Re: French and German (jara: An introduction)

Henrik Theiling scripsit:

> > What are adjective modes? Are they anything like verb modes--is "strong"
> > realis and "weak" irrealis? I've never studied German...
>
> The mode is selected by the determiner you use.  The terms 'strong'
> and 'weak' refer to the forms you use: 'strong' forms show more
> inflection, like '-er', '-es', '-em', thereby carrying at least a bit
> of information (e.g. '-em' is always sg.dat.), 'weak' forms are only
> -'e' or '-en' which is quite vague.
And to add a perhaps obvious point: the distinction between strong, weak,
and hybrid adjectives carries no semantics whatsoever, and was invented
by the Germans to plague their enemies and prevent them from learning the
language well enough to spy on them.  :-)

--
John Cowan                              jcowan@reutershealth.com
http://www.ccil.org/~cowan              http://www.reutershealth.com
Thor Heyerdahl recounts his attempt to prove Rudyard Kipling's theory
that the mongoose first came to India on a raft from Polynesia.
        --blurb for _Rikki-Kon-Tiki-Tavi_