When “be it” is at the beginning of a sentence, what kind of structure do you call it?
I think it is kind of inversion and I'd found some info on Wikipedia, but I cannot recall what term this structure is, I even remember some examples from Wiki, say, "be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."
Can anybody help me out?
american-english british-english inversion
asked 2 days ago
AngyangAngyang
746
add a comment |
I think it is kind of inversion and I'd found some info on Wikipedia, but I cannot recall what term this structure is, I even remember some examples from Wiki, say, "be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."
Can anybody help me out?
american-english british-english inversion
asked 2 days ago
AngyangAngyang
746
Fi Fi Fo Fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman. Be he live or be he dead, I'll grind his bones to butter my bread.
– B. Goddard
2 days ago
add a comment |
I think it is kind of inversion and I'd found some info on Wikipedia, but I cannot recall what term this structure is, I even remember some examples from Wiki, say, "be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."
Can anybody help me out?
american-english british-english inversion
asked 2 days ago
AngyangAngyang
746
I think it is kind of inversion and I'd found some info on Wikipedia, but I cannot recall what term this structure is, I even remember some examples from Wiki, say, "be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."
Can anybody help me out?
american-english british-english inversion
american-english british-english inversion
asked 2 days ago
AngyangAngyang
746
asked 2 days ago
AngyangAngyang
746
edited 2 days ago
Angyang
asked 2 days ago
AngyangAngyang
746
asked 2 days ago
AngyangAngyang
746
asked 2 days ago
AngyangAngyang
746
746
Fi Fi Fo Fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman. Be he live or be he dead, I'll grind his bones to butter my bread.
– B. Goddard
2 days ago
add a comment |
Fi Fi Fo Fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman. Be he live or be he dead, I'll grind his bones to butter my bread.
– B. Goddard
2 days ago
Fi Fi Fo Fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman. Be he live or be he dead, I'll grind his bones to butter my bread.
– B. Goddard
2 days ago
Fi Fi Fo Fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman. Be he live or be he dead, I'll grind his bones to butter my bread.
– B. Goddard
2 days ago
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
In terms of morphology, the verb is in the subjunctive mood (be rather than indicative is).
In terms of word order, we’re dealing with a case of subject-auxiliary inversion (be before the subject).
In terms of semantics, the structure can express a variety of meanings such as optative, a wish or a hope (be it the best year of your life), in which case the structure carries archaic, formal, often religious connotations. But in your case it encodes arbitrariness or free-choice, ‘no matter which’ (be it new or be it old), or concession, ‘although, even if, even if I grant’ (be it as it may). The two uses are difficult to distinguish.
So your construction could be described quite well as a case of subject-auxiliary inversion with free-choice/concessive, subjunctive be.
answered 2 days ago
Richard ZRichard Z
1,317314
Thanks for your detailed explaining Richard I learnt a lot; btw I just succeeded in locating it on the Inversion section of the English subjunctive on wikipedia and that's exactly what I wanted to find.
– Angyang
2 days ago
@Angyang Please mark this answer as your accepted answer if it answers your question.
– R Mac
2 days ago
@Angyang On the other hand, if you mean that either English subjunctive § Inversion or English conditional sentences § Inversion in condition clauses answered your question, can you please post an answer with those details?
– Mathieu K.
2 days ago
add a comment |
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1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
In terms of morphology, the verb is in the subjunctive mood (be rather than indicative is).
In terms of word order, we’re dealing with a case of subject-auxiliary inversion (be before the subject).
In terms of semantics, the structure can express a variety of meanings such as optative, a wish or a hope (be it the best year of your life), in which case the structure carries archaic, formal, often religious connotations. But in your case it encodes arbitrariness or free-choice, ‘no matter which’ (be it new or be it old), or concession, ‘although, even if, even if I grant’ (be it as it may). The two uses are difficult to distinguish.
So your construction could be described quite well as a case of subject-auxiliary inversion with free-choice/concessive, subjunctive be.
answered 2 days ago
Richard ZRichard Z
1,317314
Thanks for your detailed explaining Richard I learnt a lot; btw I just succeeded in locating it on the Inversion section of the English subjunctive on wikipedia and that's exactly what I wanted to find.
– Angyang
2 days ago
@Angyang Please mark this answer as your accepted answer if it answers your question.
– R Mac
2 days ago
@Angyang On the other hand, if you mean that either English subjunctive § Inversion or English conditional sentences § Inversion in condition clauses answered your question, can you please post an answer with those details?
– Mathieu K.
2 days ago
add a comment |
In terms of morphology, the verb is in the subjunctive mood (be rather than indicative is).
In terms of word order, we’re dealing with a case of subject-auxiliary inversion (be before the subject).
In terms of semantics, the structure can express a variety of meanings such as optative, a wish or a hope (be it the best year of your life), in which case the structure carries archaic, formal, often religious connotations. But in your case it encodes arbitrariness or free-choice, ‘no matter which’ (be it new or be it old), or concession, ‘although, even if, even if I grant’ (be it as it may). The two uses are difficult to distinguish.
So your construction could be described quite well as a case of subject-auxiliary inversion with free-choice/concessive, subjunctive be.
answered 2 days ago
Richard ZRichard Z
1,317314
Thanks for your detailed explaining Richard I learnt a lot; btw I just succeeded in locating it on the Inversion section of the English subjunctive on wikipedia and that's exactly what I wanted to find.
– Angyang
2 days ago
@Angyang Please mark this answer as your accepted answer if it answers your question.
– R Mac
2 days ago
@Angyang On the other hand, if you mean that either English subjunctive § Inversion or English conditional sentences § Inversion in condition clauses answered your question, can you please post an answer with those details?
– Mathieu K.
2 days ago
add a comment |
In terms of morphology, the verb is in the subjunctive mood (be rather than indicative is).
In terms of word order, we’re dealing with a case of subject-auxiliary inversion (be before the subject).
In terms of semantics, the structure can express a variety of meanings such as optative, a wish or a hope (be it the best year of your life), in which case the structure carries archaic, formal, often religious connotations. But in your case it encodes arbitrariness or free-choice, ‘no matter which’ (be it new or be it old), or concession, ‘although, even if, even if I grant’ (be it as it may). The two uses are difficult to distinguish.
So your construction could be described quite well as a case of subject-auxiliary inversion with free-choice/concessive, subjunctive be.
answered 2 days ago
Richard ZRichard Z
1,317314
In terms of morphology, the verb is in the subjunctive mood (be rather than indicative is).
In terms of word order, we’re dealing with a case of subject-auxiliary inversion (be before the subject).
In terms of semantics, the structure can express a variety of meanings such as optative, a wish or a hope (be it the best year of your life), in which case the structure carries archaic, formal, often religious connotations. But in your case it encodes arbitrariness or free-choice, ‘no matter which’ (be it new or be it old), or concession, ‘although, even if, even if I grant’ (be it as it may). The two uses are difficult to distinguish.
So your construction could be described quite well as a case of subject-auxiliary inversion with free-choice/concessive, subjunctive be.
answered 2 days ago
Richard ZRichard Z
1,317314
answered 2 days ago
Richard ZRichard Z
1,317314
answered 2 days ago
Richard ZRichard Z
1,317314
answered 2 days ago
Richard ZRichard Z
1,317314
1,317314
Thanks for your detailed explaining Richard I learnt a lot; btw I just succeeded in locating it on the Inversion section of the English subjunctive on wikipedia and that's exactly what I wanted to find.
– Angyang
2 days ago
@Angyang Please mark this answer as your accepted answer if it answers your question.
– R Mac
2 days ago
@Angyang On the other hand, if you mean that either English subjunctive § Inversion or English conditional sentences § Inversion in condition clauses answered your question, can you please post an answer with those details?
– Mathieu K.
2 days ago
add a comment |
Thanks for your detailed explaining Richard I learnt a lot; btw I just succeeded in locating it on the Inversion section of the English subjunctive on wikipedia and that's exactly what I wanted to find.
– Angyang
2 days ago
@Angyang Please mark this answer as your accepted answer if it answers your question.
– R Mac
2 days ago
@Angyang On the other hand, if you mean that either English subjunctive § Inversion or English conditional sentences § Inversion in condition clauses answered your question, can you please post an answer with those details?
– Mathieu K.
2 days ago
Thanks for your detailed explaining Richard I learnt a lot; btw I just succeeded in locating it on the Inversion section of the English subjunctive on wikipedia and that's exactly what I wanted to find.
– Angyang
2 days ago
Thanks for your detailed explaining Richard I learnt a lot; btw I just succeeded in locating it on the Inversion section of the English subjunctive on wikipedia and that's exactly what I wanted to find.
– Angyang
2 days ago
@Angyang Please mark this answer as your accepted answer if it answers your question.
– R Mac
2 days ago
@Angyang Please mark this answer as your accepted answer if it answers your question.
– R Mac
2 days ago
@Angyang On the other hand, if you mean that either English subjunctive § Inversion or English conditional sentences § Inversion in condition clauses answered your question, can you please post an answer with those details?
– Mathieu K.
2 days ago
@Angyang On the other hand, if you mean that either English subjunctive § Inversion or English conditional sentences § Inversion in condition clauses answered your question, can you please post an answer with those details?
– Mathieu K.
2 days ago
add a comment |
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Fi Fi Fo Fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman. Be he live or be he dead, I'll grind his bones to butter my bread.
– B. Goddard
2 days ago