Anonymous Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
Subjunctive form vs. would be
Hello,
I am a student at a university and am currently taking a course in linguistics. During my classmates' presentation on the subjunctive form, we ran into a bit of confusion in one of the example questions they provided:
I wish he ___ more motivated.
A) was
B) were
C) would be
Since the presentation was focused on the subjunctive, we all understood the answer should be B: I wish he were more motivated. However, we were left wondering why it couldn't be C: I wish he would be more motivated. Is that ungrammatical? If not, what is the difference, and in what situation should it be used that would differentiate it from the subjunctive?
Please respond!
--Wendy, a confused college student
I am a student at a university and am currently taking a course in linguistics. During my classmates' presentation on the subjunctive form, we ran into a bit of confusion in one of the example questions they provided:
I wish he ___ more motivated.
A) was
B) were
C) would be
Since the presentation was focused on the subjunctive, we all understood the answer should be B: I wish he were more motivated. However, we were left wondering why it couldn't be C: I wish he would be more motivated. Is that ungrammatical? If not, what is the difference, and in what situation should it be used that would differentiate it from the subjunctive?
Please respond!
--Wendy, a confused college student
Top answer
All three answers are possible nowadays, Wendy. A is very common among native speakers, as I'm sure you will find if you listen around campus. As for C, the grammar is fine, too—it seems to refer to the future, where A and B refer to the present.
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All three answers are possible nowadays, Wendy. A is very common among native speakers, as I'm sure you will find if you listen around campus. As for C, the grammar is fine, too—it seems to refer to the future, where A and B refer to the present.
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