From: Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Date: Tue Jul 17 2001 - 07:40:45 EDT
At 10:03 PM -0400 7/16/01, Richard Ghilardi wrote:
>Dear Carl and b-greek list,
>
>[Ghilardi]
>
>> >TIM. A' 1:20 -- hWN ESTIN hUMENAIOS KAI ALEXANDROS...
>> >
>> >TIM. B' 2:17 -- ... hWN ESTIN hUMENAIOS KAI FILHTOS
>
>[Conrad]
>
>> I think that this is a not uncommon construction wherein the second
>subject is an add-on;
>
>[Ghilardi]
>
>You cited sects. 963-972 of Smyth to support the statement above. But
>only 966 is relevant. In this section Smyth cites no Hellenistic writers
>to illustrate the principle. Furthermore, all the verbs used are
>transitive verbs not copulative as in the NT examples. Can you cite any
>other examples from the NT or LXX to convince me that this construction
>is << not uncommon >>?
I cited the whole section of Smyth including what applies most specifically.
BDF #135 (pp. 74-5) cites: Jn 2:2 EKLHQH DE KAI hO IHSOUS KAI hOI MAQHTAI
AUTOU, Jn 18:5 HKOLOUQEI DE TWi IHSOU SIMWN PETROS KAI ALLOS MAQHTHS
introducing these (among other illustrative passages) with the note,
"Regarding agreement with two or more subjects connected by KAI, the same
loose rules are valid for the NT as for classical usage. The following
examples with persons as subject may be noted: (1) When the subject
consists of sing. + sing. or of sing. + plur. the verb agrees (1) with the
first subject if the verb stands before it, except when the subject-group
is basically conceived as a whole. ..."
Wallace, p. 401, ("Compound Subject with Singular Verb"), disagrees with
BDF's explanation [see n. 17], and says: "When two subjects, each in the
singular are joined by a conjunction, the verb is usually in the plural
(e.g., in Acts 15:35 ...). However, when an author wants to _highlight_ one
of the subjects, the verb is put in the singular. (This even occurs when
one of the subjects is in the plural.) The _first_-named subject is the one
being stressed in such instances."
I've read Iver Larsen's response to this question and I think he is
fundamentally right when he says, "My feeling is that this is more a matter
of semantics than syntax alone. If
a subject is considered a semantic unit for one reason or another, it
appears to be possible to express that nuance by choosing a singular form of
the verb."
--
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Emeritus)
Most months: 1647 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu OR cwconrad@ioa.com
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/
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