interesting english syntax
From: | Elliott Lash <erelion12@...> |
Date: | Monday, September 26, 2005, 14:02 |
In my American New York English, I can say the
following types of things:
1) Were he here, he'd be helping us out.
2) Had I known how bad it was, I never would have
seen it.
3) Come spring, the flowers will start to bloom.
-------------------------------
The first two have an inverted subject and verb in the
first clause, where the verb is in a past or
"subjunctive" form. It seems to mean the same as "if
he were" and "if I had known". The last sentence is
slightly different in meaning, with a "subjunctive"
form of the verb. It means something like "when spring
comes". Is there a name for these things, and is it
more common, used with more than those verbs? Is it
appropriated for any conlangs?
-Elliott
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