Conditionals

Carlton Winbery (winbery@andria.lacollege.edu)
Fri, 25 Oct 1996 11:30:45 -0600

I think one of the better treatments of conditionals that I have made use
of is the one in Goodwin and Gulick in the College Classical Series Greek
Grammar, pp. 293-302. They divide the conditionals into four groups based
on three elements, time to which the supposition refers, what is implied as
to the fulfillment of the condition, and the distinctions between general
and particular suppositions. There first category is a critigue of those
who want to translate EI with indicative in the protasis as "since." It is
"I. Present and past suppositions implying nothing as to the truth or
untruth of the protasis:" His example is EI TOUTO POIEI, KALWS ECEI. "If
he is doing this, it is well."

Carlton L. Winbery
Fogleman Professor of Religion
Chair, Division of Religious Studies
winberyc@popalex1.linknet.net
winbery@andria.lacollege.edu
voice 318 487-7241
fax 318 442-4996