Christine:
I'm using the term "bare infinitive" to refer to the verb form itself;
it's 'be' rather than 'was' or 'were'; it's analogous to calling the
-ing form in a gerund a present participle, even if the construction
it's part of is called a gerund. I certainly have no objection to
considering 'be' in that usage as a different kind of "regular
subjunctive" that happens to look exactly like the infinitive form --
it's not the way I treat it, but it'll work. I just choose to view the
*use* of the bare infinitive in that context to be one manifestation of
what gets termed the 'subjunctive' in traditional grammar. I'm a bit
nervous about homonymy arguments, and tend to go out of my way to avoid
them (theoretical predilection!).
Bill Spruiell
Dept. of English
Central Michigan University
-----Original Message-----
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Christine Reintjes
Sent: Monday, May 03, 2004 4:19 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: bare infinitive
Bill,
I'm confused about considering "be" a bare infinitive in your example.
I suggest he be hired.
Instead of a bare infinitive couldn't it be a regular subjunctive with
the
absent "that"?
I suggest THAT he be hired.
--
Christine Reintjes Martin
[log in to unmask]
>From: "Spruiell, William C" <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Singular or Plural
>Date: Tue, 27 Apr 2004 18:37:24 -0400
>
>
>
>There seem to be two distinct subclasses of subjunctives: those
>involving a bare-infinitive form after certain verbs like 'suggest',
and
>those involving the use of 'were' rather than 'was' with
>first-person-singular contrafactuals:
>
> I suggest he be hired.
> If he were here, he would have something to say.
>
>Although American English-speakers quite regularly use 'was' instead of
>'were' in that second kind of subjunctive, I don't hear examples such
>as, "I suggest he is hired" at all, and "I suggest he should be hired"
>quite seldom (I'm not even considering the really archaic prescriptive
>subjunctives such as "If he need medicine, give him this tonic").
>Instead, "I suggest that we hire him" is rather common - but even
>speakers who aren't looking over their shoulders for the grammar police
>will use the canonical subjunctive form without much difficulty. The
>subjunctive is disappearing in contrafactuals, but I'm not sure it is
>with the 'suggestion' type.
>
>Bill Spruiell
>
>Dept. of English
>Central Michigan University
>
>
>
>
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