noun/pronoun + asked that + noun/pronoun

MollyB   Mon Jun 02, 2008 9:08 am GMT
Do you use "noun/pronoun + asked that + noun/pronoun" in your variant of English?

e.g.

1. The Committee has asked that I seek further information on the way in which the Society is developing its campaign and the nature of the second report.

2. The executives agreed and asked that I act as the facilitator.

3. Our lawyers have asked that we meet.
Guest   Mon Jun 02, 2008 9:26 am GMT
Does it take subjunctive?
Rilian   Mon Jun 02, 2008 1:07 pm GMT
Yeah. And the next verb is in subjunctive.
Guest   Mon Jun 02, 2008 2:22 pm GMT
The examples look good to me.

As for the subjubctive, I'd say something like:

"2. The executives agreed and asked that I be the facilitator."

"am" would sure sound strange in this sentence. However, "be" might not really be the subjunctive, but rather an infinitive-like construct that looks like the old subjunctive, and is used in some of the same places where the old subjunctive was used. If you look at it this way, there's no true subjunctive in modern English, which would be a great thing. The word "subjunctive" scares people off.
Skippy   Mon Jun 02, 2008 4:46 pm GMT
1-3 all sound fine to me, though I agree with Guest's statement about number 2.
Travis   Mon Jun 02, 2008 7:22 pm GMT
Um sorry, but no - the subjunctive is quite alive and well at least in North American English, and cases like such usage of "be" cannot be infinitives as they may form the main verb in subordinate clauses alone.
Amabo   Thu Jun 05, 2008 12:32 am GMT
Travis is right. But it's rather a moot point. Subjunctive is a "mood" which may (or may not) be represented by a distinct form of the verb.

Examples:

He recommended that I complete the work

He recommended that I be there for the final vote

Both "I complete" and "I be" are subjunctive mood, but only "I be" has a distinct subjunctive form.

That said, even if we replaced "I be" with "I am", this would still be a subjunctive construction.