Shall constitute: Difference between revisions
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A legal way of saying “is”. It scores over [[to be]] in that it is highly regular: the different forms of a given tense require no [[conjugation]]: | {{a|drafting|}}A legal way of saying “is”. It scores over [[to be]] in that it is highly ''regular'': the different forms of a given tense require no [[conjugation]]: | ||
I ''shall constitute'' | I ''am''<br> | I ''shall constitute'' | I ''am''<br> | ||
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They ''shall constitute'' | They ''are''<br> | They ''shall constitute'' | They ''are''<br> | ||
On the other hand it is | On the other hand it is arguably most violent offender against the norms of plain English. There could not be a simpler, plainer word than ''be''. It is the first word non-English speakers learn on the long journey to being culturally hegemonised. There is no-one who knows anything about English who doesn’t know, innately what it means. | ||
“Constitute” adds nothing to “be”. It is no more specific, no more precise, there is no nuance of meaning it captures that “be” does not. | |||
Revision as of 13:03, 15 November 2022
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A legal way of saying “is”. It scores over to be in that it is highly regular: the different forms of a given tense require no conjugation:
I shall constitute | I am
You shall constitute | You are
He, she or it shall constitute | He, she or it is
We shall constitute | we are
You shall constitute | You are
They shall constitute | They are
On the other hand it is arguably most violent offender against the norms of plain English. There could not be a simpler, plainer word than be. It is the first word non-English speakers learn on the long journey to being culturally hegemonised. There is no-one who knows anything about English who doesn’t know, innately what it means.
“Constitute” adds nothing to “be”. It is no more specific, no more precise, there is no nuance of meaning it captures that “be” does not.