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Guzhao67 Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
"if need were" from moby *** by herman melville
hi: the following paragraph was taken from moby *** by hermen melville. my question is: what does the underlined phrase "if need were" here? this is the first case i've met, normally, i would expect it to be "if need be". could you explain? thank you very much and have a nice day.
Whereas, in the days of the old Canadian and Indian hunters and trappers of the West, when the far west (in whose sunset suns still rise) was a wilderness and a virgin, the same number of moccasined men, for the same number of months, mounted on horse instead of sailing in ships, would have slain not forty, but forty thousand and more buffaloes; a fact that, if need were, could be statistically stated.
Whereas, in the days of the old Canadian and Indian hunters and trappers of the West, when the far west (in whose sunset suns still rise) was a wilderness and a virgin, the same number of moccasined men, for the same number of months, mounted on horse instead of sailing in ships, would have slain not forty, but forty thousand and more buffaloes; a fact that, if need were, could be statistically stated.
Top answer
Moby Duck was written in 1851. Language has changed considerably in 150 years. 'If need were' , like ' if need be' , means ' if it should be necessary' .
- Moby Duck was written in 1851.
- Language has changed considerably in 150 years.
- 'If need were' , like ' if need be' , means ' if it should be necessary' .
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1 Answers
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Moby Duck 
was written in 1851. Language has changed considerably in 150 years.
'If need were', like 'if ne
was written in 1851. Language has changed considerably in 150 years.'If need were', like 'if ne
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