Should the second sentence of the statement below use the conditional “whether it is” or “whether it be”?
“As a matter of fact, ESP [English for Specific Purposes] combines subject matter and English language teaching. Such a combination is highly motivating because students are able to apply what they learn in their English classes to their main field of study,
whether it (is, be) accounting, business management, economics, computer science, or tourism.”
This intriguing question was raised by Iran-based reader Farhad H. sometime ago and offhand, I said that the choice between “whether it is” and “whether it be” for that conditional was slippery, for it can get us bogged down figuring out whether it’s in the indicative or subjunctive mood.
I therefore advised her that the best choice—but not the only choice—is to use
elliptical construction for that conditional clause, as follows: “Such a combination is highly motivating because students are able to apply what they learn in their English classes to their main field of study,
whether accounting, business management, economics, computer science, or tourism.”
Elliptical construction omits one or more words that are anyway obvious from the context—in this case, “it is” or “it be”—without changing the sense of the entire clause; instead, the excision makes it more readable and better-sounding.
If that elliptical construction isn’t resorted to, however, there would indeed be a need to determine whether that clause is in the indicative or subjunctive mood.
Recall now that
the indicative mood conveys the idea that an act or condition is (1) an objective fact, (2) an opinion, or (3) the subject of a question. Statements in this mood seek to give the impression that the speaker is talking about real-world situations in a straightforward, truthful manner. As we know, verbs in this mood take their normal inflections in all the tenses and obey the subject-verb agreement rule.
In contrast,
the subjunctive mood is used to convey (1) possibility (2) desire or wishful attitude, (3) insistence on a particular action, (4) doubt about a certain outcome, (5) an unreal situation or an idea contrary to fact, or (6) a request or suggestion. The subjunctive form of the verb is used when the outcome of the action isn’t being asserted as a certainty but only being supposed, being assumed, or being doubted.
Recall that in present-tense subjunctive constructions, the linking verb “be” exhibits deviant behavior—not changing form at all no matter what person or number is taken by the subject. This explains why “be” rather than “is” is used in such subjunctive statements as “
Be that as it may” and “The university will also support the Church in its future actions
should the bill be passed by Congress.”
To figure out whether that subordinating clause in the statement in question here is in the indicative or subjunctive, we need to ask this question: Are the conditions in the clause introduced by “whether” being asserted as objective choices or alternatives or as hoped for or doubtful outcomes?
By inspection, those conditions—the enumerated main fields of study—are clearly objective choices or alternatives in a real-world situation, not hoped for or doubtful outcomes. That modifying clause is therefore in the indicative mood, and the correct form of the linking verb for it is the indicative “is.”
That sentence should then read as follows:
“Such a combination is highly motivating because students are able to apply what they learn in their English classes to their main field of study,
whether it is accounting, business management, economics, computer science, or tourism.”
But then again, as I suggested at the very outset, it’s preferable to use elliptical construction—dropping the words “it is”—to simplify things and make that statement more readable and better-sounding:
“Such a combination is highly motivating because students are able to apply what they learn in their English classes to their main field of study,
whether accounting, business management, economics, computer science, or tourism.”
(Next:
“Nor” doesn’t always need “neither” to function) February 14, 2019)
This essay, 1,130th of the series, appeared in the column “English Plain and Simple” by Jose A. Carillo in the Campus Press section of the February 7, 2019 print edition of The Manila Times
, © 2019 by the Manila Times Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.
