[Ads-l] fuck them

[Tim Stewart]

I would think more jussive than desiderative.

Tim



On Mon, Aug 29, 2016 at 2:41 PM, Benjamin Barrett <mail.barretts at gmail.com>
wrote:

> I always assumed “fuck you” is an imperative, but it’s not clear what is
> being commanded (unless it means something vague like “go jump in a lake”),
> and even more to the point, the form “fuck them” surely cannot be
> imperative.
>
> Is this a subjunctive desiderative such as “May it rain today!"? I don’t
> know what else to call these forms.
>
> Benjamin Barrett
> Formerly of Seattle, WA
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org