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Seraphin Posted 18 years ago
Grammar
the grammar behind " , be it ..."
I am curious what the grammar rule is behind the following sentence,
"I comprehend all restraint of motion, caused by an external obstacle, be it a house; or an island.
There is no conjunction before "be it a house", nor a semicolon.
Can anyone please explain the rules? thanks.
ps. I was thinking maybe it is a transformation of
"I comprehend all restraint of motion, caused by an external obstacle, whether it is a house or an island".
And here "whether" is the conjunction ??
"I comprehend all restraint of motion, caused by an external obstacle, be it a house; or an island.
There is no conjunction before "be it a house", nor a semicolon.
Can anyone please explain the rules? thanks.
ps. I was thinking maybe it is a transformation of
"I comprehend all restraint of motion, caused by an external obstacle, whether it is a house or an island".
And here "whether" is the conjunction ??
Top answer
You're right about the meaning. Since it's subjunctive, the ear (brain) takes it as conditional without a qualifying conjunction. " - A.
- You're right about the meaning.
- Since it's subjunctive, the ear (brain) takes it as conditional without a qualifying conjunction.
- " - A.
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1 Answers
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You're right about the meaning. Since it's subjunctive, the ear (brain) takes it as conditional without a qualifying conjunction. You could say, "whether it be house or island."
- A.
- A.
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