Friday, April 7, 2017

Subjunctive Usage: If there were your help

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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