Could you help me with these two English questions? Thanks, Im so confused.
1, my grammar reference book says that the two sentense are both correct. "Whether she be right or wrong, she will have my support. ""Be she right or wrong, she will have my support. " the point that i dont get is that why it cant be "Whether she is right or wrong, she will have my support. "? why do we have to replace "is "with "be "?

2,After working for the firm for ten years, he finally ( )the rank of deputy director.
Achieved or attained? which one is better to fill in the bracket? andcould you explain the reason . I found them hard to tell apart in this case.

Thanks.

Question

Could you help me with these two English questions? Thanks, Im so confused.
1, my grammar reference book says that the two sentense are both correct. "Whether she be right or wrong, she will have my support.  ""Be she right or wrong, she will have my support. " the point that i dont get is that why it cant be "Whether she is right or wrong, she will have my support. "? why do we have to replace "is "with "be "?

2,After working for the firm for ten years, he finally (      )the rank of deputy director. 
Achieved or attained?  which one is better to fill in the bracket? andcould you explain the reason . I found them hard to tell apart in this case.

Thanks.

Answer

1. The use of 'be' here is a rare use of the subjunctive in modern English. However, you will certainly not be misunderstood if you were to use 'is' (notice that 'were to use' is another use of the subjunctive), and indeed most people would regard that as correct.

2. They are both equally good or you could even use 'reached'.

Answer

1. You do not have to replace "is" with "be."  I'm usually really good with American English grammar, but I cannot think of any rule or exception to a rule that makes "be she...." correct.  I can say that it does not sound natural to me, and I almost never hear people speak like that in a professional environment.  "Whether she is right or wrong..." is correct.

2.  The words are synonyms.  For me, "achieved" implies that great effort was involved, whereas "attained" does not give me an idea of whether or not it was difficult.  Your example sentence already describes how difficult it was for the man to become deputy director, but if you really want to emphasize that, "achieved" would be better.

Answers · 2

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