Να τον πάρουμε μέσα στο μαγαζί

[Theseus]

In an extract from Nikos Kasdaglis this sentence occurs:-
Να τον πάρουμε μέσα στο μαγαζί, είπα. Αν τον αφήσουμε εδώ, είτε οι αστυφύλακες γυρίσουν, είτε η διαδήλωση, θα τον αποτελειώσουνε.
Two questions. Presumably, a θα has dropped out γυρίσουν. And is η διαδήλωση the subject (a collective noun+the plural) of αποτελειώσουνε? Or do I understand a θα γυρίσει after η διαδήλωση and take both the police and the demonstration to be the joint subject of αποτελειώσουνε? With the present punctuation the latter seems the better but would the police come and with crowd finish this bleeding victim off? Thus the former is more likely. :down:

 

[daeman]

...
No θα is missing, since it's not always necessary for denoting future or possible events, in this case just like with will in English: whether the policemen come back or the crowd does, they will finish him off.

And the joint subject (or rather disjunctive) of αποτελειώσουνε is indeed the plural οι αστυφύλακες + the collective η διαδήλωση, with an implied γυρίσει after διαδήλωση as you assume, Theseus:

οι αστυφύλακες θα γυρίσουν ή η διαδήλωση (θα γυρίσει) και θα... > θα γυρίσουν οι αστυφύλακες ή η διαδήλωση και θα... > είτε οι αστυφύλακες γυρίσουν, είτε η διαδήλωση, θα...

It could have been two collective nouns, too: η αστυνομία or η διαδήλωση, the police or the crowd, but then the verb would be in singular.

 

[Theseus]

Lucid as always. This seems to be a scene of riot and this particular man is lying bleeding in the street. But the shopkeeper comes out and drags him indoors by the shoulders with the help of the narrator of the passage (who is told by the shopkeeper to hold him by the legs) and a girl called Eva, who is told to hold him by the head. It seems to be a peculiar scene, but the shopkeeper must be pulling the victim forwards by his shoulders-back towards the narrator-otherwise how can Eva be holding the victim's head? Thank you for this excellent explanation of the usage in Greek of the collective noun. Another question arising from the end of the piece follows as a separate entry.:)

 

[daeman]

... But the shopkeeper comes out and drags him indoors by the shoulders with the help of the narrator of the passage (who is told by the shopkeeper to hold him by the legs) and a girl called Eva, who is told to hold him by the head. It seems to be a peculiar scene, but the shopkeeper must be pulling the victim forwards by his shoulders-back towards the narrator-otherwise how can Eva be holding the victim's head? ...

I'm picturing something like this, with the girl holding the head of the unconscious injured man to prevent it from hanging down or bumping on the pavenment:

 

[Theseus]

Thanks, D. My concern was how can another pull the bleeding man into the shop by the shoulders unless he is facing the girl, pulling him forward towards her? Not an easy thing to do.;)

 

[SBE]

Perhaps there is something you misunderstood in the original regarding what each person does? If you post the original here we could help you.

 

[Theseus]

Here we go, SBE:
Ο άνθρωπος που βγήκε απ' το μαγαζί έπιασε το παιδί από τους ώμους.
— Πιάσε και συ από τα ποδάρια, μου λέει, να τον πάμε μέσα. Εύα, γύρισε στην κοπέλα, βάστα του το κεφάλι.
Τον ανασήκωσε από τους ώμους, και εγώ τον έπιασα από τα πόδια, από τους αστράγαλους, χαμηλά.
— Μα δεν σου κόβει, ξέσπασε. Από τα γόνατα πιάσε για να με βοηθήσεις, δεν μπορώ να τονε σηκώσω μοναχός.
Was I far wrong? Unless 'hold his head' was what she had to do first, until the shopkeeper had a firm grip on him.

 

[SBE]

Ιt is possible that the woman's help was temporary, or that she was standing to one side of the wounded person, facing towards his head and holding it as they were carrying him in. You don't always support one's head from the back, you can support it from the front by placing your hands behind the person's head.

 

[daeman]

Ιt is possible that the woman's help was temporary, or that she was standing to one side of the wounded person, facing towards his head and holding it as they were carrying him in. You don't always support one's head from the back, you can support it from the front by placing your hands behind the person's head.

Exactly how I imagined it, with the two men actually carrying him, placing their hands beneath the shoulders and knees, and the girl as a helper, a third (fifth, if we really count them) hand from his front or side.

 

[Theseus]

Thanks, SBE. your suggestion is probably accurate. Since they were lifting the victim off the ground fully, his head would need supporting from some angle. The shopkeeper does say βάστα, the present/continuous imperative, it must mean: 'keep holding' his head.