Lesson 08. Second Declension Neuter Nouns Adjectives First/Second Declension

Question 0

Second-declension neuter nouns differ from second-declension masculines in which cases?

Answer 0

The nominative (singular and plural), the vocative (singular and plural), and the accusative plural.

Question 1

καὶ σύ, τέκνον;

Answer 1

καὶ σύ, τέκνον; (Even you, child?)

Caesar’s dying words to Brutus, quoted by Suetonius in Julius Caesar 82.

Question 2

Neuter nouns - peculiarities of case endings

Answer 2

For every neuter noun in Greek, the nominative, accusative, and vocative are identical in the singular, and in the plural as well.

While this complicates translation: if you see an ο-stem neuter ending in ον or α, you cannot immediately tell, on the basis of the form alone, how the word is being used.

You must look at the rest of the sentence to ascertain whether the noun is the subject, the direct object, or the addressee.

Question 3

Paradigm for the neuter article

Answer 3

*Singular*
Nom	 τό  
Gen		τοῦ  
Dat		τῷ  
Acc		τό  
Voc		---  
*Plural*
Nom	 τά  		
Gen		τῷν  
Dat		τοῖς  
Acc		τά  
Voc		---

Question 4

Plural Neuter Subject with Singular Verb

Answer 4

When a neuter noun (of any declension) is used in the plural as the subject of a sentence, Greek does something that seems illogical: it puts the main verb of the sentence into the singular.

Thus the Greek version of the sentence “The children have horses” (τὰ τέκνα ἔχει ἵππους) literally means “The children has horses.”

Once in a while, to stress that the subject consists of more than one individual, a plural verb may be used, but most of the time a neuter plural subject is regarded as a single collective unit, requiring a singular verb.

When translating sentences into Greek, you should assume that a neuter plural subject and its verb do not agree in number.

Question 5

Greek Adjectives

Answer 5

Adjectives modify (describe) a noun.

Adjective stems require endings to give them number, gender and case.

There are two types of greek adjectives. Those with endings from the First/Second declensions and those with endings from the third declension.

Question 6

First/Second Declension Adjective Endings

Answer 6

sing  mas   fem  ntr  
	nom   -ος  -α/η   -ον  
	gen  -ου  -ας/ης -ου  
	dat  -ῳ    -ᾳ/ῃ     -ῳ  
	acc	  -ον     -αν/ην  -ον  
	voc  -ε   -α/η  -ον 
	plur  
	nom  -οι    -αι   -α  
	gen   -ων   -ων        -ων  
	dat  -οις    -αις    -οις  
	acc     -ους   -ας   -α  
	voc     -οι    -αι    -α

Question 7

First/Second Declension Adjectives - Relevance of Stem-Type to Endings

Answer 7

Adjectives with stems ending in ε, ι, or ρ have ᾱ rather than η in the feminine singular, as you would expect on the model of first-declension nouns.

Question 8

Accent for adjectives

Answer 8

Like nouns, adjectives have persistent accent: the preferred location for the accent is shown by the neuter nominative singular.

In first/second-declension adjectives an accented ultima in the genitive and dative always has a circumflex, as in first- and second-declension nouns. The ultima is accented, however, only if it is the preferred location for the accent (so in the feminine genitive plural, the accent does not always appear on the ultima, as it would in a first-declension noun).

Question 9

How do Greek lexica display adjectives?

Answer 9

Greek lexica do not tell you explicitly that a word is an adjective; instead they simply list its three nominative singular forms in an abbreviated way: e.g., ἀγαθός, -ή, -όν.

Question 10

Agreement of Adjective and Noun

Answer 10

A noun and its adjective must agree with each other. This does not mean that the two words must have the same ending. It means only that the adjective’s ending must indicate the gender, number, and case of the noun.

For example: In ἄξιος ἵππος the noun and adjective happen to have identical endings (since the ending that ἄξιος, -ᾱ, -ον uses to denote masculine nominative singular is the same as the nominative singular ending of ἵππος).

But in ἀγαθὴ ὁδός the two endings are not identical (since the ending that ἀγαθός, -ή, -όν uses to denote feminine nominative singular is not the same as the nominative singular ending of ὁδός).

An adjective’s ending is a clue to the gender of the noun that it modifies.

Question 11

Attributive Adjective

Answer 11

In both English and Greek an adjective is classified as attributive if it identifies an attribute, or trait, that a noun already possesses (e.g., “the good child is sleeping”).

An attributive adjective and its noun together form a noun phrase, which can function as the subject or the object of the sentence or in any other way in which the noun by itself can.

Question 12

Attributive Position

Answer 12

In Greek there are three possible positions for the attributive adjective:

• τὸ ἀγαθὸν τέκνον “the good child”. This is the most common and puts emphasis on the adjective.
• τὸ τέκνον τὸ ἀγαθόν “the good child” (literally, “the child—the good one”). It is not unusual to find an attributive attribute placed after then noun it modifies. This requires a second definite article—identical to the one in front of the noun—in front of the adjective. With this word order the speaker can give greater emphasis to the noun.
• τέκνον τὸ ἀγαθόν “the good child” (literally, “a child—the one that’s good”). Unusual. Speaker begins indefinitely then clarifies.

Question 13

Predicate Adjective

Answer 13

A predicate adjective works with a linking verb to describe the subject (e.g., “the child is good”; here the linking verb “is” equates the subject with the predicate adjective).

In form it is an adjective that modifies a definite noun and does not come immediately after any of the definite articles that agree with that noun.

• τὸ τέκνον ἀγαθόν. “The child [is] good.”
• ἀγαθὸν τὸ τέκνον. “The child [is] good.”

A predicate adjective, in both English and Greek, differs from an attributive adjective in being part of the verbal idea (i.e., what is being predicated) in the sentence.

Question 14

Definite Noun

Answer 14

A noun modified by one or more definite articles.

Question 15

Adjectives and “to be”

Answer 15

Greek frequently omits the linking verb when it is a form of “be”.

So, a complete sentence may consist of just an article, a noun, and a predicate adjective.

In contrast, the result of combining a definite noun with an attributive adjective is always a mere phrase, never a complete sentence.

Question 16

When both noun and adjectives are indefinite….

Answer 16

If both the noun and the adjective are indefinite you must rely on the context to show whether the speaker intends the words as a noun phrase (with an attributive adjective) or as a complete sentence (with a predicate adjective).

Changing the word order (adjective-noun, noun-adjective) will affect the emphasis but not the basic meaning:

• ἀγαθὸν τέκνον “a good child” or “A child [is] good.”
• τέκνον ἀγαθόν “a good child” or “A child [is] good.”

Question 17

Definite versus indefinite nouns

Answer 17

In English the word “a” or “an” has to be added before a singular noun to make it indefinite; in Greek this is unnecessary: to make any noun indefinite, you simply omit the definite article.

Question 18

Predicate Nouns

Answer 18

A linking verb may equate the subject with a predicate noun rather than with a predicate adjective.

A predicate noun always has the same case (nominative) as the subject since the two nouns are parallel to each other, but it retains its own gender and number.

In Greek it is customary not to use a definite article with a predicate noun (e.g., οἱ ἵπποι δῶρον, “the horses are a/the gift”).

This helps to distinguish the predicate noun from the subject, but it also leaves ambiguous whether a definite or indefinite person or thing is meant.

Question 19

εὑρίσκω

Answer 19

εὑρίσκω, εὑρήσω find, find out, discover [cf. eureka]

The basic stem of this verb is εὑρ-; adding -ισκ- produces the present stem; adding a lengthened thematic vowel + sigma produces the future stem.

Question 20

λείπω

Answer 20

λείπω, λείψω leave, leave behind [cf. eclipse, ellipsis]

λείπω does not mean “leave” in the sense of “go away” (intransitive, re-quiring no direct object), but in the sense of “leave behind” (transitive, always with a direct object).

It is often combined with a prefix; ἀπολείπω, for example, is a stronger form of λείπω, meaning “leave,” “leave behind,” or “abandon.”

Question 21

βίος

Answer 21

βίος, -ου, ὁ life, lifetime, livelihood [cf. biology]

Question 22

δῶρον

Answer 22

δῶρον, -ου, τό gift [cf. Dorothy, Theodore]

Question 23

ἔργον

Answer 23

ἔργον, -ου, τό work, task, occupation, deed [cf. ergometer]

Question 24

θησαυρός

Answer 24

θησαυρός, -οῦ, ὁ treasure, treasury, storehouse [cf. thesaurus]

Question 25

τέκνον

Answer 25

τέκνον, -ου, τό child, offspring

Question 26

φυτόν

Answer 26

φυτόν, -οῦ, τό plant, tree (something that is grown in a garden or an orchard) [cf. neophyte]

Question 27

ἀγαθός

Answer 27

ἀγαθός, -ή, -όν good (at doing something), brave, (morally) good, virtuous [cf. Agatha]

Question 28

ἄξιος

Answer 28

ἄξιος, -ᾱ, -ον (+ genitive or infinitive) worthy (of, to), deserving (of, to) [cf. axiom]

Question 29

καλός

Answer 29

καλός, -ή, -όν beautiful, handsome, fair (of appearance), (morally) good, fine, noble [cf. calisthenics, kaleidoscope]

Question 30

γεωργός

Answer 30

γεωργός -οῦ, ὁ (a compound of γῆ “earth” + ἔργον): farmer (literally, “one who works the earth”)

Question 31

πειράω

Answer 31

πειράω, -άσω (+gen.): test, make trial (of)

A contract verb.

Question 32

ἄμπελος

Answer 32

ἄμπελος, -ου, ἡ: vineyard, vine

Question 33

σκάπτω

Answer 33

σκάπτω, σκάψω: dig

Question 34

ποιέω

Answer 34

ποιέω, ποιήσω: make

A contract verb.

Question 35

δῆλος

Answer 35

δῆλος, -η, -ον: clear, visible, evident