Rules to know Flashcards
Punctuation in Greek
- Full stop?
- Comma?
- Colon or semi-colon?
- Question mark?
- When is an apostrophe used?
Full stop = . (same as English)
Comma = , (same as English)
Colon or semi-colon = · (note how it is above the line)
Question mark = ;
An apostrophe is used when an elision has taken place and the final vowel of the first word is dropped eg, in prepositions.
What are the patterns of the form of a verb called?
Conjugation
What are the rules of contractions for E-contract verbs?
ε + ε = ει
ε + ο = ου
ε + diphthong or long vowel = the ε is absorbed and disappears
What are the patterns of the ending form of nouns called?
Declensions
What are some special uses of the definite article?
- Names - Greek often uses the definite article before a name eg, ὁ Δαυιδ = David (not ‘the David’)
- Abstract nouns - Greek normally uses the definite article with abstract nouns or generalisations eg, ὁ ἀνθρωπος can mean ‘the person’, but can also mean ‘humanity’ in general; similarly ὁ νομος can mean ‘law’ (as a concept) as well as ‘the law’. Another example would be if you said ‘I am singing about love’, in Greek you would say it as ‘the love’ as it is about love in the abstract concept.
- God - writers from a monotheistic perspective will also normally use the article before θεος (similar to the distinction in English between ‘god’ and ‘God’)
- Turning adjectives & participles into nouns
Does the vocative require an article?
No
Uses of the dative?
- Denote the person or thing to or for which anything is done (technically known as the indirect object)
- Instrumental dative: the instrument is used in the dative, without a preposition
- Some verbs require a dative after it eg, πιστευω, προσκυνεω, ακολουθεω, προσεχω
What is special about neuter plural nouns?
They take on singular verbs
Eg, τα τεκνα τηρει τον νομον (not τηρουσιν)
In feminine nouns that end with -α, is there variation in all of it compared to the -η endings?
No, the variations only occur in the singular forms only
- α
- αν
- ας
- ᾳ
How do you write the vocative?
The vocative is the same as the nominative. It is always the same as the nominative plural. It is also almost always the same as the nominative singular, except the singular nominative nouns with -ος endings, in which case it changes to -ε.
Eg, Κυριε, ἐλεησον (Lord, have mercy!)
In an elision, what happens if the first letter of the next word has a rough breathing?
τ will become θ, and a π will become φ
Eg, ‘under sin’ will be ὑφ’ ἁμαρτιαν (there has been a change from ὑπο -> ὑπ’ -> ὑφ’
Other examples:
- επι to εφ’
- κατα to καθ’
- μετα to μεθ’
How do you denote the instrument and agent in Greek?
An instrument is an inanimate object by means of which the action of the verb happens. In Greek, this is normally expressed by the instrument just occuring in the dative, without a preposition. Eg, God makes the heavens with a word = ὁ θεος ποιει τους οὐρανους λογῳ
However, sometimes an instrument is expressed by the preposition ἐν + dative
An agent is a living being by means of which the action of the verb happens. In Greek, this is expressed by the preposition ὑπο + gen. Eg, The gospel was proclaimed by Peter = το εὐαγγελιον ἐκηρυξεν ὑπο του Πετρου
How do you distinguish ‘with’ used in the instrumental sense (eg, made the heavens with a word), from ‘with’ used as ‘along with’?
If ‘with’ is used in the instrumental sense, the instrument is used in the dative without a preposition. Eg, God makes the heavens with a word = ὁ θεος ποιει τους οὐρανους λογῳ. (Remember, sometimes the instrument is indicated by the preposition ἐν + dat)
If ‘with’ is used as ‘along with’, then the preposition μετα + gen is used (or more rarely συν + dat). Eg, ‘I depart with Peter’ = ὑπαγω μετα του Πετρου
When is the capital letter used in Greek?
Used less frequently in Greek. Used for:
- beginning of speech
- names
- beginning of paragraphs
Not used for start of sentences
If Ρ/ρ is the start of a word, what happens?
It must have a rough breathing, because in Greek ρ is always aspirated.
Eg, ῥαββι
How do you use adjectives attributively?
When a noun is qualified by both the article and an (attributive) adjective, there are two possible word orders in Greek eg, “they see the beautiful land”
- βλεπουσιν την καλην γην
- βλεπουσιν την γεν την καλην (if the adjective comes after the noun, see how the article is repeated).
When there is no definite article, things are simpler and the adjective can come either before or after the noun it qualifies eg, “they see a beautiful land”
- βλεπουσιν καλην γην
- βλεπουσιν γην καλην
How do you use adjectives in a predicative way?
The adjective needs to agree with the noun in gender/case/number. Because the adjective itself completes the sentence, it is called a complement, and the use is a predicative use. To tell the difference between the attributive and predicative use, try deleting the adjective from the sentence -> If it still makes sense, the adjective was attributive; if it doesn’t, it was predicative.
Two options eg, “the law is holy”:
- ὁ νομος ἐστιν ἁγιος
- ἁγιος ἐστιν ὁ νομος
As you can see, predicative adjectives are never immediately preceded by the article. Also, it is quite unusual to have a predicative when there is no definite article, but when this does happen the options are predictably νομος ἐστιν ἁγιος or ἁγιος ἐστιν νομος.
However, often the verb ‘to be’ is dropped out. It is normally easy to spot when this happens (to distinguish it from a attributive use) as:
- if the sentence does not appear to have a verb in it, the verb ‘to be’ must have dropped out. So go looking for another verb, and if it’s not there, the ‘to be’ verb has been omitted and the adjective is meant to be predicative.
- the adjective will be in a predicative position.
Eg, “the law is holy and the commandment is holy and just and good” is:
ὁ νομος ἁγιος και ἡ ἐντολη ἁγια και δικαια και ἀγαθη
How do you use adjectives as nouns?
You can create nouns from adjectives by putting it with the article.
Eg, “the good person/man” is ὁ ἀγαθος
See examples of how sandwich constructions can be made using:
- adjectives
- prepositions
- genitives
βλεπω το καλον ἱερον (as opposed to βλεπω το ἱερον το καλον)
βλεπω το ἐν τῃ γῃ ἱερον
βλεπω το του κυριου ἱερον
What is the prepatory use of ἐστιν & εἰσιν?
If they come at the start of a sentence, they mean ‘there is’ and ‘they are’ respectively
Can a noun be used as a complement?
Yes, and because the noun that is functioning as a complement is not an object but agrees with the noun it is describing, it will therefore also be in the nominative. Eg, “the son is the lord”
ὁ υἱος εστιν ὁ κυριος
Because they are both in the nominative, to distinguish the subject from the complement:
- the subject comes before the complement (ie, word order is important) or,
- the article is dropped from the complement. Therefore, if the complement precedes the subject it cannot have the definite article.
Important example: θεος ἠν (was) ὁ λογος - “the word was God”. Because “God’ is the complement preceding the subject, it can’t have the article. Therefore, gramatically we can’t tell if the author meant the word was θεος or ὁ θεος, but we do know the sentence means ‘the word was (the) God’ with a capital G from context in the bible.
What can present tense indicate in greek?
Indicates present time, but does not distinguish aspect. Therefore present tense in Greek can either be continuous (‘I am untying’) or undefined/simple (‘I untie’)
Does future tense in Greek indicate different aspects?
No, there is only one choice.
What tenses are available for past time? What is the difference between the two?
Imperfect & Aorist
Aorist: either undefined, or single past action (eg, I untied)
Imperfect:
- Continuous (‘I was untying’)
- Repeated process (‘I used to untie’)
- Process in the past that is viewed as just beginning (‘I began to untie’)
Eg, “He opened his mouth (Aorist) and began to teach (Imperfect)”
What happens when an ἐ augment is added to various vowels?
See image. However, note that it is more common for ευ to remain unchanged, despite ηυ being more logical.
What happens when σ is added to various letters in the future and aorist tenses?
What is the exception to dentals?
Labials (π β φ) become ψ
Dentals (τ δ ζ θ) become σ
Gutturals (κ γ χ) become ξ
Note: σσ behaves as a guttural and becomes ξ
The exception is κραζω which behaves as if it were κρασσω. Therefore since σσ + σ = ξ, its future is κραξω, and its aorist is ἐκραξα.
What moods are there?
What are the tenses in other moods? What does the tense actually indicate?
Moods:
- indicative
- imperative
- infinitive
- participle
- subjunctive
Tenses: in other moods, there is no future or imperfect tense. There is only present and aorist tense. The present and aorist tense do not indicate a difference in time, but a difference in aspect.
What is the default tense in imperative and infinitive verbs?
The Aorist.
What is the difference between the present and aorist participle?
What would be the wooden translations be, and what words are commonly used to make them into good English?
It is indicating the timing of the participle in relation to the main verb of the sentence.
- Present participles indicate a simultaneous process eg, “while he was walking alongside the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers”
- Aorist participles indicate a sequential process, where the action of the participle occurred before the action of the main verb eg, “but when Herod heard this, he said…”
Wooden translations:
- Present: untying
- Aorist: having untied
Good English:
- Present: often involves ‘while’ or ‘as’
- Aorist: often involves ‘when’ or ‘after’
How can participles be used as nouns?
You add an article in front of the participle.
Eg, οἱ τον λογον ἀκουσαντες = the ones who heard the word
For the ‘to be’ verbs, is there an aorist tense?
No, there is only imperfect for the past tense.
What are the vocatives for masculine nouns that end in -η and -ας?
The vocatives end in -α
Eg,:
- προφητα
- Ἰουδα
What is the exception for the gentive declension for masculine nouns that end in -ας?
If the stem ends in ε, ι, or ρ (eg, Ἠλιας), the genitive ends in -ου (Ἠλιου), copying προφητης
What are the 1st declension nouns?
What are the 2nd declension nouns?
See table.
1st declension nouns:
- typical feminine nouns (-η feminine nouns, -α pure and impure feminine nouns)
- some atypical masculine nouns (-ης and -ας endings eg, προφητης & Ηλιας)
2nd declension nouns:
- typical masculine nouns (-ος ending masculine nouns)
- atypical feminine nouns (-ος ending eg, ὁδος, Αἰγυπτος, ἐρημος)
- neuter nouns
Note, that for the 1st declension masculine nouns, it includes both the -ης and -ας ending masculine nouns.
Note, 1st declension nouns are mostly feminine nouns. The masculine nouns within the 1st declension are the atypical ones with feminine endings.
Also note, the -ης ending nouns are typically standard nouns, while the -ας ending nouns tend to only be major names eg, Elijah (Ἠλιας), Satan (Σατανας)
How do you differentiate ‘but’ from the neuter nominative/accusative plural form of ἀλλος? (both are ἀλλα)
To differentiate ἀλλὰ (‘but’) from ἄλλα (‘other’ in neuter nom/acc plural form of ἀλλος), note the accents that are used.
But = ἀλλὰ
Other (neuter nom/acc plural) = ἄλλα
When expressing posession, what must the following all have?
ἐμος, σος, μου, ἡμων, σου, ὑμων
ἐμος, σος, μου, ἡμων, σου, ὑμων all need the article.
Which words are timid words? (aka, post-positives)
- ἀρα
- γαρ
- δε
- μεν
- οὐν
- τε
- ποτε
How many ways can you say ‘because’?
- δια + accusative
- γαρ (timid word)
- διοτι
- ὁτι
How many ways can you say ‘if’?
- εἰ
- εἰτε
How many ways can you say therefore/consequently?
- οὐν (timid word)
- διο
- ἀρα (timid word, weak word)
‘Never’ vs. ‘Always’
Never = μηποτε
Always = παντοτε
How many ways can you say ‘indeed’?
- γε (weak word)
- μεν (timid word; indeed, in another words, on one hand)
‘What kind?’ (question word) vs. ‘of such a kind/such’ (adjective)
‘How much/How great?’ (question word) vs. ‘as/how much/great as’ (adjective)
- ποιος vs. τοιουτος (and its declensions)
- ποσος vs. ὁσος (and its declensions)
Can the relative clause come in the middle of a sentence?
Can the relative clause come first?
Yes, the relative clause can come in the middle of the sentence.
Eg, The children whom I was teaching are crying out
τα τεκνα ἁ ἐδιδασκον κραζει
Yes, the relative clause come first.
Eg, I like the things which I see (ie, “I like what I see”)
φιλω αὐτα ἁ βλεπω -> φιλω ἁ βλεπω -> ἁ βλεπω φιλω
How do you ask a slanted question?
You use:
- μη or μητι for a question which you expect the answer to be ‘no’
- οὐ or οὐχι for a question which you expect the answer to be ‘yes’
Eg,
- Μη και ὑμεις θελετε ὑπαγειν; = ‘You don’t also wish to go away, do you?’ or ‘Surely you don’t also wish to go away?’
- Οὐχ οὑτος ἐστιν ὁν ζητουσιν; = ‘This is whom they are seeking, isn’t it?’ or ‘Surely this is the one they are seeking?’
- και ελεγον, Οὐχι υἱος ἐστιν Ἰωσηφ οὑτος; = ‘And they were saying, ‘Isn’t this Joseph’s son?’
How do you differentiate a slanted question use of οὐ/μη from its standard negative use
If used in a slanted question, it will usually come first in the sentence, but this is very unusual for simple negatives.
Furthermore, if it is used as a slanted question, there will also be a question mark ‘;’
What is another use of μητι other than for slanted questions?
For asking hesitant questions wondering whether something could be the case.
Eg, μητι οὑτος ἐστιν ὁ Χριστος; = ‘Could he be the Messiah?’ or ‘He cannot be the Messiah, can he?’
How do you mark out a direct statement in Greek?
4 different ways:
- ὁτι used as the equivalent to opening speech marks “ to introduce the direct statement (so doesn’t have to have a word translation ‘that’, it functions as a spech punctuatation mark)
- λεγων used as the equivalent to opening speech marks “ to introduce the direct statement (so doesn’t hvae to have a word translation ‘saying’, it functions as a spech punctuatation mark). Eg, και ἐκηρυσσεν λεγων Ἐρχεται = “and he used to preach (saying), ‘He is coming’”
- Both ὁτι and the participle λεγων is used together (ie, 1 and 2 combined)
- Neither is used, and nothing marks out the beginning of the direct statement.
Furthermore, in most printed texts the beginning of the direct statement is marked out by a capital letter.
How does Greek express an indirect statement?
Using ὁτι
Eg, θεωρω ὁτι προφητης εἰ συ - I see that you are a prophet
What endings does the 2nd aorist usually use?
2nd aorist verbs in the indicative mood use imperfect tense endings.
2nd aorist verbs in other moods use present tense endings.
What is the declension of 3rd declension masculine & feminine nouns (consonant endings)?
What is the vocative?
What is important about the dative plural?
See attached image.
Note that the σ + consonant rule is pretty much the same from before, except the ζ has been swapped for ν.
What is different about the family group 3rd declension nouns compared to other 3rd declension nouns?
What is the vocative?
They have a slightly irregular pattern. See attached image.
The vocative is the same as the nominative, except in ‘father’ which alone has the vocative different to the nominative as ‘πατερ’.
What is the declension of the 3rd declension neuter nouns (consonant endings)?
See attached image.
It is very similar to the 3rd declension masculine/feminine nouns. Main differences are:
- the accusative singular is identical to the irregular nominative singular
- the nominative and accusative plural are the stem (worked out from the genitive singular) + α
Can you have adjectives in the 3rd declension? What kind of adjectives in particular follow the 3rd declension?
What do you need to know about the adjectives following the 3rd declension?
What are identical within the 3rd declension of adjectives?
Can a noun and its qualifying adjective have different endings?
Yes. Comparative adjectives in particular follow the 3rd declension. As a side note: Adjectives have 3 degrees:
- Positive (normal adjectives) eg, ‘big’
- Comparative (usually add ‘er’ at the end of the word in english) eg, ‘bigger’
- Superlative eg, ‘biggest’
There are 3 things you need to know about adjectives that follow the 3rd declension:
- Nominative singular forms of BOTH the (1) masc/fem & (2) neuter, which will be irregular.
- (3) masc/fem genitive singular to get the stem for the rest of the paradigms.
Note the masc/fem accusative singular is identical to the neuter nominative/accusative plural.
Yes, a noun with its qualifying adjective can have different endings if they are from different families, even when they are agreeing in gender, case, and number. Eg, ὁ ἀγαθος ἐχει πλειονας φιλους = ‘The good man has more friends’. Both ‘more’ and ‘friends’ are in the masculine accusative plural, but have different endings as one is in the 3rd declension (πλειονας) and the other is in the 2nd declension (φιλους).
3rd declension nouns with vowel stem endings:
- what are the 3 different endings?
- what is the gender of each?
- how does each decline?
- What about nouns that have stems that end with -υ?
The 3 different vowel stem endings are:
- -ι
- -ευ
- -ε
The -ι ending are all feminine. Frequently describe abstract nouns.
The -ευ ending are all masculine. Frequently describe ‘occupations’.
The -ε ending are all neuter.
For how each decline, see attached image.
- Note how the neuter nouns decline similarly to the standard neuter 3rd declension (like αἱμα/αἱματος) with the -ε contraction rules
Nouns that have stems that end with -υ is not that common. There is only one word in this family that is common which is ‘fish’ ἰχθυς. It’s declension is quite similar to the standard 3rd declension nouns (like ἀστηρ) except the accusative singular: ἰχθυς, ἰχθυν, ἰχθυος, ἰχθυι; ἰχθυες, ἰχθυας, ἰχθυων, ἰχθυσιν.
How do adjectives (with stems that end with the vowel -ε) that follow 3rd declension endings decline?
Decline similar to ἐθνος.
See attached image.
Key points:
- contractions that occur with the -ε stem ending
- declines pretty similarly to the standard neuter 3rd declension (like αἱμα/αἱματος) with the -ε contraction rules, the main exception to the declension being the masculine/feminine accusative plural
- note how just like with other adjective declensions, the masc/fem accusative singular is the same as the neuter nom/acc plural
How do participles decline (both aorist and present tense)?
See image.
What are the forms of the passive in the:
- indicative
- imperative
- infinitive
- participle
What is the classical meaning of the middle voice?
Does Koine Greek have any of the classical middle voice usage left?
The middle voice in classical Greek (from which the NT Koine Greek was developed) was used to express actions that affected the subject (reflexive).
A small number of verbs still use the classical middle voice, resulting in using all three voices with different meanings. Eg,
ἐνδυει (active): He puts (clothes) on (someone else)
ἐνδυεται (middle): He puts (clothes) on himself
ἐνδυεται (passive): It is put on
Remember, just be aware of the above special uses of the middle voice, but the vast majority of the time when you see a middle, it is a deponent verb conveying an active meaning.
Summary:
- Normal verbs: if active form, usually active meaning. If middle/passive form (which is identical in present/imperfect), usually passive meaning. Rarely, can get classical use of middle voice which has a true middle (reflexive) meaning for small number of verbs.
- Deponent verbs: if middle form, usually active meaning. Rarely, it will be in the passive form (which will only be different from middle form in future and aorist tense) with passive meaning.
What is the form of the perfect indicative (in active, middle, and passive voices)?
Some extra points:
The distinguishing mark of the perfect tense is reduplication:
- If starting with a consonant, repeat the consonant followed by ε.
- If χ = κ, φ = π, θ = τ (eg, τεθεραπευκα).
- If σ ζ ξ, then same rule (eg, ξεξ-) but usually the initial consonant is dropped leaving effectively just the addition of an ε eg, ἐζητηκα. However, σωζω is an exception becoming σεσωκα
- If starting with vowel, it is lengthened: α = η; ε = η; ο = ω
- Note: if a compound verb, the preposition will need to be removed, the stem reduplicated, then preposition added again. Also, often the reduplication can look the same as adding an ε augment (like imperfect and aorist tenses) but the crucial differences is that augmentation only occurs in the imperfect and aorist indicative tenses (and becomes removed in the other aorist moods) but in reduplication it occurs in all moods.
Stem changes:
- -εω verbs are predictable: the ε is lengthened into an η before the consonant eg, πεποιηκα.
- Adding κ to various other endings can cause complications particularly consonants. However, not worth learning as they are complicated and rare, and still recognisable. Basically what happens is that the consonant at the end of the stem changes to whichever consonant within its group sounds better next to the endings, in the following groups:
- κ γ χ σσ;
- π β φ
- τ δ θ ζ σ
What are the perfect participles (in active, middle, and passive voices)?
See the form of the Pluperfect
-don’t need to memorise it but just be able to recognise
In classical Greek, you get BOTH the augment + reduplication in Pluperfect.
The endings also change because you get the -ει ending, not just -ε.
Same with Middle and Passive, except the endings become like imperfect tense endings (whereas in the perfect, it was more like the present tense endings eg, λελυμαι).
However, the augment is in brackets because by New Testament times, the augment often dropped out so you can only distinguish the pluperfect by the ending.
Prohibitions
- What is it? What would you normally expect it to be in the Greek? Is this always true?
- What is the form of the prohibition?
- How does this translate into meaning?
- See extra note. Just read, don’t need to memorise.
A prohibition is a negative imperative eg, ‘Do not go out’.
In the Greek you would normally expect it to be a normal present or aorist imperative with a negative μη in front. Unfortunately this is only true in the present imperative (see attached image). In the aorist (default) imperative, the negative form of it (ie, prohibition) is no longer in the imperative form, but requires an aorist subjunctive.
Therefore, the form of the a prohibition/negative imperative in the default tense, is no longer aorist, but is μη + aorist subjunctive.
Meaning: as we have learnt, the difference between the present and the aorist in Imperatives and Subjunctives is that between process and default. In Imperatives and prohibitions, this often means the difference between attitudes and conduct (present), and specific actions (aorist).
Eg, μη εἰσενεγκῃς ἡμας εἰς πειρασμον - Do not bring us to testing.
Eg, τουτους τους δωδεκα ἀπεστειλεν ὁ Ἰησους…λεγων· Εἰς ὁδον ἐθνων μη ἀπελθητε και εἰς πολιν Σαμαριτων μη εἰσελθητε - Jesus sent out these twelve saying, ‘Do not go out into [the] road of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans’
Extra note: sometimes you can find οὐ + future indicative for a prohibition. This is not really Greek, but is a literal translation in Greek of a Hebrew idiom for an emphatic prohibition. Eg, Matt 5:27 ἠκουσατε ὁτι ἐρρεθη· Οὐ μοιχευσεις - ‘You heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery’ (lit: you shall not commit adultery)
What are the conjugations of the following verbs (present & imperfect indicative, infinitive, participle)?
δυναμαι
καθημαι
κειμαι
οἰδα
See attached image.
What are the conjugations of the 3rd person imperative? 3rd person singlar/plural, present/aorist, active/middle/passive
What is the meaning of the 3rd person imperative?
Technically imperatives occur in all 1st, 2nd, 3rd person.
- The real imperatives are the 2nd person imperatives that we have already learnt, which are commands.
- The 1st person imperatives we did with the subjunctives - the Hortatory subjunctive -> ‘let us…’.
- The 3rd person imperatives do have their own endings, with the English translation being ‘Let him/them do….’.
See attached image for form/endings
Just read through this - talking about tense (time & aspect) & its relationship with the different moods
See attached image.
Just read through this. It is the survival guide for parsing -μι verbs.
Or, can answer the following. What is the tense if:
- present stem
- present stem + augment
- verbal stem + σ suffix
- verbal stem + σ suffix + augment
- verbal stem + augment
- verbal stem
- verbal stem + θ
- verbal stem + θησ
- reduplicated verbal stem
See attached.
Note the reduplicated verbal stem is different to the ‘reduplication’ that occurs to create the present stem, as the former is with an ε, while the latter is with an ι. It is a proper reduplication ie, δεδο, τεθε, ἑστα
What are the 3 different kinds of conditions in Greek? How are they formed?
There are 3 kinds of conditions in Greek:
- The standard condition called ‘basic conditions’ or ‘real conditions’. Protasis = εἰ + indicative, Apodosis = any mood or tense
- Indefinite conditions: Protasis = ἐαν + subjunctive, Apodosis = any mood or tense
- ‘Unreal conditions’ or ‘Contrary-to-fact conditions’: Protasis = εἰ + indicative, Apodosis = ἀν + indicative
- Remember that in both the protasis & apodosis, the imperfect tense is used for present meaning, and the aorist tense is used for past meaning.
- Remember that μη is used in the the protasis to negate the verb, even if the verb is in the indicative
What is the difference between basic/real conditions and indefinite conditions?
Basic conditions are speaking of a standard conditional sentence where if the protasis is true, then the apodosis follows.
Indefinite conditions still follow the same logic. However, it is ‘indefinite’ because it either:
- speaks of something about the future which by definition is somewhat undefined
- addresses a generic situation, without a particular occasional in mind. Eg, ‘if someone enjoys rules and patters, they like Greek’ → the speaker here does not have a particular person or occasion in mind, and it is a generalised statement.
See attached image as well.
See attached image for the parallel between indefinite clauses and indefinite conditions
Genitive absolute
- What is it/What is it used for?
- How is it formed?
The genitive absolute is used when there is a ‘separated-off’ clause which does not connect to the main sentence, so that the subject of the genitive absolute is not confused with the subject/object of the main sentence. For example, ‘When it was evening, he comes with the twelve’ = και ὀψιας γενομενης ἐρχεται μετα των δωδεκα. The subject of the first clause is separate (‘evening’), compared to the main sentence (‘he’). If the participle γενομενης was written in the nominative, it may be confused with ‘he’ of the main clause. Therefore, because it is a ‘separated-off’ clause, it is all put in the genitive.
- This is in contrast to eg, ‘Passing along the sea, he saw Simon and Andrew casting in the sea’ = ‘παρερχομενος παρα την θαλασσαν εἰδεν τον Σιμωνα και Ἀνδρεαν ἀμφιβαλλοντας ἐν τῃ θαλασσῃ’.
- In this case, you don’t need a separate off a clause as a genitive absolute, because the main sentence is ‘he saw Simon and Andrew’, and all the other clauses relate to the subject and object of the main sentence:
- ‘passing along the sea’ refers to ‘he’, hence the participle is in the nom. masc. sing.
- ‘casting in the sea’ refers to Simon and Andrew, hence the participle is in the acc. masc. pl.
It is formed with the noun + participle agreeing with it in the genitive case.
What are the different periphrastic construction combinations?
Present of εἰμι + present participle = present tense
Imperfect of εἰμι + present participle = imperfect tense
Future of εἰμι + present participle = future tense
Present of εἰμι + perfect participle = perfect tense
Imperfect of εἰμι + perfect participle = pluperfect tense
Future of εἰμι + perfect participle = future perfect tense
Eg, χαριτι ἐστε σεσῳσμενοι = By grace you have been saved
How do you form comparative adjectives?
How do you form superlative adjectives?
What is the rule for the joining vowel?
Comparative adjectives = add -τερος, which declines. Eg, σοφωτερος
Superlative adjectives = add -τατος, which declines. Eg, σοφωτατος
The rule for the joining vowel depends on the last letter of the stem:
- if the last letter of the stem is short, then the joining letter is ω. Eg, σοφος → σοφωτερος & σοφωτατος
- if the last letter of the stem is long or a diphthong, then the joining letter is ο. Eg, δικαιος → δικαιοτερος & δικαιοτατος
How do you form the:
- positive adverb?
- comparative adverb?
- superlative adverb?
Do adverbs decline?
What is the rule for the joining vowel?
Positive adverb: the way you form an adverb from an adjective is with the ending ω eg, σοφος → σοφως.
Comparative adverb: To make the comparative adverb, you take the neuter singular of the comparative adjective. Eg, σοφωτερον.
Superlative adverb: To make the superlative adverb, you take the neuter plural of the superlative adjective. Eg, σοφωτατα.
No adverbs decline.
The rule for the joining vowel depends on the last letter of the stem:
- if the last letter of the stem is short, then the joining letter is ω. Eg, σοφος → σοφωτερος & σοφωτατος
- if the last letter of the stem is long or a diphthong, then the joining letter is ο. Eg, δικαιος → δικαιοτερος & δικαιοτατος
Just read through note
Just read through the optative
