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thee' 1. ü-ba-ra-e-ne 2 til-la-zu-sú, 'truly 1 will not repose while thou
livest' 3. The negative employed in tbis construction is nu w hich
follows u, as in gü-cle-a-ar clúg-gar-bi galu ü-nu-ma-ni-gar, 'Before
Gudea a complaint anyone truly did not make'. According to V R. 25 e
31 the plural of this form of the optative has the inflection of the past
plural ending es, thus distinguished from the plurals of the gen optative
(§ 219) which has the future plural ending ene; ¡ámasa-ni clubbin ü-ne­
in-sig-es, 'let them shear his forehead'.
§ :¿18. Closely connected with the optative u lS the conditional u eonditional.
force of u. galu ü-gub, 'if aman was laid (in a tomb)". uclu-s¡g ü-mu-
tum, 'if one brought a sheep with wool' 5. galu '" d·ningirsu-ge
clingir-ra-ni uku-ma gü ü-mu-na-ni-cle-a, 'If anyone'proclaim Ningirsu
as his god to my people'. pa-te-si.,. é-ninnü d.ningirsu lugal-mu 6 ü-
na-clü-a, 'If a patesi has built Eninnu for Ningirsu my lord' 7. uclu ü-
sam, 'if he purcbased a sheep' 8. gi-in-bi Ü-UlIL-tag-ga, 'If 1 touch a
maid' 9. ü-mi-cli-clug-clug ... ba-an-lag, 'vVhen 1 had made bricks
(then) 1 made (the waIk of the temple) to shine' 10.
Thc conditional ü deveIoped out of the optative U and originally
governed independent sentences only. It will be noticed that the exampIes
given above from the earIy texts have no overhanging vowel a.
Later, when the conditional force made itself feIt, these phrases were
turned into the subjunctive 11.
THE VERB 159
§ 219. The future emphatic, and optative oí wish and intention, gen, ge ete.
1. SBH. 55 rev. 6.
2. ne for elassieal nado
3. IV R. 13 b 38.
4. SAK. 50 XL
5. Ibid., 54117.
6. The eonstruction demands dn¿ng¿rsu ·ha-ha lugal-ma-ra.
7. Gud. B 8,31-4.
8. SAK. 54 1 2.
9. ASKT. 129, 31.
10. ANDRAE,Anu-Tempel, p. 92.
11. This eOIlstruetion was first explained by THUREAU-DAl:lGIN, SAK. 52 note g).