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Ward,
My daughter would say this is d'bomb! Your comprehensive treatment of this question has at last cleared up something that I seem to have missed or that is not treated in std. Greek classes early enough for the novice to make use of it. I remember the endless struggles with vocab, and verb structure, though! One thing that came out the other day on the list was the inferiority of Machen's approach of using "made up" sentences in his exercises. I fear this may have resulted in an inadequate appreciation for the kind of observastions you have made.
These issues are vitally important to me because it is here, early on in the process of seeking to understand the Greek I am reading, that I err in discerning precisely what the author is seeking to convey. Structure is an essential element in communication. Most of all thanks for the specifics!
If anyone else on the list thinks it not a waste of time and has anything to add I would love to hear!
Paul F. Evans
Pastor
Thunder Swamp Pentecostal Holiness Church
MT. Olive
E-mail: evans@esn.net
Web-page: http://ww2.esn.net/~evans