Re: Nonexistent forms?

Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Mon, 6 Oct 1997 10:36:20 -0500

At 10:17 AM -0500 10/6/97, Rod Decker wrote:
>I have summarized (canonical*) Markan verbal use as follows:
>
> Indic Subj Impv Opt Inf Part Totals
>Aorist 519 166 66 1 109 253 1,114
>Present 513 38 82 0 87 248 968
>Impft 293 - - - - - 293
>Future 115 - - - 0 0 115
>Perfect 47 1 1 0 3 39 91
>Plupf 7 - - - 0 0 7
>Totals 1,494 205 149 1 199 540 2,588
>
>- = nonexistent forms
>0 = forms not attested in Mark
>
>(* = 1:1-16:8 in case your count varies! I have not included periphrastic
>forms)
>
>My question is: do any of the forms that I have flagged as "non-existent"
>occur outside the NT? (And if so, which ones?)

Rod: The future optative (e.g. LUSOIMI, AKOUSOIMHN) is commonly enough used
in indirect statements introduced by hOTI or in indirect questions that
would have a future indicative in the direct form of the statement or
question. I won't say that this is definitely being used in Greek of the
same time period that "Mark" is writing, but I think it probably is by
well-educated writers; it certainly is being used in the earlier classical
period, and it certainly is being used again by "Atticists" in the second
century and later.

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics/Washington University
One Brookings Drive/St. Louis, MO, USA 63130/(314) 935-4018
Home: 7222 Colgate Ave./St. Louis, MO 63130/(314) 726-5649
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu OR cconrad@yancey.main.nc.us
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/