H. P. Grice, "Indicative and subjunctive in Gricese and in the vernacular"

Grice:

"In Gricese, in the instance in which the indicative occurs after "acsian" here is no doubt in the minds of those who ask the question, the content of the dependent clause being by them regarded as a fact.

Mk. X. 2.

Da genealsehton him pharisei
and hine axodon hwseber
alyfS senegum men his wif forlsetan.


Interrogabant eum:

INTERROGABANT EUM: SI LICET


Si licet.

L. XII. 36.

beo gelice pam mannum be hyra hlafordes
abidafr hwsenne he sy fram gyftum gecyrred.

 L. XXII. 24.

hi flitun betwux him hwylc hyra wsere yldest.

J. XIX. 24.

uton hleotan hwylces ures heo sy.

Mk. XV. 24.

hi hlotu wurpon, hwset gehwa name.

mittentes  sortem super eis,
quis quid tolleret.

MITTENTES SORTEM SVPER EIS, QVIS QVID TOLLERET.

M. XXVII. 49.

Uton geseon hwseber Helias cume and wylle  hyne alysan.

Mk. V. 14.

hi ut eodon bset hi gesawon hwset par gedon wsere.

L. XIX. 3.

he wolde geseon hwylc se hselend wsere.

Mk. IX. 34.

hi on wege smeadon hwylc hyra yldost wsere.

Mk. IX. 10.

L. XI, 38. XXII. 23. 
L. XIV. 28.

Hwylc eower wyle timbrian anne stypel, hu ne sytt he serest and teleS pa andfengas be him behefe synt, hwseder he hsebbe hine to full-fremmenne?

 L. I. 29.

ba wearS heo on his sprsece gedrefed, and pohte hwset seo greting wsere.

L. Ill, 15.

XIV. 31.
L. IX. 46.

bset gepanc eode on hig, hwylc hyra yldest wsere.

Mk. XV. 47.

Da com Maria Magdalene and Josepes Maria, and beheoldon hwar he geled wsere.

aspiciebant. ubi poneretur

ASPICIEBANT.

VBI PONERETVR.

(Looked around, in order to discover).

The notion of purpose is sometimes involved, the indirect question having something of the force of a final clause:

Mk. XIII.

11. ne foresmeage ge hwset ge specan.

L. XXI. 14.  *)

Direct rather than indirect question.

 L. XII. 22.

ne beo ge ymbehydige eowre sawle hwset ge etan, ne eowrum lichaman hwset ge scrydun.

M. VI, 25.

 L. XII. 11.

ne beo ge embebencynde hu oSSe hwset ge specon oSSe andswarian.

M. X. 19.

ne bence ge hu oSSe hwset ge sprecun.

L. XII. 29.

Nelle ge secean hwset ge eton oSSe drincon.

 J. XIX. 12.

and sySSan sohte Pilatus hu he hyne forlete.

quaerebat Pilatus dimittere eum.

QVAEREBAT PILATVS DIMITTERE EVM

 2.

When the content of the dependent clause is regarded as an actual fact, which is the case when the leading verb expresses the act of learning, perceiving, etc., the indicative is used.


M.

VI. 28.

BesceawiaS secyres Man hu hig weaxaO.

M. XXI. 16.

gehyrst bu hwset pas cwseoab?

M. XXVII. 13.

Ne gehyrst Jm hu fela sagena hig ongen be  secgeaS?

L. XVIII. 6.

M. IX. 13.

leornigeab hwset is,

ic wylle mildheortnesse nses  onssegdnesse.

M. XXI. 20.

loca nu hu hrsedlice bset fic-treow forscranc.

Mk. XV. 4.

loca hu mycelum hi be wregea§.

M. XII. 4.

Ne rsedde ge hwset David dyde hu he ineode on Godes hus, and set ba offring-hlafas?

L. VI, 4.

Mk. XII. 26.

Be bam deadum ■ bset hi arison, ne rsedde ge on Moyses bec hu God to him cwseb?

Mk.

I, 26.

Mk.

V. 16.

hi rehton him ba Se hit gesawon hu hit gedon  wses.

L. VIII. 36.

Da cyddon him ba Se gesawon hu he wses hal geworden.

L.

XXIII.

55.

hig gesawon ba byrgene and hu his lichama aled wses.

J. XX. 14.

heo geseah hwar se hselend stod.

Vidit Jesum stantem.


 *)

VIDIT IESVM STANTEM

Not the endeavour to learn, perceive, which would require the SUBJUNCTIVE.

L. XXIV. 6.

gebencao hu he spsec wiS eow. recordamini.

Mk.

VIII. 19.  3.

After verbs of knowing both the indicative and subjunctive are used, usually the indicative.

See general statement before § 2.

a) Indicative:*)

L. XIII. 27.

Ne cann ic hwanon ge synt.

Mk. XIV, 68.  M. VI. 8.

eower fseder wat hwset eow bearf ys.

M. XX. 22.

Gyt nyton hwset gyt biddab.

L. XIII. 25.

nat ic hwanon ge synt.   J. IX. 21.

we nyton humete he nu gesyhb.

quomodo autem  nunc videat, nescimus.

QVOMODO AVTEM NVNC,
NESCIMVS.

J. IX. 25.

gif he synful is, bset ic nat.

si peccator est, nescio.

SI PECCATOR EST, NESCIO.

I know not if he is a sinner.

gif he synful is, bset ic nat.

"Gif he synful is, ᚦaet ic nat."

In Oxonian:

"If he sinful is, that I know not.


M. XXVI. 70.

Mk. IX. 6. X, 28. XIII, 33, 35. L. IX, 33.  XX, 7. XXII, 60. L. XXIII. 34. J. II. 9. III. 8. V. 13. VII.  27, 27, 28. VIII. 14, 14. J. IX. 29. 30. X. 6. XIII. 18.  XIV. 5. XV. 15.  b)

Indicative and subjunctive:

L. X. 22.

nan man nat hwylc IS se sunu buton se fseder,

ne hwylc SI


Se fseder buton se sunu.

-- In Latin, both times have subjunctive third person singular, "sit".)

c) Subjunctive.

a. In the protasis of a conditional sentence:

 J. VII. 51.

Cwyst bu demS ure se senine man buton hyne man ser gehyre and wite hwset he do?


J. XI. 57.

pa pharisei hsefdon beboden gif hwa wiste hwaer he wsere paet he hyt cydde bset hig mihton hine niman.

Translating the Latin subjunctive in 21 instances, the indic. in 9.

As a rule, the mood (or mode, as Grice prefers) of the Latin (or Roman, as Grice prefers) verb does not determine the O. E. (or A. S., as Grice prefers) usage.

In Anglo-Saxon, Oxonian, and Gricese, "si" seems to be no more than a literal (mimetic) rendering of Roman "sit," the correct third person singular subjunctive.


Ms. A. reads "ys" with'-sy" above.

The Lind. gloss reads "is".

M. XXIV. 43.

WitaS bset gyf se hiredes ealdor wiste on hwylcere tide se beof towerd waere witodlice he wolde wacigean. si sciret paterfamilias qua hora fur venturus esset vigilaret,

(Cf. J. IV, 10.

Gif bu wistest — hwaet se is etc.

Si scirest quis est.

SI SCIREST QVIS EST.

 /J.

In the apodosis of a conditional sentence:

J. VII. 17.

gyf hwa wyle his willan don he gecwemo (sic.  A.B.C. gecnsewS) be bsere lare hwseber heo si of Gode  hwseber be ic he me sylfum spece.

L. VII. 39.

Gyf be man witega wsere witodlice he wiste hwset and hwylc bis wif wsere be his sethrinb bset heo synful  is.

 sciret utique quae et qualis est mulier.


SCIRET VTIQVE QVAE ET QVALIS EST MULIER.


y.


After a hortatory subjunctive.

M. VI. 3.

Nyte bin wynstre hwset do bin swybre.

4.

After verbs of saying and declaring.

a)

Here the indicative is used when the dependent clause contains a statement rather than a question.

L. VIII. 39.

cyS hu mycel be God gedon h3efS.

L. VIII. 47.

Da bset wif geseah bset hit him nses dyrne heo com forht and astrehte hig to his fotum and geswutulude beforan eallum folce for hwylcum binge heo hit sethran and hu heo wearS sona hal.

ob quam causam tetigerit eum, indicavit; et quemadmodum confestim sanata sit.

Further examples of the indicative are. L. XX. 2.*)

Sege us on hwylcum anwalde wyrcst bu Sas bing  oSSe hwset ys se Se be bisne anwald sealde.

L. VI. 47.

iElc bara be to me cymb and mine sprseca gehyi*S  and pa deb, ic him setywe hwam he gelic is.

b)

When the subordinate clause refers to the future both the indicative and subjunctive are used:

*)

Direct question, as the order of the words shows.

Mk. XIII. 4.

Sege us hwsenne bas bing gewurdon (A. geweorSon, H. gewurSen, R. gewurdon)

and hwylc tacen bid bsenne ealle bas Sing onginnaS beon geendud.

(Transition to direct question.)

Dic nobis, quando ista fient?

DIC NOBIS, QVANDO ISTA FIENT?

et quod signum erit?

ET QVOD SIGNVM ERIT?

M. XXIV. 3.

Sege us hwsenne bas Sing gewurbun and hwile tacn si bines to-cymes.

J. XVIII. 32.

he geswutelode hwylcon deaSe lie swulte. qua morte esset moriturus.

c) When the question presents a distinct alternative, so that the idea of doubt and uncertainty is prominent, the subjunctive in Gricese, Oxonian, and Anglo-Saxon, qua conjugated version, is used:

M. XXVI. 63.

Ic halsige be Surh bone lyfiendan God, b*t Su secge us gyf \>u sy Crist Godes sunu

L. XXII. 67. J. X. 24.

d)

The following is hortatory as well as declarative:

L. XII. 5.

Ic eow setywe hwsene ge ondredon. Ostendam autem vobis, quem timeatis.

5.

In three indirect questions which in the original are direct, the subjunctive is used:

M. XXIV. 45.

Wens (sic. A. H. & R. wenst) \>u hwa sy getrywe and gleaw beow?

Quis, putas, est fidelis servus?

QVIS, PVTAS, EST FIDELIS SERVS.



M. XXVI. 25.

Cwyst bu lareow hwseSer ic hyt si?

Numquid ego sum?

NVMQVID EGO SVM


J. VII. 26.

CweSe we hwseber ba ealdras ongyton ^set bis is Crist?

Numquid vere cognoverunt principes, quia hie est Christus?  § 11.

RELATIVE CLAUSES.

Except in the relations discussed in the following the indicative is used in relative clauses: