I’m doing an English-to-Greek exercise and I’m not sure about “I shall go out”. I remember ἔρχομαι is only used in the present and imperfect while εἶμι supplies the future. Is this right?
Original: Be silent, or I shall go out to call the guards.
Translation: Σίγησον, ἢ ἐξελεύσομαι??/εἶμι?? καλέσαι τοὺς φύλακας.
This phrase could come in handy if I’m ever locked away in an ancient Greek prison with a cellmate who talks in his sleep.
In Attic, the future of ἔρχομαι is supplied by εἶμι.
But I think I’d do imperative + μή + subj. aor. instead of imperative + ἤ + future, and a future participle for calling the guards.
Σίγησον, μὴ καλοῦν τοὺς φύλακας ἐξέλθω.
As always though, my Greek may contain errors.
Sounds good to me. " μὴ καλοῦν" is like “lest I call”, right? That’s a good solution, I wasn’t sure whether “ei” would convey the desired meaning of “or else”.
καλῶν would be the masculine future participle, wouldn’t it? καλοῦν would be neuter. ε+ω>ω ε+ο>ου
Yes, I was just fixing…, like ποιῶν
A few thoughts, though not necessarily what the exercise sought to elicit.
The present imperative σίγα might be appropriate here: “keep silent,” as opposed to aorist “shut up.”
εἰ δὲ μή “or else,” with future.
I think it would be more idiomatic to subordinate going out to calling the guards.
σίγα· εἰ δὲ μὴ, ἐξελθὼν τοὺς φύλακας καλῶ.