Wait, we have subjunctive in English? Holy shit you guys
I never learned about that was/were distinction in English class (I’m in Germany, so English is taught as a foreign language). Does anyone have some pointers on where to read up on this grammatical rule? I definitely questioned it a few weeks back but don’t remember what the context of that was.
Unfortunately most English speakers don’t really understand the reasons we use a lot of the weirder cases & tenses. I don’t know if the same is true when learning German as a first language, but certainly in English most people just learn past/present/future and that’s about it… You don’t really get into the nitty gritty around situations like “I had intended to go to the pub later that day”, i.e. speaking about the future from the perspective of the past.
Anyway, in the case of was/were I will do my best with an acknowledgement that I am no expert despite being fluent in the damn language.
Was/were are usually singular/plural words that take you into the past continuous rather than simple past - consider “I worked” vs “I was working”, “we worked” vs “we were working”. The former of each pair implies that the work was a distinct event while the latter implies it was ongoing (I used it again there with “was ongoing”).
The “subjunctive mood”, mentioned in the title is about hypotheticals, e.g. “If I were you, I would go to the park today”, “I wish I were taller”, . In the subjunctive the verb remains in its infinitive form, which in this case is “were”.
To be completely honest though… “I wish I were never born” might be grammatically correct, but to my ear it sounds quite old fashioned, like something a Jane Austen character might say. I don’t think the majority of people would blink an eye if you said “was”.
There’s also “had been” and “would have” to consider… “If I had been taller everyone would have thought I was pretty”, this is also a hypothetical but honestly I don’t know what the case/tense we’re using here is… I’ll just have to leave you with that :D
There’s at least the wiki article on the English subjunctive.
Personal disclaimer: To me (though I’m not a perfect reporter), (American) English feels like it barely has a subjunctive mood in practice anymore. If you’re familiar with the pragmatic application of the subjunctive in your own language or others, that may help, but YMMV for how often and how consistently you’ll hear it used in everyday English speech (at least in the US).
If you’re familiar with the pragmatic application of the subjunctive in your own language or others, that may help
When I tried using my dative and accusative case knowledge from German with the objective case “whom” it made me sound weird to the native English speakers I know (American, Australian, Northern English), who mostly stopped using “whom”. So in general I’d advise caution with this approach.
That escalated quickly.
I have a theory that when you get into the shower, you’re linked to everyone in your area who is having a shower and everyone’s existential crisis’ get merged into one giant existential crisis that’s shared, that’s why you think of weird shit sometimes in the shower, it’s someone else’s issue bothering you.
I love it. Tune into my wavelength for a bunch of porn starring me!
(…only me…)
Ahhhh, so it’s you! Nice! Keep up the good work!
I never think about anything other than the logistics of washing myself when in the shower. I have all my “shower thoughts” throughout the day instead.
This is me. Why are you taking pictures of me in the shower?
If you don’t want pictures taken of you in the shower, stop being so photogenic in the shower. This one is on you.
I have never felt so connected to 4 panels
I wish I had never been born.
So," Chronicler said. “Subjunctive mood.”
“At best,” Kvothe said, “it is a pointless thing. It needlessly complicates the language. It offends me.”
What offends me is not finishing a damned book series.
The most frustrating incomplete series ever. I can’t even recommend the first two books to people in good conscience anymore.
Same. I don’t think it’s coming and if it does, I don’t even know anymore. I think maybe he outgrew the story he was telling.
One day Brandon Sanderson will have to take it upon himself to finish another one
Please no. :(
Just leave them be if that’s how it has to be. Don’t mutilate their poor corpses.
I absolutely love Brandon Sanderson. He’s my favorite author. So keep that in mind when I say this:
I don’t think Brandon Sanderson is up to the task of mimicking Rothfuss’s prose.
He definitely can’t mimic the style. Just as he couldn’t mimic Robert Jordan.
But he could write the last 3 books of the Wheel of Time in his own style.
Which was wonderful, and a breath of fresh air. But Rothfuss’s prose is what makes his books as good as they are, in my opinion.
That is true, but I’d rather have a Sanderson-style finisher than none at all
How ungrateful! Floating Fetuses in limbo could’ve eaten that childhood.
Looks like that shampoo seeped into his brain and made him instantly depressed & forget what a great day he just had.
Most people (at least in the West and Latin America, from my experience) actually have it easy enough that suicide would never actually be an option. Their brains are just overreacting. Knowing that (that you actually love life too much and aren’t free willed, courageous and certain about your suicidal ideation to do anything real about it), just catch yourself (“ah, I’m just being silly”) and go about your day. Some people are in situations that make suicide a very appealing option, don’t get me wrong, but 99.9999% of folks aren’t and never will be. Don’t worry, you’ll die eventually! 🤣
