Date:  Tue, 10 Oct 1995 11:17:54 -0700

From:  Sylvia Swift <madonna[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]VIOLET.BERKELEY.EDU>

Subject: Re: as it were



> Stay tuned long enough to a C&W station, and you'll find that the

> subjunctive mood is alive and well, but the form is "was".



if i stay tuned to a c&w station long enough, i'll never finish my

dissertation. i have noticed that there is also a song currently in

mediumish rotation with the hook (and possibly the title) "if i were you,

i'd fall in love with me."



in dialects where indicative and subjunctive are now identical, i would

argue that subjunctive is no longer alive and well.



sylvia swift

madonna[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]violet.berkeley.edu