Word of the Day

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Bát se, craindre

It is interesting to note that two unrelated languages, Czech and French, share a similar construction when it comes to fearing something:

Czech: Bojím se, aby rodiče nepřijeli pozdě.
French: Je crains que mes parents n'arrivent tard.
English: I am afraid that my parents might get in late or I am afraid lest my parents (should) get in late.

In both Czech and French there is an "unnegated" ne.

2 comments:

Sparnai said...

The same holds true for Latin as well.

vereor ne venias sero.
I am afraid that you might come late.

světluška said...

That's correct!