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The bemusement of an Australian lawyer, now living in Cambridge and teaching in London.
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4 comments:
I don't think that's the conditional subjective. It's just the past simple tense of can (which is the same form as the conditional subjunctive).
I think it's referring back to the past (Yes we could and we did elect Barack Obama) not the future conditional (Yes, at some time in the future, we could)
Fair point. I took the context to be -
Question: "can we do X?" (the typical Obama line in speeches).
Response (from an overly grammar-conscious crowd): "Yes we could [if we won]!"
If that was the intended context, I think it would be conditional subjunctive - but your explanation is simpler, and thus more likely to be right.
I'm a Cambridge student by the way, which I suppose confirms the sentiment of the post's title!
I like the blog, keep it up.
In any case, why would Obama want to use the subjunctive? American presidential candidates are allergic to any linguistic uncertainty concerning whether or not they will win a given election.
I am currently writing a document of recommendations. It is giving me a ridiculous amount of pleasure to use the phrase 'it is recommended that x be done' several times a page. Sad, Lamb, sad.
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