I am an assistant English teacher in Japan. My JTE (Japanese Teacher of English) was asking me questions about the subjunctive mood.
We were talking about sentences such as:
Were it not for your help ... If not for your help ... But for your help ... (This one actually threw me for a loop at first)
These sentences all use "your help" as a noun.
Then he proposed the sentence:
If there were your help, I would finish quickly.
My immediate reaction was nope nope nope nope nope. It sounds so wrong to my ears. But, not having an English degree, and only going on being a native speaker, I can't explain WHY this is wrong (or if it is actually wrong).
My suggested versions were:
If you were to help me ... If I were to have your help ...
So now I need YOUR help! Is "if there were your help" wrong and why is it wrong?
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