3

A Forbes article -- apparently written by an American -- titled "How To Tell If A Wine Will Age" has this passage:

The other structural elements of body, alcohol, and sugar can also point to an age-worthy wine. Full-bodied wines, which also tend to be high in alcohol, are more likely to age well, but it’s important that all of that body is supported by acid, tannins, or both. That rich, soft $10 red purchased at the supermarket is easy-drinking now, but without firm tannins or bright acidity, it will not improve at all over time. Sugar can also help a wine age, though the perception of sweetness will diminish through the years.

Assuming this is American English, is there any reason why the verb in the that-clause is not "be" but "is"?

I thought it was only informal BE that would allow "is" in this type of clause.

EDIT

Here, the writer is saying that some cheap reds may lack in tannin or acidity, in which case the strong flavor of such cheap wines is going to diminish over time.

So, I don't think the writer is making a factual statement in the bold clause, but rather is presenting a condition under which full-bodied wines can age well without losing the full-bodiedness over time.

JK2
  • 6,553
  • 1
    It's unclear to me why that sentence wouldn't be just descriptive, in your opinion. That's just what it is, wine is sour, basta! I don't know what 'this type of clause' you have in mind. – vectory Jan 07 '19 at 03:42
  • 3
    @vectory: Read in context with the following sentence, "it’s important that all of that body is supported by acid, tannins, or both" seems like it must mean "it’s important that you make sure that all of that body is supported by acid, tannins, or both", not "an important fact is that all of that body is supported by acid, tannins, or both". – herisson Jan 07 '19 at 03:52
  • 1
    They are talking about am existing full bodied wine taken as example, not whatever I am going to do. In context, that's surely not about making wine, but buying. The subjunctive in American English be archaic; it is at least almost archaic. – vectory Jan 07 '19 at 04:06
  • 5
    @vectory Please see my EDIT. Also, I respectfully disagree that 'subjunctive' is archaic in American English. The present subjunctive, the one we're discussing, is actually way more prevalent in American English than in British English. – JK2 Jan 07 '19 at 04:30
  • first let's clear up what it is in "it's important" and why a wine's being be subjunct to it. Your edit doesn't change the fact that pretty much nothing about the phrase is hypothetical. Personally, I would often use the infinitive instead (it is important for the wine to be ...), so maybe you could make a case, but you'd have to go a long way to claim that present tense were false in the example. – vectory Jan 07 '19 at 04:54
  • Removing "it is important that", without changing the sentence significantly, you couldn't use be, at all, as far as I'm concerned (but it be supported by ...). – vectory Jan 07 '19 at 05:33
  • Of course be can be used in a main clause, in which case it it appears not just by chance like an imperative. I don't understand the question, admittedly. You predetermined it be a subjunctive, you concede that it doesn't have to be, and merely ask "why isn't it?".That's too broad a question. By my estimate it more often than not, simply, isn't. If you mean instead "why wouldn't it be", I'm afraid I don't understand the difference ... You described descriptive, but said "prescriptive", by the way. – vectory Jan 07 '19 at 06:21
  • @JK2 Why do you think it ought to be a be and not an is? How do you see a subjunctive in the sentence and context? If there indeed is (be?) a valid question, where all have you looked already to find an answer or a lead (homework prerequisite)? – Kris Jan 07 '19 at 06:42
  • Significantly, how could you overlook *that* in the quoted phrase? – Kris Jan 07 '19 at 06:43
  • @JK2 What is it, if the only deciding difference is which kind of clause they appear in? I'd bet they are related, closer than apples and oranges. I don"t care to check. I"m saying, maybe you would, though, if there's a chance the imperative is displacing a once formally polite expression of unconditional command. – vectory Jan 07 '19 at 07:16
  • 3
    Possible duplicate of What is the difference between "It is necessary for him to do something" and "It is necessary that he do something"? (Shoe's answer explores the 'mandative subjunctive' vs indicative preference issue.) – Edwin Ashworth Jun 22 '19 at 10:38
  • Generally I think 'be' and 'is' work equally well after the subjunctive (though for my UK English ears 'be' sounds slightly more formal). In this particular context I find 'is' better to exclude a possible ambiguous future meaning of the subjunctive. If it were directions to a wine producer 'be' would work in reference to future wine-making actions. But here I picture someone examining bottles of wine and it is important now that this is the case. – S Conroy Jun 23 '19 at 15:58

2 Answers2

0

To me, the original sentence seems unobjectionable, and doesn't read as a mistake (unless we use a prescriptive definition of the word "mistake"):

Full-bodied wines, which also tend to be high in alcohol, are more likely to age well, but it’s important that all of that body is supported by acid, tannins, or both.

Unfortunately, I don't have the time to look up a discussion of the use of the "subjunctive" in American English, but even though the "present subjunctive" is used, and used more often in general than it is in British English, it isn't always mandatory to use it in contexts like this. I would say that this is just a context where either "is" or "be" is possible. I'd imagine this topic is covered in recent grammars of English; I'd recommend checking to see what they have to say.

herisson
  • 81,803
-1

The correct answer to your original question is simply that there isn't a reason for it to be "is" instead of "be". It must be a simple writing error from an article that wasn't looked over carefully enough. It was written, rewritten, overlooked, and published by humans; and we are prone to mistakes.

ThiccEarth
  • 7
  • An answer on EL&U is expected to be authoritative, detailed, and explain why it is correct. It's best if you edit your answer to provide more information - e.g., add a published definition (linked to the source). Please take the tour:https://english.stackexchange.com/tour and read how to create an answer here: https://english.stackexchange.com/help/how-to-answer – Jiminy Cricket. Feb 03 '19 at 03:35