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I’ll tell you what: if I were President, I’d make sure the subjunctive doesn’t get left behind. Just look what’s going on these days in the news.
A lot has been said about Geraldine Ferarro’s recent gaffe. And while the pundits continue to volley this one back and forth—“She’s a racist,” “She meant nothing by it,” “She blah, blah, blah”—I’d like to take issue with her statement on another front. I mean, honestly people, what is the deal with major politicians, heads of state and world leaders dissing the subjunctive? It’s one thing for a bubble-gum pop singer to question What if God Was One of Us? but how Geraldine Ferarro doesn’t know the difference between was/were is beyond me.
And here’s the thing that really gets me: she missed the subjunctive not once, but TWICE. First she said, “If Obama was a white man,” and then moments later she said, “And if he was a woman…”
Of course, if you’re looking to Obama himself for some grammatical correctness, freak on this little gaffe I heard on the news the other day when Hillary’s campaign was suggesting he’d make a good Vice Pres: “I don’t know how somebody who is second place is offering the vice presidency to the person who is in first place…If I was in second place I could understand it. But I’m in first place right now…”
Honestly. Maybe he deserves to be in second place with such a statement?
And, hey, while we’re on the subject, turns out McCain has a was/were problem, too. Remember all that hullabaloo a few weeks ago about Obama’s campaign financing if he wound up getting the nomination? Look what McCain said:
“I made the commitment to the American people that if I was the nominee of my party, I would go the route of public financing. I expect Senator Obama to keep his word to the American people as well.”
My ears bleed every time I hear it. And while I’m not the biggest Hilary supporter on the planet (didn’t vote for her), perhaps I should rethink my position because at least she knows when to employ the subjunctive:
“Once one of us has the nomination there will be a great effort to unify the Democratic party and we will do so, because, remember I have a lot of supporters who have voted for me in very large numbers and I would expect them to support Senator Obama if he were the nominee…”
Ahhhh, now that’s a candidate with command of the language. If she doesn’t get the commander-in-chief nod, at least there’s that.
Check out all past Weekend Word Wraps>>
I wonder if were is one of those words that will soon fall by the wayside as our language continues to change. So few people know how to correctly use it that it may just disappear completely.
posted by nutmeag on 3-21-2008 at 7:14 am
The subjunctive tense is my retired teacher mother’s biggest pet peeve. I don’t think I am capable of not using it after all of her corrections. What dumbfounds me is my otherwise very intelligent husband being completely unable to even understand what the subjuntive tense is. I finally had to tell him, “Honey, if I were you, I’d avoid all phrases with the word if in them around my mom.”
posted by Stacey on 3-21-2008 at 8:06 am
Oh my goodness, I’ve found my true home. I just landed here at Weekend Word Wrap, and found someone as annoyed as I am by the sad, sad folks who can’t seem to wrap their heads around (or even just remember to play along with) the subjunctive. I literally got a warm feeling inside after reading your post, David. I know it sounds crazy, but thank you. And yes, I was an English major, and am the daughter of an English teacher, so it’s ingrained.
Be well, everyone.
posted by Alice on 3-21-2008 at 2:05 pm
Keep it going…
What about the misuse of the words “I” and “me?” As in, “Deb and me are going to the store” and other such ditties. Don’t even get me started on “her and I are going to the store” or “is that her?”
I used to tell my ESL students that since they insisted on watching TV to learn English, then they should at least watch the news; however, even those programs are not safe anymore. Since when is “went missing” grammatically correct? Since when is it grammatically acceptable to either say or write “people that” instead of “people who.”
Maybe during the writers’ strike, instead of walking the picket line, the writers should have been back in English class…
posted by cyberkrinn on 3-21-2008 at 2:20 pm
The problem is that grammar is not taught in school. I never heard the term subjunctive until I was studying Spanish. I realized at the time that learning how to use it was a struggle because we were never taught it in English. Rock on Los Angeles Unified School District!
posted by polaroidgirl on 3-21-2008 at 6:06 pm
As a former ESL and Spanish teacher, I concur with your feelings about the subjunctive, but not the conclusion you draw. I would excuse Obama errors in using the verbs “to lie” and “to lay”, misuse of the objective case, and even misspelling “definitely” as “definately” before I would vote for Hillary.
posted by Barbara on 3-21-2008 at 7:12 pm
Dang, that’s a freaky picture of Hilary Clinton. I’m beginning to see why some of my friends think she’s the Anti-Christ.
posted by Pointy-Hatted Geek on 3-23-2008 at 2:58 pm
This article is based on the mistaken belief that “if he was a white man” is not a counterfactual statement. But it clearly is.
There is no loss of distinction using “if he was” instead of “if he were”
present possible condition: I don’t know if he is a white man.
past possible condition: I didn’t know if he was a white man.
present countefactual condition: If he was/were a white man, he would not be in this position.
past counterfactual condition: If he had been a white man, he would not have been in this position.
Context is important. The full quote is “If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position.” This is clearly present counterfactual. I don’t see how it can be interpreted as anything else.
Using “was” still captures the counterfactual mood of the subjunctive, and it makes the verb “be” fall in line with all other verbs, where the present counterfactual form is identical to the simple past, for instance:
If I lived in Paris, I would visit the Eiffel tower.
“be” is the only verb with a special form in the first and third person present counterfactual. If we don’t need this distinction with other verbs, why is it so essential with “be”?
Counterfactual “if he was” and “if he were” have been used interchangeably in standard written English for the past 400 years.
posted by morphail on 5-28-2008 at 2:05 pm