Όσο πήγαινε και αδυνατίζει ο βασιλιάς, ώσπου κατάντησε να γίνει σκιάχτρο

[Theseus]

Fortunately as this coursebook gets harder. I am managing well. It is (as I have mentioned several times) the small words that puzzle me. This passage is about a king who was rich & had everything he wanted. But one day he found that he was unable to eat. Everything was done to entice him to eat. The best doctors of his kingdom ran to the the palace; each offered this & that drug but none did any good...τίποτα κατάφερνε να του ανοίξει την όρεξη. Όσο πήγαινε και αδυνατίζει ο βασιλιάς, ώσπου κατάντησε να γίνει σκιάχτρο. The sentence doesn't seem to have a main verb unless it is translated: All the while, he was going & getting thinner, until he was reduced to becoming a scarecrow.' But όσο doesn't seem to have that meaning among its very many translations. Can anyone enlighten me?:down::twit:

 

[Lefki]

As it stands, the sentence has a typo in the form "αδυνατίζει". It should read: Όσο πήγαινε και αδυνάτιζε ο βασιλιάς, i.e. the king kept getting thinner and thinner.

As far as the όσο is concerned, you need to see it with πήγαινε και, as an idiomatic whole, expressed by kept+-ing in the English translation.

A couple of tough points in this sentence, incl. a typo. No wonder this structure puzzled you. :)

 

[Theseus]

Thanks, Lefki. The typo was mine:- φταίω εγώ. Now it makes perfect sense. I haven't encountered this idiom before. :up: