ἆρα

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See also: άρα, -άρα, ἀρά, ἄρα, and Appendix:Variations of "ara"

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

Etymology

Compare Persian آیا.

Pronunciation

 

Particle

ἆρᾰ • (âra) (interrogative particle)

  1. interrogative particle, introducing a yes-no question, and often indicating impatience or anxiety
    1. (in a main clause)
    2. (in a subordinate clause)
  2. (in poets, sometimes equivalent to ἄρα (ára))

Usage notes

ἆρα has no single translation when it introduces a main-clause question. English, instead of beginning yes-no questions in an interrogative, begins them in a verb, either the auxiliary used in the non-question form of the sentence, or a form of do:

  • He can do it > Can he do it?
  • He did it > Did he do it?

ἆρα simply serves as a marker of a yes-no question, as the verb at the beginning of the sentence does in English:

  • ποιῆσαι δύναται > ἆρα ποιῆσαι δύναται
  • ἐποίησεν > ἆρ’ ἐποίησεν

References

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia