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--- Babnol Rodlox skrzypszy: > if I can ask, what is an "optative"? I'm pretty sure I > understand what an "imperative" means. The optative expresses a wish, and can usually be translated as: "May ...". It is "softer" than the imperative, which expresses a direct order. AFAIK the forms in the Pater Noster are more imperative-like than optative-like. However, due to the absence of 3rd person imperatives in many languages, they two are easily confused. Jan ===== "If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito." ____________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Messenger - Communicate instantly..."Ping" your friends today! Download Messenger Now http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com/download/index.html