QUESTIONS INTRODUCED BY OU OR MH
Carl W. Conrad
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Mon Sep 2 17:30:09 EDT 2002
I relay Paul's question and my response to the list because I think that we
ALL get confused by these constructions with negative particles, myself no
less than any other, and also because I believe my response by citing the
grammars may have left the question unanswered for others too. So I expand.
At 11:54 AM -0500 9/2/02, Paul O. Wendland wrote:
>Carl--
>
>I suppose I'm a little dense, but does this mean:
>
>
>> Smyth 2651 d OU after MH or ARA MH belongs to a single word, not to the
>> sentence (P. Men. 89c, Lys. 213 d).
>>
>> AT Robertson, _New Short Grammar of the GNT_ 470 (g) " ... In a question
>> like MH OUK ECOMEN? (1 Cor 9:4) MH is the negative of the question and OUK
>> of ECOMEN."
>> --
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>>
>
>that a person would translate the sentence
>
>"It isn't true, is it that we don't have the right to . . . "
This is precisely right. And Ward was right in suggesting:
>The verses 1 Cor 9:4 and 9:5 each commence with MH OUK ECOMEN EXOUSIAN, and
>each has the expectation (it seems to me) of a positive answer, "Yes, you
>do have the right ..."
Yet another alternative formulation: "Surely you don't think we have no
right ..., do you?"
Let me cite BDAG finally on this, the relevant part of the definition of MH
(3.a.):
"MH 3.a. in direct questions ... In cases like Ro 10:18f; 1 Cor 9:4f mh/ is
an interrog. word and ouj negatives the verb. The double negative causes
one to expect an affirmative answer (B-D-F §427, 2; s. Rob. 1173f; Tetrast.
Iamb. 17, 2 p. 266 MH OUK ESTI CLOH? ='there is grass, is there not?')."
--
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Emeritus)
Most months:: 1647 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu OR cwconrad at ioa.com
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/
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