Questions tagged [conditions]
The conditions tag has no usage guidance.
8
questions
4
votes
0answers
40 views
Wondering how to translate imperfect subjunctives (in a conditional sentence)
I have to translate this sentence for homework:
si verba patris a liberis non audita essent, timerent.
I believe the verb form in both the protasis and apodosis is imperfect subjunctive. I am ...
5
votes
2answers
91 views
Irreal condition expressed by a prepositional phrase
In English one can say:
Without you I would not be here.
This is roughly the same thing as:
If you had not helped, I would not be here.
The exact wording depends on context.
In the second ...
7
votes
1answer
75 views
Translation of would
I found some examples of conditional clauses whose translation may include the word "would". They are:
Si Marcus Iuliam amet, ea eum amet.
If Marcus should [perhaps ever some day] love Julia, she ...
7
votes
1answer
212 views
What if…? (Interrogative conditionals)
In English, "what if...?" is a succinct way to ask what would happen if some counterfactual happened to be true.
Is there an idiomatic equivalent in Latin? The sequence of tenses gives plenty of ...
4
votes
1answer
71 views
Greek: syntax of dilemmas in the past
I want to find out how Greek expresses the protases of conditions like the following:
What was I to do? If I remained in Athens I would be killed; if I left, I would lose all my property.
This is ...
6
votes
3answers
231 views
What does a “si” clause followed by a “nisi” clause mean?
In the Vulgate Bible, I came across this sentence.
Vivit Dominus Deus Israel, in cuius conspectu sto, si erit annis his ros et pluvia, nisi iuxta oris mei verba.
[As] the Lord God of Israel ...
2
votes
1answer
72 views
Can a relative adjective begin a conditional statement in Attic Greek?
In my textbook, there's a chapter on conditional relative clauses, in which it explains how relative pronouns and adverbs, especially when they are indefinite, can form the protasis of a conditional ...
7
votes
1answer
101 views
Verb forms after “tamquam si”
In Suetonius's Vita Horati, a letter from Augustus to Horace is quoted, which includes the sentence:
Sume tibi aliquid iuris apud me, tamquam si convictor mihi fueris.
The Loeb translation gives: "...
