come January

[corum]

Hi

Come January, we will have to pay more for petrol.

Diagram?

[Frank Antonson]

I LOVE it. Frankly, I have no idea about how to explain why there is no "-s" on "come". I am guessing that it is some kind of relic from a "future subjunctive". There is such a mood in Portuguese and it changes the verb.

As far as the diagram is concerned, I would simply treat "When" as understood. "If" might be better to be understood because it, at least, would call for the conditional mood.

That's a good one!

[corum]

I LOVE it. Frankly, I have no idea about how to explain why there is no "-s" on "come". I am guessing that it is some kind of relic from a "future subjunctive". There is such a mood in Portuguese and it changes the verb.

As far as the diagram is concerned, I would simply treat "When" as understood. "If" might be better to be understood because it, at least, would call for the conditional mood.

That's a good one!

come = preposition? No?

[5jj]

come = preposition? No?

I have to admire your persistence, Corum.
Like you, I await the answer with interest.

[Frank Antonson]

What?? "Come" is no preposition.

Here is a solution to the dilemma. "If January should COME (no "s"), the price of petrol will go up." Or "When January will..."

The use of a helping verb makes it so that the "s" is not required.

I admit that this is not so satisfactory, but it's the best I can come up with.

(So nice to have you back, Corum.)

[Tdol]

Could it be a more religious mindset operating hundreds of years ago, using the subjunctive to express a less certain view of the future- January will only come should God permit it? Because the certainty that it will come that we have today means that I can't find any reason for the form. It would be 'When January comes' more than 'When January will come', so Should January come seems the closest to making sense of the structure to me, but that requires a mare fatalistic view than many have today.

[corum]

I have to admire your persistence, Corum.

I am interested in grammar.

(So nice to have you back, Corum.)

Could it be a more religious mindset operating hundreds of years ago, using the subjunctive to express a less certain view of the future- January will only come should God permit it? ... but that requires a mare fatalistic view than many have today.

Quite interesting!

What?? "Come" is no preposition.

Why?

[5jj]

Could it be a more religious mindset etc....

Interesting. How about posting that idea in the main thread on this?
subjunctive or not

[corum]

[Frank Antonson]

I agree with Corum's diagram, although a "should" could be understood as well.

The future subjunctive in Portugese works perfectly to explain it.

I DO believe that it is a relic of an older form. I wish I knew more about Old English.