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As I was studying Peterson’s Master TOEFL Writing Skill, I saw the sentence:

Teamwork requires that a player pass the ball whoever is in the best position to make the goal.

I wonder why pass does not take an -es suffix in the sentence cited above. Is it a mistake? If not, could you please explain under which particular circumstances we don’t add -es suffix to a present tense verb that’s in the third-person singular?

herisson
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haitaka
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  • Related: http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/16179/use-of-subjunctive-with-in-order-that – St John of the Cross Mar 31 '13 at 12:58
  • I think it's not much related. – haitaka Mar 31 '13 at 13:05
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    This has been addressed in several questions here, perhaps best in this one. It's traditionally called the mandative subjunctive, implying that a tense called the 'present subjunctive' is in play in clauses expressing an action commanded or required; but many contemporary theorists prefer to see the verb form as a bare infinitive. The use was at one time common; it still is common in US English, and is experiencing a resurgence in British English. – StoneyB on hiatus Mar 31 '13 at 13:05
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    @StoneyB The problem with your tag is that tag is the answer, not the question. – tchrist Mar 31 '13 at 14:27
  • @tchrist That is true, and I had not looked at it that way before. I'll fix. – StoneyB on hiatus Mar 31 '13 at 14:31
  • @StoneyB: Would you please provide a reference or two for the different analyses and the frequencies of usage over time? (My excuse for not doing the research myself is that I've got to go house-hunting with my daughter.) – Edwin Ashworth Mar 31 '13 at 15:32
  • @EdwinAshworth Here’s my source for current use: Leech et al Change in Contemporary English, Cambridge UP 2009. A discussion by Arnold Zwicky of terminology is on LanguageLog. – StoneyB on hiatus Mar 31 '13 at 15:51
  • Thank you. These look very interesting. It's going to be a real wrench switching to - er, checking plumbing. – Edwin Ashworth Mar 31 '13 at 18:35

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