May 1, 2008...9:41 pm
The Hortatory Subjunctive
Lurita A. Doan steps down as Administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration. Language Log has a very interesting post concerning a debate about tense that Doan once had with members of the House Oversight Committee. Here is a real exchange between Doan and Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY), presided over by Henry Waxman (D-CA):
REP. YARMUTH: In relation to questioning that Mr. Tierney engaged in with you, you talked about this statement that you made — “Until extensive rehabilitation of their performance occurs, they will not be getting promoted and will not be getting bonuses or special awards or anything of that nature” — I have two questions.
One is that you said sometimes you have a problem with tense, and basically there are only three tenses.
MS. DOAN: That — no. That’s not true. Okay, I’m –
REP. YARMUTH: Past, present and future.
MS. DOAN: No, there’s like present perfective. There’s present progressive, past progressive, past — (laughter) –
REP. YARMUTH: Yes, but in the time continuum — that’s grammar — but in the time continuum, there are only — it either happened, it is happening, or it will happen.
MS. DOAN: Or it’s ongoing as we talk.
REP. YARMUTH: I’m trying to get a handle on exactly where the issue of tense might relate to whether or not you actually were speculating about what you might do, what you may have in fact done, or what you were in the process of doing.
MS. DOAN: Well, I thought I was using like a hortatory subjunctive right there in which –
REP. YARMUTH: Okay.
As you can imagine, this dog-and-pony show goes on for some time. Language Log’s Mark Liberman explains the problem succinctly:
The committee’s jocular discussion blurs the distinctions between morphosyntax (facts about linguistic form), semantics (relations between language and the world), and pragmatics (how people use language to affect others). Rep. Yarmuth tries to clarify things (”that’s grammar — but in the time continuum, there are only — it either happened, it is happening, or it will happen”) but the proceedings continue to confuse references to the form, meaning, and effect of her statements.
Apparently, Yarmuth’s mother was a Latin teacher.
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