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Date:         Sun, 15 Oct 1995 03:17:42 MET
Reply-To: Goran Topic <topic@STUDENT.MATH.HR>
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From: Goran Topic <topic@STUDENT.MATH.HR>
Subject:      Re: imperatives
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To: John Cowan <cowan@LOCKE.CCIL.ORG>
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X-From-Space-Date: Sun Oct 15 00:51:05 1995
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> I thought of another case where even modern English uses a third person
> imperative: when the subject is "nobody", "somebody" or "everybody".
>
>         ei noda pencu ti
>         Nobody touch this.
>
>         e'o da sidju mi
>         Somebody help me!
>
>         ei roda punji lei ri cukta le jubme
>         Everybody put their books on the table.
>
> Aren't those third person imperatives in English?

I am far from being an authority on English... but the 2nd and,
especially, 3rd sentence above can be both true imperatives as well as a
subjunctive acting as a 3rd person imperative. If you don't believe me,
stick a comma inside, shift accent accordingly, and see what happens.

co'o mi'e. goran.

--
GAT/CS/O d?@ H s:-@ !g p1(2)@ !au(0?) a- w+(+++) (!)v-@(+) C++(++++)
UU/H(+) P++>++++ L(>+) !3 E>++ N+ K(+) W--(---) M-- !V(--) -po+ Y(+)
t+@(+++) !5 !j R+@ G-@(J++) tv+(++) b++@ D++ B? e+* u@ h!$ f?(+) r--
!n(+@) y+. GeekCode v2.1, modifications left to reader to puzzle out