tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post8639010200654690849..comments2024-03-14T10:31:26.918+00:00Comments on DCblog: On if and was/wereDChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192779827863835310noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-28455771125960477602009-03-29T13:45:00.000+00:002009-03-29T13:45:00.000+00:00Yes, these matters are traditionally discussed und...Yes, these matters are traditionally discussed under the heading of 'subjunctive'.DChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10192779827863835310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-26676267157559119532009-03-24T23:28:00.000+00:002009-03-24T23:28:00.000+00:00Is this kind of like "subjunctive" in Spanish for ...Is this kind of like "subjunctive" in Spanish for instance?<BR/><BR/>Nice Blog!Chickenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01492415135889652367noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-29018952748060072562009-02-15T17:03:00.000+00:002009-02-15T17:03:00.000+00:00It would be nice if such a simple distinction was/...It would be nice if such a simple distinction was/were the case!DChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10192779827863835310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-59136658091619366102009-02-14T13:55:00.000+00:002009-02-14T13:55:00.000+00:00I learnt that 'were' is to be used if the situatio...I learnt that 'were' is to be used if the situation is impossible, e.g. "If I were you" - it is impossible for me to be you.<BR/>'Was' is to be used if it is, or would have been possible, e.g. "If I was a train driver". I could be, or have been, a train driver.<BR/>BBAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-81386120992196101812009-01-28T10:55:00.000+00:002009-01-28T10:55:00.000+00:00i think i use "if i were" almost exclusively...alt...i think i use "if i were" almost exclusively...although if it has a "gonna" after it, i'd probably use "was"... "If I was gonna go, I would have bought the tickets already" or something...hell, i don't...<BR/><BR/>one use that doesn't get much attention i think is the conditional with was/were and the infinitive, i.e. in the Doors song "You know that I would be a liar/If I was to say to you, 'girl we couldn't get much higher'"<BR/><BR/>anyone ever had to tackle that one with a student before?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-23029286873836920692009-01-16T20:56:00.000+00:002009-01-16T20:56:00.000+00:00Sample chapters are available free here: http://ww...Sample chapters are available free here: http://www.cambridge.org/uk/linguistics/cgel/sample.htm. Chapters 1 and 2 are given in full.<BR/><BR/>Does that allow me to mention a point arising? Pages 9 and 10 of Chapter 1 discuss the use of ‘I’ in coordination either following a preposition or as object. The authors argue persuasively that it is illegitimate to plead for ‘me’ in such a position solely on the grounds that that’s what it is when the pronoun appears alone. They point out that there is another instance in which a pronoun behaves differently in coordination: ‘I don’t know if you’re eligible’ is a permissible English sentence whereas ‘I don’t know if she and you’re eligible’ is not.<BR/><BR/>So far, so good. But should they not also take into account the analogy with, to adapt their own example, ‘They invited our partners and us to lunch’? We never, I think, find *‘They invited our partners and we to lunch’. I would like to think that, given its prevalence, ‘They invited my partner and I to lunch’ is more than simply a case of hypercorrection, but I’d have welcomed an explanation of the apparent anomaly.baralbionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03976395517109747612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-10504026920714313112009-01-15T10:38:00.000+00:002009-01-15T10:38:00.000+00:00Re Mark: the only relevant paperback I know is the...Re Mark: the only relevant paperback I know is the Student's Introduction, based on the big book, which came out in 2005.DChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10192779827863835310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-58411271155292115622009-01-15T10:13:00.000+00:002009-01-15T10:13:00.000+00:00Certainly. A full statement of the grammar of 'if'...Certainly. A full statement of the grammar of 'if' would include these points. The hypercorrectness issue is especially important, I think.DChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10192779827863835310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-8372408551222575952009-01-15T09:47:00.000+00:002009-01-15T09:47:00.000+00:00There are also cases of hypercorrection, when "if"...There are also cases of hypercorrection, when "if" clearly means whether: eg "??He asked me if I were going".<BR/><BR/>And then there are cases where the "if" isn't hypothetical, as in "If [as you've just told me] he was French, why did you address him in German?"Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01798406038550391203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-60224206518964274602009-01-14T16:04:00.000+00:002009-01-14T16:04:00.000+00:00On a slightly tangential matter, I wish we could s...On a slightly tangential matter, I wish we could see a reasonably priced paperback Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. I recoil at £130 (or £213 for the leather-bound version), but the "look inside" feature on Amazon demonstrates that it's the kind of book I could luxuriate in for a long time (rather like your own Encyclopedia of the English Language). Am I really the only person who would snap up a £40 paperback version of this behemoth? Love the blog, by the way.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12669698064593557944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-66802894376318576102009-01-14T12:53:00.000+00:002009-01-14T12:53:00.000+00:00A lovely example of an orthographic 'slip of the b...A lovely example of an orthographic 'slip of the brain'. Thanks for pointing it out.DChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10192779827863835310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-71256491433837208082009-01-14T12:46:00.000+00:002009-01-14T12:46:00.000+00:00"Formally they would give credence only to the for..."Formally they would give credence <BR/>only to the formal options. Today they recognize that everyday usage includes both"<BR/><BR/>Formally or formerly?Jakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18161211165952168617noreply@blogger.com