Is this type of sentences dying out, or do you expect it to be dying out?I demand/request/suggest that S V[bare infinitive]
Is this type of sentences dying out, or do you expect it to be dying out?I demand/request/suggest that S V[bare infinitive]
But most of AmEn speakers prefer saying "I demand that he speaks properly" to "I demand that he speak properly", don't they? (Or am I wrong on this?)
Not sure about that. According to this site (which is, I think, fairly clear, informative and accurate about the use of the subjunctive)....But most of AmEn speakers prefer saying "I demand that he speaks properly" to "I demand that he speak properly", don't they? (Or am I wrong on this?)
(my emphasis)...it seems to be the opposite.The Indicative
This construction is also used sometimes in British English, but is rare in American English:
She has demanded that the machinery undergoes vigorous tests to ensure high quality.
If you were a teacher, would you accept 2 as a correct answer?I demand that he immediately ( ) back to Taiwan.
1 go, 2 goes
Thanks!
I demand that he immediately ( ) back to Taiwan.
1 go, 2 goes
If you were a teacher, would you accept 2 as a correct answer?
So...
Is this right or wrong???
"They demanded the event to be postponed."
Yes, "ordinary" people, uneducated people - in American English, the subjunctive is commonly used.Sorry, no offense intended in my explanation. I meant by 'ordinary', people that do not master language and its rules.
I apologise again.
In my version of BrE, that would certainly be possible, except that I'd be likely to use a different sequence of tenses:And what about "suggest"? Is the use of the indicative wrong? For example: "I suggested that he sells his old car"
As an American, I would not. In fact, the indicative is used so rarely in such a construction that I would expect even most of those Americans who use the nonstandard If I was you… instead of If I were you… would say I demand that he immediately go back to Taiwan. (Or would say the same thing with the indicative but with slightly different wording: I demand that he go back to Taiwan right now. A person who habitually says If I was you… would be unlikely to say immediately go.)
In British English this use of the indicative is more acceptable. I recently heard an anchor of the BBC News (shown here on PBS) use the indicative in such a case, which I found quite jarring. But I don't know if a British teacher would mark as wrong I demand that he immediately goes back to Taiwan.
You're welcome.Thank you, for your explicitness. Examples are very clear now. You see, we do not have this type of mood and it is hard to understand insistence, for instance, when it is expressed by Subjunctive instead of using the verb 'insist' in the Indicative as we do. Therefore, I will be asking many questions about it when I feel lost in getting the message. Books are not enough.
Why not? For example:You're welcome.
The insistence is not expressed by the subjunctive. ...
I think this is one case in which the subjunctive is not dying out, at least in AE. In BE, one often uses the modal verb "should", which makes no sense at all.
"I demand that he should speak properly", instead of "I demand that he speak properly".
I think not. The "should" in (2) is not the "should" of insistence that it is in (say) "You should do that". It is rather a mere marker of non-factual or potential action. ...
In present-day English, especially in BrE, we often now use the indicative to describe non-factual or potential action, and the result is sometimes ambiguous. The indicative is also conceptually inappropriate in that it comes loaded with a tense, but tense is a means of discriminating between the factual past, present, and future. The present subjunctive uses a plain unencumbered non-tensed form of the verb which is entirely appropriate for an event which sits neither in the past, nor the present, nor even necessarily in the future. And "should" is a useful alternative where the present subjunctive and indicative forms coincide.
...
Next, I don't think technostick is entirely correct. I'm not convinced that "In BE, one often uses" is true. I would say, "occasionally and colloquially".
However, I agree that "I demand that he should speak properly." is incorrect: you demand that something happen; not that it should happen.
I don't understand your reasoning, PaulQ.... I agree that "I demand that he should speak properly." is incorrect: you demand that something happen; not that it should happen.
In my version of BrE, that would certainly be possible, except that I'd be likely to use a different sequence of tenses:
I suggested he sold his old car
...
Is this sentence indicative or subjunctive?
What should the subjunctive be for the past tense verb "suggested"? Should it be "I suggested he sellshis old car"?(note: "sell" not "sells" here.)
In British English this use of the indicative is more acceptable. I recently heard an anchor of the BBC News (shown here on PBS) use the indicative in such a case, which I found quite jarring. But I don't know if a British teacher would mark as wrong I demand that he immediately goes back to Taiwan.
I would never say, ''I suggest that he sells his old car'', though, at the same time, I would never try to ''correct'' someone who does.
But some verbs, nouns, and adjectives that can be used this way (to express opinion about or control over a prospective future) may also be used to express opinion or testimony concerning whether something is fact:
They suggest/insist that she goes/went.
"He sells his old car" is a grammatical statement, something that can be either true or false, so the idea that he sells his old car is something I might want to mention. To bring that idea up in a conversation, I might say "I suggest that he sells his old car."I feel that "sells" should be changed to either "has sold" or "sold", for the reason that "sells" carries a transient sense and that its present tense here can not convey a fact.I would never say, ''I suggest that he sells his old car'', though, at the same time, I would never try to ''correct'' someone who does.
''I suggest that he plays Hamlet'' is different, as "plays" has a continuous meaning that can expresses an ongoing event or fact.
"She goes" is also a grammatical statement. It is rather terse and ambiguous, but it is valid.What does "she goes" mean here? And how can it be seen as a fact?But some verbs, nouns, and adjectives that can be used this way (to express opinion about or control over a prospective future) may also be used to express opinion or testimony concerning whether something is fact:
They suggest/insist that she goes/went.
"He sells his old car" is a grammatical statement, something that can be either true or false, so the idea that he sells his old car is something I might want to mention. To bring that idea up in a conversation, I might say "I suggest that he sells his old car."
In the same way, any grammatical statement, whether true or false, can have "I suggest that" tacked on in front of it:
I suggest that he sells his old car to buy a new one.
I suggest that he sold his old car to buy a new one.
I suggest that he is selling his old car to buy a new one.
I suggest that he will sell his old car to buy a new one.
Present tense sells can mean "has a habit of selling", among other possibilities. A habit is a state."He sells his old car" is a grammatical statement, something that can be either true or false.
In the indicative construction of "I suggest that...", the clause after "that' indicates a fact. A fact is a past act or an ongoing event, which the present tense "sells" can't convey due to the lack of static meaning for "sells", on the contrary, "sold", "is selling" and "will sell" can. Comments?
The clause after "I suggest that" does not have to be true or even believed to be suggested.As I understand, all these examples are indicative, in which "suggest" means "imply" or "hint", not giving an idea or suggestion, is that correct?
I have no problem imagining it.If indicative rather than subjunctive is stated in these sentences, it's hard to imagine the context which gives rise to the meaning of "I imply" or "I hint".
Could a context be given to show how I suggest that he sells his old car to buy a new one expresses the meaning of "a habit of selling"?Present tense sells can mean "has a habit of selling", among other possibilities. A habit is a state.
The clause after "I suggest that" does not have to be true or even believed to be suggested.As I understand, all these examples are indicative, in which "suggest" means "imply" or "hint", not giving an idea or suggestion, is that correct?
If indicative rather than subjunctive is stated in these sentences, it's hard to imagine the context which gives rise to the meaning of "I imply" or "I hint".
I have no problem imagining it.
For example:Could a context be given to show how I suggest that he sells his old car to buy a new one expresses the meaning of "a habit of selling"?
I have already listed some possibilities ("I suggest x" can mean "I offer x as a hint or innuendo", "I offer x as a hypothesis", or just "Let me mention x").If the clause does not have to be believed to be suggested, what would it be thought of?
See B's statements in the example above.An example for the context?
For example:
A: Every time the wind changes, he sells his car.
B: I suggest that every time the wind changes, he wants a new car.
A: But wanting a new car does not mean selling an old one.
B: I suggest that he sells his old car to buy a new one. He could not afford a new one so often otherwise.
("I suggest x" can mean "I offer x as a hint or innuendo", "I offer x as a hypothesis", or just "Let me mention x")
c. Const. clause or inf.: To put forward the notion, opinion, or proposition (that, etc.).
1871 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues I. 71 They suggest that Socrates should be invited to take part in the consultation.