Lesson_004_Attic_Greek_Grammar

Question 1

In Greek a noun is word naming or signifying a person, thing, or abstract idea.

Answer 1

Attic Greek Grammar Rule #88

Question 2

In Greek, inflecting a verb is called conjugating; inflecting a noun is called declining. Verbs are classified by their conjugation; nouns are classified by their declension. Nouns are classified by their declension.

Answer 2

Attic Greek Grammar Rule #89

Question 3

Unlike a Greek verb, which has six stems, a Greek noun usually has just one. Endings that are added to the stem indicate gender, number, and case.

Answer 3

Attic Greek Grammar Rule #90

Question 4

In Greek, the gender of a noun may be Masc., Fem., or Neut. The gender of nouns denoting male persons is almost always masculine, and the gender of nouns denoting female persons is almost always feminine, but the gender of sexless objects, contrary to what you might expect, is not almost always neuter; it is just as often feminine (like the Greek word for “marketplace”) or masculine (like the Greek word for “river”). For such nouns the gender has nothing to with their “sex”; it is simply a grammatical trait which has to be memorized along with the stem and the endings. Each Greek noun is “born” with a particular gender, and that gender never changes.

Answer 4

Attic Greek Grammar Rule #91

Question 5

In Greek, the number of a noun is similar to the number of a verb; it may be singular, dual, or plural, depending on how many people, things, or abstract ideas the speaker has in mind. Since the dual (implying a pair) is rarely used in Attic Greek, it is relegated to the appendix of this textbook.

Answer 5

Attic Greek Grammar Rule #92

Question 6

In Greek, the case of a noun is a clue to how the noun is functioning in its sentence. In Greek, the position of a noun does not indicate how it is functioning in the sentence; this is shown instead by the noun’s case. Greek nouns have five cases: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, and vocative. It is traditional to list them in that order, with the last four cases seeming to “decline” or fall from the nominative.

Answer 6

Attic Greek Grammar Rule #93

Question 7

In Greek, the Nominative (Nom.) case designates the subject of the sentence. In a sentence that has a “linking verb” connecting the subject with a predicate noun, both the subject and the predicate noun will be in the nominative case. (e.g., “we are friends,” “you have become a nuisance,” “they will be chosen as delegates”) Unlike the direct object, which is acted upon by the subject, a predicate noun is equated with the subject and therefor must be identical with it in case.

Answer 7

Attic Greek Grammar Rule #94

Question 8

In Greek, the Genitive (Gen.) case designates a noun that is being used to modify another noun in the sentence. The relationship between the two nouns can usually be conveyed in English with the preposition of (e.g., “the grapes of wrath,” “love of life,” “the book of the student”; in the last example the phrase shows possession and could be expressed alternatively as “the student’s book”). The genitive also functions as a substitute for Indo-European’s ablative case, of which only a few traces are left in Greek. Thus the genitive is the appropriate case for nouns denoting a source or point of origin (“away from,” “out of”).

Answer 8

Attic Greek Grammar Rule #95

Question 9

In Greek , the Dative (Dat.) case designates a noun that has some relationship to the action but is not the subject or direct object of the sentence. Often the best way to translate a dative is with the preposition to or for (e.g., “give the prize to the winner”; “for ducks, the weather is perfect”). The dative also functions as a substitute for Indo-European’s instrumental and locative cases, both of which have nearly vanished in Greek. Thus the dative is the appropriate case for nouns denoting means, accompaniment, location, or time (“by,” “with,” “in,” “at”).

Answer 9

Attic Greek Grammar Rule #96

Question 10

In Greek, the accusative (Acc.) case designates the sentence’s direct object, the noun that is being directly acted upon by the subject. It is also used for nouns that denote a destination or goal or an extent of time or space (“into,” “to,” “toward,” “for”)

Answer 10

Attic Greek Grammar Rule #97

Question 11

In Greek, the vocative (Voc.) case designates a person, either real or imaginary, who is being addressed. It is common in Greek to personify things and call out to them as well as to human beings (e.g., “farewell, Socrates!”; “O death, where is thy sting?”)

Answer 11

Attic Greek Grammar Rule #98

Question 12

First-declension nouns can be divided into two groups: feminines and masculines.

Answer 12

Attic Greek Grammar Rule #99

Question 13

In Greek, the 1st-Decl. Fem. Nouns have a persistent accent i.e., the location of the accent in the Nom. Sg. Shows where the accent want to stay or “persist.” “Location” refers not to antepenult, penult, etc., but to the actual letters making up the accented syllable. (Notice that this is different from the accent of finite verbs, which wants simply to recede.) When the case-ending changes, the general principles of accenting may for the noun’s accent to move to another syllable or to change its form (e.g., χώρα becomes χῶραι). It is vital for you to memorize the location of the accent in the nominative singular.

Answer 13

Attic Greek Grammar Rule #100

Question 14

In Attic Greek, there are two peculiarities in the accenting of 1st Decl. Fem. Nouns: (1), if the accent falls on the ultima in the Gen. and Dat., Sg. And Pl., it changes from acute to circumflex. One would expect to see θεά, θεάς, θεᾴ since there is no general principle forcing accents on the ultima to change from acute to circumflex; nevertheless the correct inflection is θεά, θεᾶς, θεᾷ. (2), in the Gen. Pl. of 1st Decl. nouns, the syllable that receives the accent is always the ultima. Example: One would expect to see χώρων since there is no reason for the accent to move from its preferred spot above χω-; nevertheless the correct form is χωρῶν. For this second peculiarity there is a logical explanation: the original ending of the genitive plural in first declension was -άων, but as time went by, the long alpha and the omega contracted, producing -ῶν; the circumflex is a sign that there has been a contraction of two vowels into one.

Answer 14

Attic Greek Grammar Rule #101

Question 15

Both Attic Greek and English use a definite article (“the”) to indicate that someone or something is definite, previously mentioned, or well-known. Greek’s definite article changes its form to match the gender, number, and case of the nouns that it modifies.

Answer 15

Attic Greek Grammar Rule #102

Question 16

In Attic Greek, when you see a definite article in a sentence, do not assume that you should include “the” in your translation: Attic Greek uses “the” in more ways than English does. In Attic Greek, for instance, it is customary to put a definite article with an abstract noun if the speaker is thinking of the concept as a whole: e.g., πέμπε τὴν ἡσοχίαν (“send leisure [all of it]!”), as opposed to πέμπε ἡσοχίαν (“send [some/any] leisure!”). If “the sounds awkward in your English translation, feel free to omit it.

Answer 16

Attic Greek Grammar Rule #103

Question 17

In Attic Greek, it is more normal than in English to add a definite article to a proper name (e.g., “the Socrates,” “the Zeus,” “the Greece”).

Answer 17

Attic Greek Grammar Rule #104

Question 18

In Attic Greek, one of the most frequent uses of the dative case is to designate the indirect object in a sentence concerned with giving (the word dative comes from the Latin verb meaning “give”). In such a sentence the subject gives, offers, presents, dedicates, entrusts, or promises someone or something (= direct object, accusative case) to someone or something else (= indirect object, dative case. The indirect object and/or the direct object may be omitted. Examples: θύω τὴν βοῦν τῇ θεᾷ. “I sacrifice the cow to the goddess.”, θύω τὴν βοῦν. “I “sacrifice the cow.”, θύω τῇ θεᾷ “I sacrifice to the goddess.”, “θύω. “I sacrifice.” {With verbs of sending, writing, or saying—as opposed to giving—, the speaker has the choice of using an indirect object (dative case, no preposition) or a prepositional phrase (i.e., a preposition meaning “to” followed by a noun in the accusative case). As the object of the preposition, the recipient is viewed as a destination or goal, the point toward which the action is directed. The indirect object generally has a more personal flavor; the recipient is viewed as the beneficiary of the subject’s action.}

Answer 18

Attic Greek Grammar Rule #105

Question 19

In Attic Greek, the Lexica always gives a noun’s Nom. And Gen. Sg. And the appropriate definite article (in the Nom. Sg.) The noun’s declension is show by the first two forms, its gender by the article (e.g., ἡ = Fem.).

Answer 19

Attic Greek Grammar Rule #106