Lesson_009_Attic_Greek_Grammar

Question 1

In Attic Greek, If the nominative singular of an η-stem masculine noun ends in -της, the word identifies the agent or the doer of an action (e.g., ματθητής = “one who learns,” i.e., “student”) or a person concerned with or involved in something (e.g., οἰκέτης = “one involved in the household,” i.e., “family member”). Nouns ending in –της are therefore similar to English nouns ending in -er (e.g., “learner,” “householder”).

Answer 1

Attic Greek Grammar Rule #130

Question 2

In Attic Greek, Two-ending adjectives. In the vocabulary for this lesson (Lesson 9), there are two adjectives of the first/second declension that have no special set of endings to indicate the feminine gender: ἀθάνατος, -ον (“immortal”) and ἀνάξιος, -ον (“unworthy”). These and others like them are called two-ending adjectives (as opposed to the three-ending adjectives presented in Lesson 8). They use masculine endings to modify both masculine and feminine nouns. Many (but not all) such adjectives are compounds of ἀ- (ἀν- before a vowel) and a stem. Like the prefix un- in English, the alpha privative is a rough equivalent of “not”; it implies the absence or lack of a particular trait (e.g., ἀθάνατος = “without death,” “undying”).

Answer 2

Attic Greek Grammar Rule #131

Question 3

In Attic Greek, Substantives. In both English and Greek the noun modified by an adjective may be omitted from the sentence. Speakers do this for various reasons, sometimes because of their desire to avoid unnecessary words, sometimes because of the stylistic effectiveness of leaving the noun up to the reader’s (or audience’s) imagination. If a noun is omitted, the adjective modifying it becomes what is called a substantive, a word that undertakes the role of a noun, even though it is not a noun by nature. Substantives are used much more frequently in Greek than in English. Since a Greek adjective always has an ending specifying gender, number, and case, it has the ability, by itself, to convey the ideas expressed by the nouns meaning “man,” “men,” “woman,” “women,” “thing,” “things.” A speaker of Greek will avoid using one of those nouns when the adjective ending is sufficiently explicit: e.g., ἀγαθός = “a good [man]”; ἀξία = “a worthy [woman],” κακά = “evil [things],” i.e., “evils.”

Answer 3

Attic Greek Grammar Rule #132

Question 4

In Attic Greek, To indicate the possessor of something or someone, English uses an apostrophe (“the master’s house”) or the preposition of (“the house of the master”). Attic Greek never uses an apostrophe to show possession; instead it puts the noun identifying the possessor into the genitive case. This possessive genitive may either follow or precede the noun that it modifies. Here, for example, are two different ways to write “the master’s house” in Greek; (1) ἡ οἰκία τοῦ δεσπότου (2) τοῦ δεσπότου ἡ οἰκία. It is also common to place the genitive of possession in the attributive position. This indicates that the speaker regards the possessive genitive as an attribute of the modified noun (“the of-the-master house”). Here, then, are two other possible ways to write “the master’s house” in Greek: (1) ἡ τοῦ δεσπότου οἰκία (2) ἡ οἰκία ἡ τοῦ δεσπότου. Notice that Greek does not mind having two—or even three—definite articles in a row, as long as they are not identical (e.g., ἡ τοῦ is fine, but τοῦ τοῦ would not be).

Answer 4

Attic Greek Grammar Rule #133