[B-Greek] Double Negation with Subjunctive
Tim Davis
jttyger at yahoo.com
Fri Jan 4 17:51:48 EST 2008
Thanks, and the limited Greek grammar resources I have
did indicate as much. I asked the question to the
list because I have discovered that there are
sometimes diverging opinions on rules of NT Greek
grammar (and vocabulary) in areas I have not expected.
Recognizing this as a diverse community, I considered
that there might be alternate viewpoints on the
construct out there which someone might share if asked
for them.
Tim Davis
Birmingham, AL
--- Sarah Madden <sarah.r.madden at gmail.com> wrote:
> Tim--
> As you have noticed, OU MH plus the subjunctive is
> the STRONGEST form of
> negative prohibition in Greek. Unlike English, the
> second negative in
> Greek does not cancel out the first one, but rather
> reinforces its
> negativity.
>
> Sarah Madden
> sarah.r.madden at gmail.com
> Maryland
>
>
> On 1/4/08, Carl Conrad <cwconrad2 at mac.com> wrote:
> >
> >
> > On Jan 4, 2008, at 10:00 AM, Tim Davis wrote:
> >
> > > I was taught to not never use a double negative
> in
> > > Elementary School grammar classes, but in
> reading
> > > through Matthew 5 today I noticed three
> instances of
> > > two negative particles OU MH used with a
> subjunctive
> > > verb.
> > >
> > > Matt 5:18
> > >
> > > IWTA hEN H MIA KERAIA OU MH PARELQH APO TOU
> NOMOU
> > >
> > > Matt 5:20
> > >
> > > OU MH EISELQHTE EIS THN BASILEIAN TWN OURANWN
> > >
> > > Matt 5:26
> > >
> > > OU MH EXELQHS ...
> > >
> > > Upon attempting to look at this construct
> further,
> > > this looks to be fairly common in the Greek NT
> (esp in
> > > the Gospels and Revelation), and I assume it
> simply
> > > stronger negation than simply using MH with the
> > > subjunctive (though the "literal" translations I
> > > checked didn't seem to attempt to reflect that).
> > >
> > > As for my questions:
> > >
> > > 1. Is the OU MH construct generally understood
> to be
> > > a more forceful negation?
> > >
> > > 2. If the subjunctive is thought to be the
> "mood of
> > > possiblity," then may OU MH + subj be understood
> to
> > > rule out said possibility?
> > >
> > > 3. It looks like I should "expect" a
> subjunctive
> > > after a OU MH. If I do not find one (e.g., John
> 10:5
> > > - OU MH AKOLOUQHSOUSIN), is there some different
> > > nuance I should grasp?
> >
> > 1. OU MH with an aorist subjunctive is a very
> strong injunction.
> > 2. I don't really think "mood of possibility" is
> quite adequate as a
> > description of the subjunctive; it quite often
> bears a force of
> > urgency or imperative. It might be better to think
> of it in terms of
> > non-factuality. As such it appears in
> constructions regarding what may
> > or could or should be true or happen.
> > 3. You may find a future indicative with OU MH,
> although the
> > subjunctive is more common.
> >
> > As for having been taught about double negatives
> as to be avoided,
> > remember that rules you have learned regarding
> English do not
> > necessarily apply to other languages. French uses
> two negative
> > particles regularly, e.g. "je ne sais pas" --
> where both "ne" and
> > "pas" are negative particles/adverbs. Colloquial
> English, for that
> > matter, whether or not the grammarians forbid it,
> commonly enough uses
> > the double negative: "I ain't never gonna do
> that."
> >
> >
> > Carl W. Conrad
> > Department of Classics, Washington University
> (Retired)
> > 1989 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828)
> 675-4243
> > cwconrad at ioa.com or cwconrad2 at mac.com
> > WWW: http://www.ioa.com/~cwconrad/
> >
> >
> > ---
> > B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek
> > B-Greek mailing list
> > B-Greek at lists.ibiblio.org
> > http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Sarah
> sarah.r.madden at gmail.com
> work: 301.429.8189
>
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