That fact that half of a group of educated speakers did not use the
subjunctive to describe a hypothetical situation is more evidence
suggesting that the subjunctive is disappearing from our language.
Dick Veit
________________________________
Richard Veit
Department of English
University of North Carolina Wilmington
-----Original Message-----
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Linda Di Desidero
Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2008 9:36 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Subjunctive
At a recent (large) faculty meeting, one of the administrators ran a
'warm-up' activity. The idea was for faculty members to stand up,
introduce themselves, and talk about what they would be doing on a
Saturday morning if they were not attending this meeting.
I kept track: At least half of the speakers said "If I was not here"
while almost half said "If I were not here." I was surprised, given
that this was an educated group of people and the speaking occasion was
not all that informal.
Oh, the things we find to interest ourselves!
Linda
-----------------------------------------------------
Linda Di Desidero, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Assistant Academic Director of Writing
Communication, Arts, and Humanities
University of Maryland University College
3501 University Boulevard East
Adelphi, MD 20783-8083
(240) 582-2830
(240) 582-2993 (fax)
-----Original Message-----
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Kathleen M. Ward
Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 1:47 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Subjunctive
Well, it does, of course (she should have said "If Obama were a white
man") but the subjunctive has been disappearing from English for
centuries now. I think it has become pretty rare in speech. (I
take it that this was an interview quotation?)
Kathleen Ward
UC Davis
On Mar 12, 2008, at 9:30 AM, DD Farms wrote:
> DD: Am I a bit confused? Consider the quote from Geraldine Ferraro,
> [NYT 12 Mar 08, Maureen Dowd.] "If Obama was a white man, he would not
> be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color), he would
> not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is.
> And the country is caught up in the concept." I thought High Standard
> English required the use of the subjunctive in stating a condition
> contrary to fact.
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