aspx?cid=married 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/