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Tuvalet Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
Subjunctive mood
Hi guys.
I would like to ask a question about subjunctives.
This is a tweet that i saw today.
And it got me thinking.The sentence is like
I just saw jessica alba if this was 2007 i would be excited.
But i think if this is a subjunctive one then shouldn't it be like
I just saw jessica alba if this were 2007 i would be excited.
Could u please tell me the nuance that i cant comprehend ?
Thanks.
I would like to ask a question about subjunctives.
This is a tweet that i saw today.
And it got me thinking.The sentence is like
I just saw jessica alba if this was 2007 i would be excited.
But i think if this is a subjunctive one then shouldn't it be like
I just saw jessica alba if this were 2007 i would be excited.
Could u please tell me the nuance that i cant comprehend ?
Thanks.
Top answer
It's quite simple. A lot of people these days, especially speakers of BrE, don't use the subjunctive any more. They do, however, except in very informal personal correspondence, use capital letter for proper names and the pronoun I , and write you in full.
- It's quite simple.
- A lot of people these days, especially speakers of BrE, don't use the subjunctive any more.
- They do, however, except in very informal personal correspondence, use capital letter for proper names and the pronoun I , and write you in full.
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3 Answers
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It's quite simple. A lot of people these days, especially speakers of BrE, don't use the subjunctive any more.
They do, however, except in very informal personal correspondence, use capital letter for proper names and the pronoun I, and write you in full.
They do, however, except in very informal personal correspondence, use capital letter for proper names and the pronoun I, and write you in full.
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The subjunctive has been declining, as "whom" and other signs of an inflected language. These language changes have been going on since Old English.
But new modernisms like texting shortcuts and lack of punctuation are not accepted in more formal settings.
It's acceptable in tweets because of the limited number of characters allowed per message.
But new modernisms like texting shortcuts and lack of punctuation are not accepted in more formal settings.
It's acceptable in tweets because of the limited number of characters allowed per message.
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tuvaletif this was 2007 ... if this were 2007 ... nuanceBoth versions have the same meaning. Changing 'was' to 'were' in an if-clause is pretty much optional these days (except in English classes during the lessons on the subjunctive).
Opinions differ as to the nuances. Some people think that 'was' sounds too low-class; some people think th
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