Imperative that (we are/we be)?

Both are correct. The subjunctive be is rather formal.

CB

"It is imperative that we are... " sounds very strange to me. If we "are" (whatever), it's already a fact -- it's like saying "It's imperative that the earth is round." (It reminds me of a converasion in one of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books that included such lines as "I demand that I am a philosopher!)

Thanks to both of you guys. I agree with you, khoff, I thought that "we are" sounded strange too. It seemed to me that a claim about something that should be true, but actually isn't true (which is what the full sentence was doing), shouldn't be stated like that. I didn't really give the context, but I'm pretty sure "we be" makes more sense.

AnonymousWhich is grammatically correct?

Grammatically, this one: "It is imperative that we be willing to..."

But in practical, logical terms, it seems a bit anomalous to me to make commands concerning internal states (such as willingness). Compare this with the even more anomalous:

It is imperative that you enjoy this movie.