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Anonymous Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

Grammer of "be they ..."

"be they " what is the grammer point about "be they " ?
  

Top answer

'Be they' is a rather old-fashioned and formal form that you will seldom hear now, though it still occurs in the written language. It is a variation on 'if they be', which is a subjunctive use of the verb in a conditional statement. It is usually replaced by indicative verb forms nowadays: Be they old or young, everyone enjoys a circus.

  • 'Be they' is a rather old-fashioned and formal form that you will seldom hear now, though it still occurs in the written language.
  • It is a variation on 'if they be', which is a subjunctive use of the verb in a conditional statement.
  • It is usually replaced by indicative verb forms nowadays: Be they old or young, everyone enjoys a circus.
  • Whether they be old or young, everyone enjoys a circus.
  • Whether they are old or young, everyone enjoys a circus .
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1 Answers
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'Be they' is a rather old-fashioned and formal form that you will seldom hear now, though it still occurs in the written language. It is a variation on 'if they be', which is a subjunctive use of the verb in a conditional statement. It is usually replaced by indicative verb forms nowadays:

Be they old or young, everyone enjoys a circus.
Whether they be old or young

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