[B-Greek] How to ask "Can I...?"
Carl Conrad
cwconrad2 at mac.com
Wed Oct 29 19:15:42 EDT 2008
On Oct 29, 2008, at 6:39 PM, Kenneth Litwak wrote:
> If I want to ask the question, "Can I see this/read this/
> whatever?" would I do this just with a mood, like the optative, or
> would I use the modal-like verb (on the analogy of German) DUNAMAI?
> I'm thinking no mood would do the job. That owuld be like Might I
> see this?" To say to a group, "Can you see this??" you would ask
> "DUNASQE BLEPEIN TOUTO;" Would that be the normal Koine Greek way
> to do it? Thanks.
If the question really concerns ability and is not hypothetical, then
you might use DUNAMAI. But the indicative of the verb in question
would, I think, be most normal: OU TAUTA BLEPW? "Can you see this?"
really is simply "Do you see this?" hUMEIS BLEPETE TOUTO? or OU
BLEPETE TOUTO hUMEIS? Sure, you could have an optative, BLEPOIMI AN
TOUTO? in the sense, "Might I just possibly see this?" But that would
seem awfully stilted in NT Koine.
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
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