> What I mean regarding "as if it be ..." is not standard English grammar. Use of the "be" form of the verb (that is not the subjunctive be) without inflecting for tense or person is featured in African-American Vernacular English.
But it is the subjunctive.
“as if” classically demands the subjunctive the mood in it's subordinate clause, if it __be__ used as an irrealis.
I realize well of course that in vernacular English the subjunctive mood has been in decline for the past centuries, so it might not be so commonly used as such any more in spoken English.
But it is the subjunctive.
“as if” classically demands the subjunctive the mood in it's subordinate clause, if it __be__ used as an irrealis.
I realize well of course that in vernacular English the subjunctive mood has been in decline for the past centuries, so it might not be so commonly used as such any more in spoken English.
https://www.google.com/search?q=%22As+if+it+be%22
Though, I am given some pause by that the sixth citation here is the King James Version; perhaps it has been more in decline than I had thought.
Nevertheless, I am not some bourgeois peasant. If it be good enough for the K.J.V., then it is good enough for me.