Realnost realnih pogodbenih rečenica u grčkom: istorijat problema, primeri, moguća rešenja
What is ‘Real’ in Greek First Class Conditionals?

Summary/Abstract: The article discusses the problem of classification of Greek conditional sentences and the question of the meaning of different classes of Greek conditionals. The most influential classification of Greek conditionals among the Anglo American scholars was that of W. Goodwin, who classified Greek conditionals according to the time to which they refer. Less influential, but in our opinion more precise Sandra Šćepanović 23 classification was offered by B. Gildersleeve, who divided different types of con ditionals according to their usage. He named first class conditionals “Logical Conditions” and noted that they were much used in arguments. Such arguments can rest on both true and false suppositions. In the last few decades the scholars examining the language of the New Testament, notably J. L. Boyer, sorted first class conditionals into three groups: (1) in stances where the condition was obviously true, (2) instances where the condition was obviously false, (3) instances where the condition was undetermined. However, the criteria for deciding the modal status of a first class condition were not clearly established. R. A. Young suggested that, by examining the meanings of different conditionals, one should take into account not only linguistic content of the utterance, but also the context in which it is situated and the speaker’s (writer’s) intent. As for the first class conditionals, he recognised two types of arguments in which they were used. In the article this view is tested and three different types of first class conditionals (after Boyer’s division) are found among the arguments in Aristotle’s Physics.

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