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	<title>Comments on: The subjunctive case and intentionality</title>
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		<title>By: August</title>
		<link>http://neilernst.net/2007/12/06/the-subjunctive-case-and-intentionality/#comment-40</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[August]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Feb 2009 03:52:41 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[I believe the subjunctive mood in English is still alive and kicking.  It just seems dead because our verbs don&#039;t have a lot of different endings like other languages.  Except for the verb &quot;to be,&quot; the subjunctive is mostly undetectable in English.  Only in the 3rd person singular (he/she/it) can you see it at work.

Indicative:
He GOES to a meeting.

Subjunctive:
I insisted he GO to a meeting.

If I turned it around and said, He insisted I GO to a meeting, that would still be subjunctive, but it would be undetectable, no different from the indicative, I GO to a meeting.

The verb &quot;to be&quot; tells the real tale, because the subjunctive verb form is &quot;BE&quot; for all persons and that doesn&#039;t coincide with any of the indicative verb forms.

Indicative:
I AM here.
You ARE here.
She IS here.
We (or they) ARE here.

Subjunctive:
He insisted I BE here. Or:  They insisted we BE here, etc.

Then there is always, &quot;If I WERE a rich man.&quot;  &quot;If she WERE a mermaid.&quot;  But again, you can&#039;t hear a difference with &quot;you, we, or they,&quot; because they use WERE in either case.

So, English speakers DO STILL use the subjunctive.  It&#039;s just hard to tell when we&#039;re doing most of the time.]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I believe the subjunctive mood in English is still alive and kicking.  It just seems dead because our verbs don&#8217;t have a lot of different endings like other languages.  Except for the verb &#8220;to be,&#8221; the subjunctive is mostly undetectable in English.  Only in the 3rd person singular (he/she/it) can you see it at work.</p>
<p>Indicative:<br />
He GOES to a meeting.</p>
<p>Subjunctive:<br />
I insisted he GO to a meeting.</p>
<p>If I turned it around and said, He insisted I GO to a meeting, that would still be subjunctive, but it would be undetectable, no different from the indicative, I GO to a meeting.</p>
<p>The verb &#8220;to be&#8221; tells the real tale, because the subjunctive verb form is &#8220;BE&#8221; for all persons and that doesn&#8217;t coincide with any of the indicative verb forms.</p>
<p>Indicative:<br />
I AM here.<br />
You ARE here.<br />
She IS here.<br />
We (or they) ARE here.</p>
<p>Subjunctive:<br />
He insisted I BE here. Or:  They insisted we BE here, etc.</p>
<p>Then there is always, &#8220;If I WERE a rich man.&#8221;  &#8220;If she WERE a mermaid.&#8221;  But again, you can&#8217;t hear a difference with &#8220;you, we, or they,&#8221; because they use WERE in either case.</p>
<p>So, English speakers DO STILL use the subjunctive.  It&#8217;s just hard to tell when we&#8217;re doing most of the time.</p>
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