Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Rolf Furuli <furuli AT online.no>]

Dear Chavoux,

We cannot suppose anything regarding a dead language. We must study 
the language and see what we find.

One question: Can you in Afrikaans by the use of one single finite 
verb (plus the context) distinguish between a conative event 
(attempted but not carried through)  and a descriptive event, as in 
1) and 2) below? NB: English must use a finite verb + an infinitive.

2) Ann tried to force the dog to walk through the door, but she was 
not able to do so.

3) Ann forced the dog to walk through the door.

If a conative situation can be expressed by on finite verb in a 
language, this may indicate that the language is aspectual.


Best regards,

Rolf Furuli





> Shalom Arnaud
>
> >  This is the third time I request you to explain how you handle the pair:
> >  1. Ann walked the dog one hour ago
> >  2. Ann was walking the dog one hour ago
> In my mother tongue (Afrikaans), there is no difference between the
> two. If I had to translate either sentence, it would be exactly the
> same in Afrikaans: "Ann het 'n uur terug met die hond gestap"
> Is there any reason to suppose that Hebrew would distinguish between
> these two cases? (If I understand English correctly, both would
> describe the exact same occurence).
>
> Regards
> Chavoux Luyt
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