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30 May 2021, 06:29
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I didnt know that any noun would take plural verb in a hypothetical situation. Is this the only instance this happens?
Does this exception hold even for "whether"? Or is it just for "if"?
"Whether this land area were a nation"?
Thanks in advance.
Posted from my mobile device
Does this exception hold even for "whether"? Or is it just for "if"?
"Whether this land area were a nation"?
Thanks in advance.
Posted from my mobile device
30 May 2021, 19:34
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Bambi2021
It's not that we want to use plural forms in general. The form here is the hypothetical subjunctive: THEN + subject + past tense verb, THEN (second subject) + WOULD + (bare infinitive: "to" form without the "to"). In case this isn't complicated enough, there's a weird exception that when our first verb is a form of "to be," we use "were" and not "was." (One odd thing about many languages is that some of the most common verbs are irregular!
)
This is easier to see in examples (I'll leave out the THEN in some of these, since they're short and direct enough not to need it):
If we invited her, she would go.
If you helped me, then I would be grateful.
If the Constitution were amended to eliminate the Electoral College, then presidential campaigns would prioritize different issues.
If I were home more often, I would get a pet pig.
As for WHETHER, it doesn't create a subjunctive case, so the same rules don't apply. We just say things like or "I want to know whether you will come to my party" or "Whether you walk or drive, you should leave early."
It's not that we want to use plural forms in general. The form here is the hypothetical subjunctive: THEN + subject + past tense verb, THEN (second subject) + WOULD + (bare infinitive: "to" form without the "to"). In case this isn't complicated enough, there's a weird exception that when our first verb is a form of "to be," we use "were" and not "was." (One odd thing about many languages is that some of the most common verbs are irregular!
)This is easier to see in examples (I'll leave out the THEN in some of these, since they're short and direct enough not to need it):
If we invited her, she would go.
If you helped me, then I would be grateful.
If the Constitution were amended to eliminate the Electoral College, then presidential campaigns would prioritize different issues.
If I were home more often, I would get a pet pig.
As for WHETHER, it doesn't create a subjunctive case, so the same rules don't apply. We just say things like or "I want to know whether you will come to my party" or "Whether you walk or drive, you should leave early."
31 May 2021, 04:56
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DmitryFarber
Thanks, I get it. The only exception is when the verb is "to be". Well, I had heard that kind of construction before: "If I were you, then..." but wasnt able to make a generalisation about it and apply it to this case.
