--- In norse_course@yahoogroups.com, "llama_nom" <600cell@...>
wrote:

> I recently read an article about the practice of having a singular
> verb with two individual subjects. The article mentioned this in
> the context of Gothic, though without saying that it's quite
> common in koine Greek, from which almost all of the Gothic corpus

is

> translated. I have a memory of seeing this in Old English too,
> although I can't think of any examples. I was wondering, does it
> often happen in Old Norse and, if so, are there any preferred
> circumstances or limits to its use?
>
> Þar til himinn og jörð líða undir lok
> "till heaven and earth pass away"
> (Mt 5,18)
>
> því ótti og ofboð var yfir þær komið
> "for fear and confusion had come over them"
> (Mk 16,8)
>
> In the first of these examples, both Greek and Gothic have
> singular. In the second, Gothic has singular, but Greek plural.

Well, I've found one example. It's from the First Grammatical
Treatise (Fyrsta Málfroeðiritgerðin).

dul vættir ok vil... "pride and wilfulness expect..."

'vil' here is the word being emphasised, because the sentence goes
on to contrast it with 'víl' "toil"; I wonder whether it would be
the same even if there was no special emphasis.

> eru víða øroefi - there are widely open coasts
> ok - and
> hætt [er] skipum - ships are in danger

So this is actually a plural verb 'eru' serving as both plural 'eru'
and singular 'er'? Gwyn Jones's free translation goes: "the coasts
are often wide open and dangerous to shipping." I think he's
using "often" here to translate 'víða', in the sense that you often
meet them, because they're to be found widely. And I think
his "coasts...wide open" translates 'øroefi'.

Llama Nom