Newsgroups: sci.lang,alt.usage.english
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From: smryan@netcom.com (@#$%!?!)
Subject: Re: 1st person imperatives (was Re: Syntactic Relevance of Contraction)
Message-ID: <smryanDCFCMH.Bo1@netcom.com>
Followup-To: sci.lang,alt.usage.english
Organization: The Programmer formerly known as S M Ryan
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Date: Fri, 28 Jul 1995 11:44:40 GMT
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It really doesn't seem to me English has an imperative, in the
sense of the imperative:subjunctive:indicative moods. Actually,
it doesn't have much of a subjunctive. Actually it doesn't much
of anything in terms of moods.

Without an imperative mood, you're left with various syntactic
devices to indicate urgency or command.


(I know some people still use the subjunctive, but it seems to
occur mostly in frozen forms like "if it were" or "if this be".)

-- 
In fearless youth when fervour leapt,      | smryan@netcom.com  PO Box 1563
he sought the treasures silence kept       |          Cupertino, California
in chambers chilled where chanting stilled,| (xxx)xxx-xxxx            95015
where bleaching bones were bleakly kept.   |         I don't use no smileys
