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whether it be ....

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Chan-Seung Lee

Joined: 03 Dec 2005
Posts: 1032

Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 6:07 am Post subject: whether it be ....

Quote:

In Malaysia the approach was to make Malay the official language, but to allow private schools to educate students in their mother tongues, whether it be Chinese or Tamil.

In the quote, why did the writer use 'whether it be Chinese or Tamil.' instead of 'whether it is Chinese or Tamil.'? Can you explain it gramatically?

Thanks.

asterix

Joined: 26 Jan 2003
Posts: 1654

Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 6:58 am Post subject:

It is subjunctive mood. It is used here because there is uncertainty about the language to be used ( either Tamil or Chinese).

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