Matt wrote:
"If I were you" is subjunctive, but I don't think "far be it from me" is.
I've always considered "be" in phrases like this to be the subjunctive, analoguous to other verbs where the subjunctive form looks just like the infinitive (like the other examples you gave). What else might it be?
Jack gave some examples in reply:
English has two subjunctives, one is first subjunctive as in: Would that it were so easy as she makes it seem. The other is second subjunctive It is imperative that you not be late tomorrow.
First subjunctive is getting rarer by the day, especially in America where we've all but abandoned it. Second subjunctive is still alive and well in my dialect. (Both of the examples I gave sound fine in my dialect, but "would that it were" and "If I were" are about the only usages of first subjunctive that sound right)
The subjunctive in English (being a Germanic language) still has many forms, e.g., the hortatory: God bless America! This form expresses a wish or desire and is historically formed from the infinitive. The imperative mood is a reflex of this; that is why the form is "be" as in "Please be on time."
Then there is the conditional, based on the second, i.e., preterite, form of the verb (hence the names Konjunktiv Eins, Konjunktiv Zwei in German). This second type expresses either a hypothetical situation or an unreal condition, as in "I wouldn't do that if I were you." (This form appears to be moribund when the verb "be" is used. A large number of [mostly un- and undereducated] people say, "I wouldn't do that if I was you.") We English speakers tend to use the conditional form in our indirect spoken language, as in, "Bob said he'd be here at eight," that is, don't blame me because he isn't here; I'm just telling you what he told me. Like the Romance languages, we also employ subjunctives when we wish to express necessity (Jack's second example above about not being late) or strong emotions (but not in all cases), e.g., "The boss prefers that she write (not 'writes') the letter herself."
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Copyright © 1997, Don Blaheta
Last updated: 29 Oct 1997