Thirty Days Hath September Thread poster: Arabic & More
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I was wondering why "hath" (third person singular) is used in the first line of the following poem:
Thirty days hath September, April, June, and November.
All the rest have thirty-one,
Except for February alone,
Which hath but twenty-eight days clear
And twenty-nine in each leap year.
Apparently, the original was in Latin and then translated to English more than 400 years ago. Is there something about the Latin structure that would cause the tran... See more I was wondering why "hath" (third person singular) is used in the first line of the following poem:
Thirty days hath September, April, June, and November.
All the rest have thirty-one,
Except for February alone,
Which hath but twenty-eight days clear
And twenty-nine in each leap year.
Apparently, the original was in Latin and then translated to English more than 400 years ago. Is there something about the Latin structure that would cause the translator to use the singular form of the verb, or is there another explanation? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Thayenga 
Germany
Local time: 14:12
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
Since emphasis seems to be place on a single month, despite naming all of them, hath is correct. Imagine it written like this:
Thirty days hath September,
Thirty days hath April,
Thirty days hath June,
Thirty days hath November.
Perhaps 400 years ago each month was taken as an entity, thus even though they are all listed, "hath" refers to each single month alone.
Perhaps our colleagues have other ideas that can even be backed-up.
[E... See more Since emphasis seems to be place on a single month, despite naming all of them, hath is correct. Imagine it written like this:
Thirty days hath September,
Thirty days hath April,
Thirty days hath June,
Thirty days hath November.
Perhaps 400 years ago each month was taken as an entity, thus even though they are all listed, "hath" refers to each single month alone.
Perhaps our colleagues have other ideas that can even be backed-up.
[Edited at 2016-04-25 13:55 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Ailsa Campbell
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:12
French to English
+ ...
| the singular 'hath' | Apr 25, 2016 |
But if this very obsolete form - 'hath' instead of 'has' - is used, then logically it also needs to be used for February 'which hath 28 days clear'.
I think the reason that the initial verb is singular is probably due to the metre. When read aloud the first 'line' is very clearly:
'Thirty days hath September,'
and the other three months follow, as in parenthesis, in line 2.
and possibly 'hath' has been retained here because otherwise you get a disple... See more But if this very obsolete form - 'hath' instead of 'has' - is used, then logically it also needs to be used for February 'which hath 28 days clear'.
I think the reason that the initial verb is singular is probably due to the metre. When read aloud the first 'line' is very clearly:
'Thirty days hath September,'
and the other three months follow, as in parenthesis, in line 2.
and possibly 'hath' has been retained here because otherwise you get a displeasing assonance in 'has September'.
So, it's poetry.
Best I can suggest! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Similarity with German | Apr 26, 2016 |
Some old English words subsist in a similar form in modern German:
Old English
hath
German
hat
Old English
thou
German
du
And so on
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