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Be it ever so humble, there is...



 
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ESL Forum | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
After a few attempts to completing the letter... | A good many students...
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Be it ever so humble, there is... #1 (permalink) Fri Aug 18, 2006 10:48 am   Be it ever so humble, there is...
 

Hi

Could you please shed some light on the bold part? Is it old English?

"Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home."

Tom
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Humble #2 (permalink) Fri Aug 18, 2006 11:13 am   Humble
 

Hi Tom,

This be it ever so humble is an example of the subjunctive and means: It doesn't matter how modest it is. You could check on my piece on the subjunctive at:

ESL Lesson: Subjunctive
http://www.english-test.net/lessons/15/index.html

The line comes from an old song but I don't know the origin.

Alan
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