Biblical Hebrew Forum

[decaen AT chass.utoronto.ca (Vincent DeCaen)]

peter,
another thought, based on your comment. notice what we derived together:
        ~A v B  from    ~A v ~~B

would that not explain right there the use of the past/perfect? consider:

                PAST            NONPAST

INDICATIVE      T

SUBJUNCTIVE     ~~T = T         ~T

if we say that past tense is T, and the nonpast is unmarked; and then say
that irrealis (mood) is propositional negation, we ought to get a
representation of the "past subjunctive" as double negation, which nets
out to the same thing (more or less).

what would be very interesting in this light is the use/value of real
double negation in natural language: ~~T is different from T. hmmm....

V -- 
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Dr Vincent DeCaen     <decaen AT chass.utoronto.ca>
c/o Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, 4 Bancroft Ave., 2d floor
University of Toronto, Toronto ON, CANADA, M5S 1A1

Hebrew Syntax Encoding Initiative, www.chass.utoronto.ca/~decaen/hsei/
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Love work. Hate authority.  --Shemaiah, from Avot