Be lost
“What though the field be lost? All is not Lost; the unconquerable will, And study of revenge, immortal hate, And the courage never to submit or yeild.
Quote by John Milton
What type of sentence is this and why do we need "be" here?
Top answer
This is archaic writing which is hard for ordinary modern readers to understand. "be" is a subjunctive. e.
- This is archaic writing which is hard for ordinary modern readers to understand.
- "be" is a subjunctive.
- e.
- imagining or supposing such a situation.
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This is archaic writing which is hard for ordinary modern readers to understand. "be" is a subjunctive. The meaning appears to be "What if the field [i.e battle] is lost?", i.e. imagining or supposing such a situation.
0JigneshbharatiWhat type of sentence is this and why do we need "be" here?
Be is the subjunctive form of the verb "be." It is hypothetical, an imagined situation or an expression of astonishment. In contemporary English, we use the subjunctive voice much less than in Early Modern English. It is disappearing from the language.
What fools these
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