εἰ γάρ τινα

Greek Learning Greek
1

I am still on book 1 of the Anabasis, and have come to the point where Cyrus steps in to stop a rumble in the Greek camp. He starts with the words: Κλέαρχε καὶ Πρόξενε καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι οἱ παρόντες Ἕλληνες, οὐκ ἴστε ὅ τι ποιεῖτε. εἰ γάρ τινα ἀλλήλοις μάχην συνάψετε . . . . [1.5.16]

I’m hoping for some help understanding how τινα works here, and can’t see anything in my references.

2

τινα goes with μάχην, I’d say.

3

Yes it’s in agreement with μάχην. Note the word order, which gives τινα more prominence than μάχην τινα συνάψετε. (We could translate “If you get into any kind of fight with one another …”.) And ει … συνάψετε is stronger than εαν … συνάψητε.

You’re well advised to finish Mastronarde. Of course you can be reading Xenophon meanwhile, and anything else that takes your fancy.

4

Thanks to you both, it makes perfect sense now. I knew τινα must be accusative case, but didn’t have the wit to look farther in the sentence for another accusative for it to go with.

I am finishing Mastronarde, which will be my second grammar book, as I launch into the Anabasis. When Mastronarde runs out I will be designing my own grammar course to review weak points as I go along.