LESSON 9
More Verbal
I1: Lesson Eight Review
Review completed Practical Exercise A (L8_praxA_trans) from Lesson Eight.
I2: 1st Declension Feminine Nouns in -α
We learned in Lesson 8 that there are three different patterns of 1st Declension feminine nouns and examined one of those patterns. The following table shows the final two patterns for feminine nouns. The lexical forms of these nouns end in –α. The words used are ἡμερα (day) and δοξα (glory):
Note:
1. All plural endings are the same for 1st declension feminine nouns.
2. The singular of ἡμερα is the same as ἀρχη but with α replacing η.
3. δοξα nominative and accusative follows ἡμερα, but dative and genitive follow ἀρχη.
The rules for declining nouns in –α are:
1. Nouns with stems ending in a vowel or ρ decline like ἡμερα.
2. Nouns with stems ending in a consonant other than ρ decline like δοξα.
I3: 1st Declension Masculine Nouns in – ης & – ας
There are two patterns of 1st declension masculine nouns. The following table shows these two patterns for the nouns whose lexical forms end in –ης and –ας respectively. The words used are προφητης (prophet) and νεανιας (young man):
Note:
1. All the plural endings are the same as the 1st declension feminine nouns.
2. The genitive endings are the same as those of –ω nouns.
The 1st declension nouns in –ης are nearly always types of people or occupations (prophet, judge, etc.).
The 1st declension nouns in –ας are nearly always proper names. When their stems end in ε, ι or ρ, they decline like νεανιας with the genitive singular–ου ending (e.g. “Andrew” is Ἀνδρεας; “of Andrew” is Ἀνδρεου). Those with stems ending in other letters have an –α ending in the genitive singular (e.g. “Judas” is Ἰουδας; “of Judas” is Ἰουδα).
Remember: Regardless of declension pattern, masculine nouns always take the masculine definite article.
I4: Practical Exercise: Translation
Translate from Greek to English and from English to Greek. See L9 Practical A Translation (L9_praxA_trans). For vocabulary refer to L9 Vocabulary (L9_vocab).
LESSON 10
The Case for Prepositions
J1: Lesson Nine Review
Review completed Practical Exercise A (L9_praxA_trans) from Lesson Nine.
J2: Prepositions
Prepositions are words that are placed (generally) before a noun or pronoun to indicate something about that nouns relationship to other words in the sentence. Words such as “in”, “from”, “towards” are examples of English prepositions.
Consider this sentence:
The man sat in the boat.
Here the preposition “in” indicates the relationship between the man and the boat. In this case, the preposition tells us where the man sat.
Any phrase in a sentence starting with a proposition (E.g. in the boat) is called a prepositional phrase.
Prepositional phrases can be either adverbial or adjectival. Adjectival prepositional phrases tell us something about the noun of another phrase or clause. Adverbial prepositional phrases tell us something about the verb of another phrase or clause.
Adjectival: The man in the boat sat.
Adverbial: The man sat in the boat.
In the first sentence, the prepositional phrase in the boat acts like an adjective and tells us something about the noun the man—it says which man he is.
In the second sentence, the same prepositional phrase now acts like an adverb and tells us something about the verb sat—it says where he sat.
Notice that where the prepositional phrase is placed in the sentence determines whether it is adjectival or adverbial.
In this lesson we will look at prepositions as they are used in Greek adverbial phrases.
J3: Cases and Prepositions
The cases other than nominative are called the oblique cases. In previous lessons, oblique case usage has been confined to certain declension patterns of nouns and the definite articles. We learned that the accusative case was the case for the direct object of a sentence; that the dative case was for the indirect object, and that the genitive case was used to show possession. However, the oblique cases have other uses. One of these uses is related to prepositions.
Greek prepositions demand that the noun it governs—the one it precedes—be in one of the following three oblique cases: accusative, dative or genitive. For example, note the case of the noun following the preposition ἐν (meaning “in”) when we translate our adverbial sentence above (The man sat in the boat.):
ὁ ἀνθρωπος καθησθαι ἐν τῳ πλοιῳ.
The noun (and its article and adjective) following the preposition ἐν is always in the dative case. We express this by saying that “ἐν demands the dative”.
Of course, not all nouns demand the dative case, so, when you learn a preposition, you must also learn the case that it demands.
Remember: Only the nouns governed by the prepositions change form; the prepositions themselves never change form.
J4: The Senses of the Oblique Cases
At first glance, it might appear to the student that the allocation of a case to a preposition is an arbitrary one, but in actual fact, the case is determined by the meaning of the preposition. This is because each of the three oblique cases is associated with a separate spatial sense.
The accusative case is used to express “motion towards” a place. Both εἰς and προς mean “to” in a general sense, but, more precisely, εἰς expresses “into” and προς “towards” or “up to”. Therefore they both demand the accusative case.
This can be represented diagrammatically like so:
The accusative case is used to express “motion towards” a place. Both εἰς and προς mean “to” in a general sense, but, more precisely, εἰς expresses “into” and προς “towards” or “up to”. Therefore they both demand the accusative case.
This can be represented diagrammatically like so:
The dative case is used to express the idea of “in location”. So both ἐν, “in”, and συν, meaning “with”, demand the dative.
The genitive case is used to express “away” or “from out of” something. Both ἀπο and ἐκ mean “from” in a general sense, but, more precisely, ἀπο expresses the sense of “away from” and ἐκ suggests “out of”. They both demand the genitive.
Diagrammatically:
J5: Conjunctions and Particles
Conjunctions and particles (a catch-all term for uninflected words lacking a precise lexical definition) are words which join sentences, clauses and words together. We are familiar with the conjunction και, meaning “and”. In Greek these are used much more frequently than in English. Because of this over-use (relatively speaking) of the conjunctions and particles, they often have very little force in the meaning of sentences and are sometimes left out of English translations of the New Testament. Students, however, should always translate them.
Note: The conjunction γαρ (often called a particle) is translated “for”. Since it functions as a conjunction, it means “for” in the sense of “because”. This can be confused with the prepositional use of “for” in English (E.g. He bought it for the students). This prepositional use of “for” in Greek is covered by the dative case without a preposition.
J6: Euphony & Elision
Note: The conjunction γαρ (often called a particle) is translated “for”. Since it functions as a conjunction, it means “for” in the sense of “because”. This can be confused with the prepositional use of “for” in English (E.g. He bought it for the students). This prepositional use of “for” in Greek is covered by the dative case without a preposition.
J6: Euphony & Elision
The word “euphony” means to sound good (from the Greek εὐ, good, and φωνη, sound). For the sake of euphony, many words in Greek will change a final consonant or drop a final vowel.
The dropping of a final vowel is called “elision”. The dropped vowel is replaced by an apostrophe. The conjunction ἀλλα, meaning but, elides whenever the word following it begins with a vowel, giving us ἀλλ’.
The changing of final consonants for the sake of euphony follows a regular pattern according to the linguistic nature of the consonants—how their sounds are actually made in the mouth.
Consonants can be classed as guttural, dental or labial.
1. Gutturals, like “γ, κ, ξ, χ” are made in the throat
2. Dentals, like “δ, τ, θ”, are made by the tongue against the teeth
3. Labials, like “β, φ, π, ψ, μ” are made by the lips.
If a consonant is going to change for the sake of euphony, it will change within its classification.
For example, the adverb οὐ, meaning “not”, has three forms all for the sake of euphony: οὐ when the word following it starts with a consonant; and οὐκ when the word following it starts with a vowel that has a smooth breathing; and οὐξ when the vowel has a rough breathing. Note that the κ and χ are both gutturals.
Similarly, the preposition ἀπο, meaning “from, away from”. This becomes ἀπο, ἀπ’ when followed by a vowel with a smooth breathing; ἀφ’ before a vowel with a rough breathing. Note that the π and φ are both labials; and that the π is forced to change because it was “exposed” after the ο elided.
J7: Postpositive
The dropping of a final vowel is called “elision”. The dropped vowel is replaced by an apostrophe. The conjunction ἀλλα, meaning but, elides whenever the word following it begins with a vowel, giving us ἀλλ’.
The changing of final consonants for the sake of euphony follows a regular pattern according to the linguistic nature of the consonants—how their sounds are actually made in the mouth.
Consonants can be classed as guttural, dental or labial.
1. Gutturals, like “γ, κ, ξ, χ” are made in the throat
2. Dentals, like “δ, τ, θ”, are made by the tongue against the teeth
3. Labials, like “β, φ, π, ψ, μ” are made by the lips.
If a consonant is going to change for the sake of euphony, it will change within its classification.
For example, the adverb οὐ, meaning “not”, has three forms all for the sake of euphony: οὐ when the word following it starts with a consonant; and οὐκ when the word following it starts with a vowel that has a smooth breathing; and οὐξ when the vowel has a rough breathing. Note that the κ and χ are both gutturals.
Similarly, the preposition ἀπο, meaning “from, away from”. This becomes ἀπο, ἀπ’ when followed by a vowel with a smooth breathing; ἀφ’ before a vowel with a rough breathing. Note that the π and φ are both labials; and that the π is forced to change because it was “exposed” after the ο elided.
J7: Postpositive
There are several particles that are never placed first in a sentence or clause; they are usually placed second. This non-initial placement is called “postpositive”. The following particles are postpositive: γαρ (for), οὐν (therefore, then) and δε (but, and).
Learn the Lesson vocabulary (refer to L10_vocab).
