Conjunctions Flashcards
And
or
also/even
or
Does this word always have to mean something?
και
- Can mean ‘and’ or, can also be used to give emphasis ‘also’ / ‘even’. The rule for translating it is that if ‘and’ is necessary in the sentence (ie, there is no other conjunction), then it is ‘and’. If ‘and’ is not necessary (ie, the και seems redundant), then it is there for emphasis and should be translated into ‘also’ or ‘even’.
- Eg, κυριος ἐστιν ὁ υἱος του ἀνθρωπου και του σαββατου: The son of man is Lord even over the Sabbath.
- If present with τε eg, ‘τε…και…’ or ‘…τε και…’, it means ‘both…and…’.
- Eg, ἠρξατο ὁ Ἰησους ποιειν τε και διδασκειν: Jesus began both to do and to teach.
- Like δε it is sometimes used merely as the necessary conjunction between two sentences, and so is unnecessary in English
But
ἀλλα
If
εἰ (no accent mark - if it has circumflex accent, it means ‘you are’ [2nd person singular] instead)
Or
ἠ
as, like
ὡς
so, therefore (weak)
ἀρα
It is a weak word for ‘so’ or ‘therefore’
Timid word
Memory tip: sounds like 아라써! The 써 is the meaning ‘so’
indeed, in another words, on one hand (if combined with another word)
μεν
Timid word
Often used in combination with δε as ‘μεν…δε…’ to express:
- contrast ‘on one hand…on the other hand…’, or
- if used directly with just an article eg, ‘οἱ μεν…οἱ δε…’ it means ‘some…others…’
because/for
γαρ
Timid word
Used over >1000 times in the New Testament, extremely important word
therefore, consequently
οὐν
Timid word
but (weak)
What are other uses of this word? (3 others)
δε
Timid word
It is a weak word, often not even translated. αλλα (which is not a post-positive) expresses ‘but’ more strongly.
Other uses of this word:
- Often used in combination with μεν as ‘μεν…δε…’ to express:
- contrast ‘on one hand…on the other hand…’ (you wouldn’t overtranslate and literally translate it like this word-for-word into English, but take note of the contrast the Greek is trying to convey), or
- if used directly with just an article eg, ‘οἱ μεν…οἱ δε…’ it means ‘some…others…’
- Connecting to previous sentences. Normally, every Greek sentence needs to be connected to a previous one by a conjunction in a way that is not necessary in English, and use δε to do this - therefore, δε is often untranslated in English.
- Change in subject: use with just an article (eg, ὁ δε). Eg, λεγουσιν αὐτῳ… ὁ δε λεγει αὐτοις, Ποσους ἀρτους ἐχετε; - ‘They said to him…he said to them, “How many loaves of bread do you have?”’
and (weak)
τε
Timid word
Usually a weak word, often not even translated.
If present with και eg, ‘τε…και…’ or ‘…τε και…’, it means ‘both…and…’.
-Eg, ἠρξατο ὁ Ἰησους ποιειν τε και διδασκειν: Jesus began both to do and to teach.
indeed (weak)
γε
It is a weak word, sometimes not even translated.
on one hand…on the other hand…
some…others…
‘μεν…δε…’ to express contrast ‘on one hand…on the other hand…’. You wouldn’t normally overtranslate into the English and literally say “on the one hand…on the other hand…”, but you would take note of the contrast the Greek is trying to establish.
Ιf used directly with just an article eg, ‘οἱ μεν…οἱ δε…’ it means ‘some…others…’
- και οἱ μεν ἠσαν συν τοις Ἰουδαιοις, οἱ δε συν τοις ἀποστολοις: ‘and some were with the Jews but others were with the apostles’
- Note: οἱ δε can be used on its own to mean ‘some’
Note: remember these are timid words
therefore
διο
because
διοτι
