The Case of Plural Was in the Earliest Text

Title

The Case of Plural Was in the Earliest Text

Publication Type

Journal Article

Year of Publication

2016

Authors

Carmack, Stanford (Primary)

Journal

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

Pagination

109-137

Volume

18 URL

https://journal.interpreterfoundation.org/the-case-of-plural-was-in-the-earliest-text/

Terms of use

Items in the BMC Archive are made publicly available for non-commercial, private use. Inclusion within the BMC Archive does not imply endorsement. Items do not represent the official views of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or of Book of Mormon Central.

Bibliographic Citation

Abstract

Because it is primarily an Early Modern English text (in terms of its English language), the earliest text of the Book of Mormon understandably employs plural was — for example, “the words which was delivered” (Alma 5:11). It does so in a way that is substantially similar to what is found in many writings of the Early Modern period — that is, it manifests the syntactic usage, variation, and differential rates typical of that era.

Journal

Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 18 (2016)

Critical Text

Text

Early Modern English

The Case of Plural Was in the Earliest Text

Title