Re: interesting english syntax

On 9/26/05, Roger Mills <rfmilly@...> wrote:
> Elliott Lash wrote:
>
> > In my American New York English, I can say the
> > following types of things:
> >
> > 1)  Were he here, he'd be helping us out.
> >
> > 2)  Had I known how bad it was, I never would have
> > seen it.
> >
> > 3)  Come spring, the flowers will start to bloom.
> >
<SNIP>

>
> Exactly. Very Germanic, but to my ear a little old-fashioned, or at least
> literary :-)) In fact, from my readings in (mostly scholarly) German and
> Dutch works, it seems to be the preferred way of expressing
> if--then/contrary-to-fact statements (as opposed to using the actual word
> for "if..."). Quite likely in Old English too, though I wouldn't know...
> OTOH, the Romance langs. have nothing comparable; you must use "if" +
> subjunctive.
Hi, Roger. Actually, we can say these things in Portuguese. These
sentences would be:

1) Estivesse ele aqui, (ele) estaria nos ajudando.
2) Soubesse eu como é ruim, (eu) jamais teria assistido.

They're not common, but I think most people in Brazil would understand
it if I said to them. Can't speak for Portugal though.

João Ricardo Mendonça