''Surely you mean "if it doesn't rise then don't have bought it."?'' (Will Rogers, giving advice on buying stock.) In Douglas Adams' TimeTravelGrammar, I think it's "Iffate it not rising, boughten it," Which book is ''that'' from? '''Dr Dan Streetmentioner's Time Traveller's Handbook of 1001 Tense Formations''' We hear about it in the Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy universe (I'm spotty on the exact book) - I was just making the previous example up, using some of the syntax I remembered. Then again, since he probably made up the words on the spot himself as he typed it, this is all a complete waste of time. Is-being-forthwithenate. ---- Heinlein postulated a similar convoluted grammar in GloryRoad (early 60s). "Primer" is another relevant work http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390384/