Augment (was Re: German ge- ptcpl cognates?)

[petegray]

>. According to Bybee et
> >al (The evolution of grammar), unmarked past vs marked present is
> >unknown in extant languages.

This must surely be wrong - or at least disputable!   Classical Hebrew has
an unmarked tense-form whose natural and commonest tense meaning is the
past.   I believe Arabic, both classical and modern, has a similar
structure.

Peter