I might have known once what that word means - could you possibly
explain it, if it were possible, of course, I'd never insist that one do
so...
Interesting, Dave, that you explicitly pointed out the "ungrammatical"
omission of the subjunctive: as a long-time expat (which means exiled
from Patrick, of course, never to see that gleaming zimmerframe hurtle
towards me in a silver blur) I was convinced that it had even become
standard to write "if I was" etc, as I see it online in the press all
the time. From my infrequent visits to Britain I know that "if I were"
etc is a thing of the past, even among academics.
cheers
mjay
David Bircumshaw wrote:
>Golly, Patrick, you mean subjunctivitis? Awful, isn't it?
>
>Best
>
>Dave
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Patrick Mc Manus" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Tuesday, May 09, 2006 4:51 PM
>Subject: Re: Poem for Colin
>
>
>
>
>>I had a subjunctive once davey-very nasty too!!
>>P
>>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: Poetryetc provides a venue for a dialogue relating to poetry and
>>poetics [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of David Bircumshaw
>>Sent: 09 May 2006 12:37
>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>Subject: Poem for Colin
>>
>>My mate Colin just had a holiday from hell in exotic Lincolnshire, I'll
>>spare you all the nitty details but below is a very short verse summary
>>(there was worse for him when he came back but I've excluded that) Here
>>goes:
>>
>> A Postcard from Skegness
>>
>>Got bored stiff. Then came the diarrhoea.
>>Can't sleep. Wish it was you that was here.
>>
>>
>>(the grammatically incorrect absence of the subjunctive in the final
>>sentence is deliberate as it's a-written in the colloquial)
>>
>>Dave
>>
>>
>
>
>
--
The self that shines in the greying sunshine
of the immediate is actual, though it is
not all that is there. - Douglas Oliver
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