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Moon7296 Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

interpretation

Life for a hunter-gatherer would be a series of urgent improvisations on the stimuli occurring right now, be they passing prey, the lack of passing prey, attacks by others, changes in the make-up of the group.

Q) How is the underlined "be" connected in the context above? (I don't think "be" is connected to "would be.")
  

Top answer

be they = whether they be. This is the subjunctive form.

— Fivejedjon

  • be they = whether they be.
  • This is the subjunctive form.
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4 Answers
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be they = whether they be. This is the subjunctive form.
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fivejedjonbe they = whether they be.
1. Life for a hunter-gatherer would be a series of urgent improvisations on the stimuli occurring right now, be they passing prey, the lack of passing prey, attacks by others, changes in the make-up of the group.

2. Life for a hunter-gatherer would be a series of urgent improvisations on the stimuli occurrin
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moon7296)Do you mean like the underlined part in #2 or the one in #3? If #3 is what you meant, I was wondering how a bare infinitive "be" can come. Is should omitted?
It's not a bare infinitive. As I told you, it's a subjunctive form. This is the form that is used in #1 and #3.
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I'm sorry to ask more.

As you told me, the underlined part in #1 is used as a subjunctive form. But I was wondering if "be" can be used as it is.

5. If I were you, I would do that.
6. If I be you, I would do that.

We don't say #6 when #5 is acceptable. So I was wondering if the underlined part in #3 should be the one in #7.

7. Life for a hunter
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