Dan Sugalski <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > On Wed, 8 Oct 2003, Luke Palmer wrote: > >> Luke Palmer writes: >> > Hi Jos, >> > >> > Jos Visser writes: >> > > Mightn't it be (is this English by the way? :-) a good idea to use >> > > LANGUAGES.STATUS also for maintaining track of parrot-generating >> > > compilers that are not in the main tree? >> > >> > Yeah, that's English. "Mightn't" is an archaic word which is sometimes >> > fun to use. Saying "it be" is using the subjunctive mood in "to be", >> > also seldom used, but you use it correctly here. >> > >> > I just learned about the English subjunctive a little while ago; it has >> > greatly improved my understanding of those wierd constructs involving >> > "might" and "lest". >> >> There it goes again! That was *supposed* to be off-list! >> >> Well, now the entirety of the internals list can learn about English >> grammar. Hoo-ray. > > You mean "American Grammar". I'm pretty sure it's not at all archaic > English Grammar....
It certainly isn't round our way. It mightn't be quite "The Queen's English", but you can fix that by simply expanding the contraction to "might not". Americans don't do shall/will do they?
