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prep phrase position

Posted: November 20th, 2019, 8:04 pm
by sandrajune
Hello,
I am brand new here and I have what is probably a very basic question but it's finals time and my brain isn't functioning. :D

When using a prepositional phrase to modify a noun, does the placement before or after the noun matter to the meaning?

for example: ηλθον προ εμοῦ or προ εμοῦ ηλθον

Thank you!

Re: prep phrase position

Posted: November 21st, 2019, 8:52 am
by Barry Hofstetter
Greetings, Sandra, feel free to introduce yourself in the Introductions subforum. To answer your question, no and a bit of yes. In terms of how we end up rendering the Greek into English, it often does not make a difference, but word order in the longer sentence can sometimes make a difference (with things like emphasis).

Re: prep phrase position

Posted: November 21st, 2019, 4:51 pm
by Shirley Rollinson
sandrajune wrote: November 20th, 2019, 8:04 pm Hello,
I am brand new here and I have what is probably a very basic question but it's finals time and my brain isn't functioning. :D

When using a prepositional phrase to modify a noun, does the placement before or after the noun matter to the meaning?

for example: ηλθον προ εμοῦ or προ εμοῦ ηλθον

Thank you!
welcome to B-Greek. What comes first in a Greek sentence tends to be what was first in the speaker's mind.
ηλθον προ εμοῦ - THEY CAME before me.
προ εμοῦ ηλθον - they came BEFORE ME.

There is light at the end of the tunnel, and life after Finals :-)
Shirley Rollinson