subjunctive pls help......
It is strongly suggested a review IS performed
It is strongly suggested a review BE performed
which is the correct word to use?
It is strongly suggested a review IS performed
Colloquial but the most frequent.
It is strongly suggested a review BE performed
Correct but old-fashioned.
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I was always under the impression that the subjunctive is actually alive and well in sentences like these, at least here in North America. For me, the second one is almost the only choice. E.g. in
I suggest she take the deal.
using "takes" instead would change the meaning for me. And even in this case, the way I read it is that the first suggests that a certain fact is true, while the second suggests a certain action should be taken. That's my take on it though.
What do you think of it?
As a native AE speaker, I go both ways, depending on the helping verb.
So I would say
I hope that is performed soon
and
I suggest that it be performed.
Although I would normally phrase the second sentence in some other way with no subjunctive.
Then again, the most mportant is this what I dont understand, can you elaborate on this?
I suggest she take the deal.
using "takes" instead would change the meaning for me. And even in this case, the way I read it is that the first suggests that a certain fact is true, while the second suggests a certain action should be taken. That's my take on it though.
What do you think of it?
<<It is strongly suggested a review IS performed
Colloquial but the most frequent.
It is strongly suggested a review BE performed
Correct but old-fashioned.>>
Actually, to North American ears, A is more likely just to sound weird than colloquial, while B sounds like something I'd say. However, I should note that the subjunctive is more alive in North America than in the UK, where it's considered old-fashioned, so it depends on what you're going for. I personally would unhesitatingly say B, while I would not say A, as that sounds "off" to my ears, because I never hear it worded that way here.
For me choice B feels more formal/imperative than choice A.
If I were (sic!) an internal auditor I would tend to use form A as it feels more inclusive whereas as an external auditor form B would be a more comfortable choice.
Hmmmm
"It is strongly suggested a review BE performed." is the only way I would say this.
<<"It is strongly suggested a review BE performed." is the only way I would say this.>>
Right. If I heard "It is strongly suggested a review IS performed" it might not only sound weird and like something no one would say here, but it also could be slightly confusing as to what the intent was.
It is strongly suggested that the second alternative be accepted as the more correct.
Just my two pence worth on this one. Cheers.
From what I know of grammar (and specifically the subjunctive), I would use the second (i.e using BE) but would most probably add "that" so that it becomes:
It is strongly suggested "that" a review BE performed
In this way, we clearly understand that the verb "BE" from "to be" is in the subjuntive as the subjunctive clause is began by "that"
Kirk is right about the UK.
As a Canadian living in London, I constantly hear and read sentences which employ the "indicative" where I would have used the "subjunctive."
I have certainly heard things like: "It is strongly suggested a review is performed" or the use of modals: "It is strongly suggested a review ought to be performed."
It depends how formal or otherwise you wish to be. The subjunctive is hardly used in day to day speech anyway...speaking of this country anyway (the UK of course).
In normal casual speech most people I know would say "If I was you I wouldn't go" or "I wouldn't go if I was you" instead of using "were" in the past subjunctive.
Some aspects of North American English usage sounds quite old fashioned to BE users. Some posters in here actually sound quite formal and quaint.....to be honest.
As I've said before, most of us in here probably write quite differently from the way we speak in ordinary day to day lingo. If some of us spoke in the same was as we write in here I reckon we would sound a wee bit aul farran! LOL
<<Kirk is right about the UK.
As a Canadian living in London, I constantly hear and read sentences which employ the "indicative" where I would have used the "subjunctive."
I have certainly heard things like: "It is strongly suggested a review is performed" or the use of modals: "It is strongly suggested a review ought to be performed.">>
That's interesting. Both of those constructions don't sound right in the context here--no one I know would say something like that. Here (as I'm assuming the case is for Canada as well), if we don't use the subjunctive, something with "for" might be used:
"It is strongly suggested for a review to be performed"
but the one with the subjunctive still sounds somewhat more natural to my ears at least. As I said before, I would unhesitatingly use the subjunctive there, as it sounds more natural.
<<Some aspects of North American English usage sounds quite old fashioned to BE users. Some posters in here actually sound quite formal and quaint.....to be honest.
As I've said before, most of us in here probably write quite differently from the way we speak in ordinary day to day lingo. If some of us spoke in the same was as we write in here I reckon we would sound a wee bit aul farran! LOL>>
Haha. True. I think the forces of the dialect divides as well as the tendency for the written language to be more formal anyway may contribute to that. Anyway, I have no problem if someone else thinks I sound "old-fashioned" or "quaint" in any respects, it's not an insult as far as I'm concerned :)
I myself would also use B rather than A, as using the present indicative "is" rather than the present subjunctive "be" here just doesn't sound quite right to me personally. (Of course, for the record, I speak an NAE dialect, which one could probably have guessed from this.)
The subjunctive is indeed alive and well in English, it's just that its conjugated forms closely resemble the indicative, and so many people use the subjunctive without realizing it (and then claim that the subjunctive is dead, because they don't know any better).
There is a very slight difference between the subjunctive and indicative in terms of meaning. For example:
A: If a thief was here, he must have left prints.
B: If a thief were here, we'd hear him moving about.
The indicative in A implies that we've already assumed that the thief has passed, or at least we consider it a very strong possibility that only awaits verification. The subjunctive in B is far more hypothetical: we are just describing what would happen if a particular event were to occur—we don't actually think it happened, and we don't have any particular incident in mind.
However, since most people don't understand this distinction, it is lost on many readers and speakers, so whether or not this is a significant difference depends on your audience. When in doubt, stick with the subjunctive.
"The subjunctive is indeed alive and well in English"
I disagree. I think it's on the way out. One reason for this must surely be because English verb inflection is so limited.
Most English verbs can barely muster four forms:
walk/walks/walked/walking
Some stretch it to five:
eat/eats/ate/eaten/eating
"Be" is the most complex with eight forms:
be/am/are/is/was/were/been/being
Not much scope here for conjugation!