Re: [b-greek] Mattew  7:7

Clwinbery at aol.com Clwinbery at aol.com
Tue Sep 3 09:55:01 EDT 2002


In a message dated 9/3/02 8:34:09 AM, clo at telcordia.com writes:


> AITEITE   KAI   DOQHSETAI   UMIN  .
> 
> AITEITE  is  indicative or imperative ?   Does the 2nd person plural
> indicative
> always have the same form as the   2nd person plural  imperative.
> 
In the present forms both singular and plural the forms are the same.
In the aorist there are differences such as the loss of the augment in
the non-indicative moods.

> 
> If  AITEITE   is  present ( not  aorist )  imperative,  can I translated
> the verse
> as     "Continuously"   ask  and it will be given to you.
> 
> 
Speaking generally the present imperative indicates non-perfective action, so 

something like "keep on," etc. can be "added" to the translation, but it 
often adds
too much to the Greek.   The problem is also in English. We do not make such 
distinctions normally with simple commands in English. The default form to 
use
in commands when you are saying "get it done" is aorist, but some contexts 
will
indicate otherwise and the context may indeed be the primary indicator in 
such
cases.

Carlton Winbery
Louisiana College
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