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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027 |
The difference is easier to see if we switch to the third person...If Angela was at the library this morning, we'll be hearing from her very soonYes, because, in the first person: " If I was at the library this morning,.. now lets see... this must be a sign of beginning Altzheimer's disease" 
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
The simple rule in English is that you can always use the indicative
Thank you, Nicholas. I am SO GLAD you're back! I have missed you and your informative, erudite posts.
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
veteran
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veteran
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289 |
In reply to:
the simple rule in English is that you can always use the indicative
Well yes, that may be true. The indicative will give you English that is understandable (which is the first desideratum), but not English that is elegant (which some people don't give a damn about). It's like I said in a previous post -- it's not that difficult to learn a rudimentary English by which you can communcate, but learning it well (well enough to produce elegant prose) is extremely difficult. If students (and others) don't want to take the time and trouble to learn all those goopy rules about indicative vs. subjunctive and others ad nauseam , elegant English is going to keep getting rarer and rarer. There are some of us who bemoan the fact that no one writes like Jane Austen any more.
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