Can I exchange "whether it be" with "whether it is" here?
"The steam engine needs the fuel which the vegetable life yields, whether it be the still active life of the surrounding vegetation, or the extinct life which has produced the immense coal deposits in the depths of the earth."
Q1. Can I exchange "whether it be" with "whether it is" here?
Q2. What's the difference between "whether it be" and "whether it is" ?
Q3. What auxiliary verb is omitted between "it" and "be" in "whether it be"? 'can' or 'will' or something else?
Top answer
This is an example of the rarely used subjunctive form. The indicative form (is), has been replacing it. htm
- This is an example of the rarely used subjunctive form.
- The indicative form (is), has been replacing it.
- htm
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This is an example of the rarely used subjunctive form. The indicative form (is), has been replacing it.
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