Imperative forms and usage

cwconrad
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Re: Imperative forms and usage

Post by cwconrad »

BMCR has just published a review of a new work on Greek imperatives that may be worth consulting for those with access to academic libraries: Camille Denizot, Donner des ordres en grec ancien: étude linguistique des formes de l'injonction. Cahiers de l’ERIAC, n° 3 – Fonctionnements linguistiques.   Mont-Saint-Aignan:  Presses des Universités de Rouen et du Havre, 2011.  Pp. 571.  ISBN 9782877755320.  €29.00 (pb).
http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2012/2012-04-44.html
οὔτοι ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς πάντα θεοὶ θνητοῖς ὑπέδειξαν,
ἀλλὰ χρόνῳ ζητέοντες ἐφευρίσκουσιν ἄμεινον. (Xenophanes, Fragment 16)

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
Shirley Rollinson
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Joined: June 4th, 2011, 6:19 pm
Location: New Mexico
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Re: Imperative forms and usage

Post by Shirley Rollinson »

Scott Lawson wrote:
Eeli Kaikkonen wrote: - - - snip snip - - -
Q. What significance is there to the adverb δεῦρο/δεῦτε used imperativally?
Q. Is there special significance in the imperatival suffixes?
A. Robertson is suggestive in his comments that non-thematic stems used the suffix θι (possibly an adverb; cf. “you there!” He also points out that τω is probably the ablative of the demonstrative pronoun. (Rob. 328, 3 & 4)
Q. What might the present form of the imperative add that the alternatives lacked?
δεῦρο/δεῦτε seems to be used the way I would call a dog - "Here !"
Present imperatives - might imply "be doing something" or "contiue to do something" rather than "just do it"
(but that doesn't seem to fit with the flight into Egypt account)
Maybe it was just personal preference of the speaker/writer, and what felt right to him/her
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