Date:  Tue, 10 Oct 1995 20:58:09 -0400

From:  "H Stephen STRAIGHT (Binghamton University,

     SUNY)" <sstraigh[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]BINGSUNS.CC.BINGHAMTON.EDU>

Subject: Re: as it were



On Tue, 10 Oct 1995, Beth Lee Simon wrote:

> 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".



Forgive my saying so, but if the "subjunctive" is "was", then there is no

subjunctive, in the grammatical sense, however much there may be a

subjunctive in the semantic sense, which there will always be, as long as

there are counterfactual/hypothetical or otherwise uncertain

propositions.

    Best.         'Bye.          Steve

H Stephen STRAIGHT             Binghamton University (SUNY)

Anthropology & Linguistics   LxC  Box 6000, Binghamton NY 13902-6000

Dir, Langs Across the Curric    VOX: 607-777-2824; FAX: 607-777-2889