Be or should be

Question

A Ukraine judge has ordered that former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko be taken into custody during her trial on charges of abuse of office.Police escorted Ms Tymoshenko out of the courtroom, prompting her supporters to shout "Shame!" and scuffle with police.The judge has accused Ms Tymoshenko of repeated violations of court rules, including impeding proceedings.Ms Tymoshenko says the charges against her are politically motivated.She is accused of illegally agreeing a 10-year contract to buy natural gas from Russia, which investigators say meant Ukraine was forced to buy gas at prices that were ruinous for its economy.Until now, Ms Tymoshenko had been required to remain in Kiev but had not been placed in detention.Court proceedings have been adjourned until Monday.This was the second time the prosecution had requested that Ms Tymoshenko be arrested for improper conduct, after the judge turned down a similar request last week.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Look at those 2 sentences which are bold faced.For me 'be  taken into custody' and 'be arrested for' are subjunctive.Why is it necessary to write subjunctive in this context?I would write the indicative; which are 'should be taken into custody' and ' should be arrested for'.

Cool Breeze · Accepted Answer

Your suggestions with should are correct as well and mainly occur in British English. The present subjunctive can be used in that clauses if the main clause contains a verb denoting a request, demand, suggestion, promise or decision. In your example sentences the verbs meeting these criteria are ordered and requested.

CB

Rotter · Answer

Thanks CB

I remember you very well. You live in Finland.

Men jag kan inte finska.

...........................................................................................

Essentially what you are saying is 'that clause' pave the way to make a subjunctive when it comes to demand, suggestion, etc.

However, it is said that the subjuncive is fading in English. Am I wrong?

CalifJim · Answer

Rotterit is said that the subjunctive is fading in English.

It is, but the fading is measured in centuries, not in months! The subjunctive was used much more four centuries ago, so it's "fading", but it hasn't faded out to nothing yet. There are still cases where the subjunctive is used - even in modern English, and these uses will probably not fade out in our lifetimes, though they may fade out in another century or two if the general "fading tendency" continues at its slow rate.

CJ

Cool Breeze · Answer

RotterMen jag kan inte finska.

Det gör ingenting! Man måste tala engelska här i alla fall!

CB

Rotter · Answer

I thank CB and CJ for the replies.

CJ is great. I mean his knowledge of English grammar is excellent.

CJ, it may be you know some Spanish and French.

I have a smattering of German, Spanish and French.

Subjunctive is a big business in Spanish and French.

I studied even Russian.

However, I must look up my Russian grammars and online resources to write a simple Russsian sentence. I have forgotten a lot!

I've written your name Jim in Russian ----> ???

???

The Russian ' J ' is [ ? ]

The Russian 'i' is [ ? ]

Russian uses the English 'm'.

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To CB

Vad duktig du är!

CalifJim · Answer

RotterI've written your name Jim in Russian ----> ???

Actually, Rotter, I'm pretty sure it's ????. The usual transliteration of English "J" is ??. I'm pretty sure that the U.S. Library of Congress does it like that.

CJ

Rotter · Answer

Thanks Califjim.

I would agree with you here.

Did you know why?

Russian language doesn't have the English letter 'J'.

Since there is no 'J' letter in Russian alphabet, the combination of '?' and '?' gives rise to the English letter 'J'

? ---> This is Russian 'D'

? --> This represents 'Zhe'. I mean it pronounces as 'Zhe'. It is similar to the 's' sound in the English word 'usual'.

So these 2 letters ' ?? ' gives rise to the letter 'J' or rather the sound of 'J'.

The English word 'denim' in Russian is also 'denim'.

You would write it like this --- ' ?é??? '.

The English word 'wife' is 'shena' in Russian.

You would write it like this --- ' ???á '

By the way, have you studied Russian at school?

I've studied for a several years and have been to Russia a couple of times.

I must confess that my Russian is beneath contempt. So you shouldn't trust me when it comes to Russian language.

You know I have seen Lenin. You can see him in the mausoleum close to the Red Square.

Have you studied Russian?

........................................................................................................................

The English letter 'G' in Russian is ' ?'.

I have written the Russian word ' ??? ' . This pronounce as 'gym' It can be 'gim' too.

You know the gym where I train 3 times a week'.

Gym or gim – ???

Jim – ????

Word: ??????????
Meaning: to ask, inquire
Pronunciation: SPRAH-shi-vaht'

Word: ??????

Meaning: newspaper

Pronounciatin. Gazeta

CalifJim · Answer

Yes, I have studied Russian. But this is an English forum, so we need to limit ourselves to English here.

CJ

Rotter · Answer

Yes, Califjim

I am not going to discuss things related to the Russian language. I just wanted to tell you that I have studied Russian and I have a smattering of Russian.

I post my Russian grammar question to the Russian language forum.

No more Russian here!

I have learnt a lot of English from you and I am very grateful to all the help.

I am always looking forward to your replies for my questions because you are good at explaining things in simple English.

CalifJim · Answer

Thank you for your vote of confidence!

CJ

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