Unit 1

Question 1

What is the function of δέ?

Answer 1

1. used to break up the discourse into smaller, manageable chunks
2. marks a progression or development in the story or argument (both at the micro [words, phrases, clauses] and macro level [paragraph, and above])

Question 2

Note

Answer 2

Note the difference between Greek and English in what has been discussed in this paragraph. Whereas Greek primarily uses particles such as δέ to structure the discourse, English speakers have typographic conventions such as line breaks, paragraphing, chapter divisions, etc. This is not to say that we do not also use particles to segment discourse — we do, but not nearly to the extent that Greek speakers did.

Question 3

What is a more technical (functional) name for δέ?

Answer 3

“development marker”

(things such as “adversative” conjunction are misnomers; contrast might be implied by the context, but that is not the primary function of δέ)

Question 4

Whenever you come across a δέ, try to understand what 3 things?

Answer 4

(1) the scope of the particle, that is, whether it is segmenting words, clauses, paragraphs, or even larger units
(2) how marking what follows as a distinct development contributes to the story being told or the argument being made.
(3) consider the best translation that conveys the use [Translating with “now” is a good starting point]

Question 5

What is the purpose of γάρ?

Answer 5

signals explanatory information (what follows as explanatory material that supports or strengthens what preceded. Since the information is explanatory, the material introduced by γάρ is always background information and never introduces a new freestanding unit of discourse.)

Question 6

What is γάρ not indicating?

Answer 6

Causality (“because”); sometimes this might be a suitable translation because of the context, but it is important to note that γάρ itself does not communicate a causal semantic constraint. The particle γάρ is used only to introduce explanatory information. (In references to Mark 1:22, If Mark had wanted to explicitly indicate causality, he could have used ὅτι.) Thus, when BDAG claims that γάρ is “used to express cause, clarification, or inference,” it has confused the semantics of contexts in which the particle appears with the function of γάρ itself.

Question 7

True or False? The conjunction γάρ sometimes communicates a causal relationship with what precedes it.

Answer 7

False
Although some translations might render γάρ as “because,” any causal relationship will be suggested by the context and not be γάρ itself, which strictly indicates that what follows offers an explanation of what precedes.

Question 8

Consider Mark 1:22: καὶ ἐξεπλήσσοντο ἐπὶ τῇ διδαχῇ αὐτοῦ, ἦν γὰρ διδάσκων αὐτοὺς ὡς ἐξουσίαν ἔχων καὶ οὐχ ὡς οἱ γραμματεῖς. What instruction does the γὰρ in this verse give to the reader?

Answer 8

to look for an explanation of the crowd’s amazement
(The γὰρ indicates that an explanation will follow that explains the contents of the preceding clause, which describes the crowd’s amazement.)

Question 9

What does μέν indicate?

Answer 9

1. Forward pointing reference
2. Creating expectation that some related element will follow
3. Often will indicate some sort of concessive (“Although,” “While,” “On the one hand”)
   (it can be paired with other conjunctions than δέ, such as τέ, καί)

Question 10

What is the primary function of καἰ?

Answer 10

To connect two items of equal status (whether words, phrases, clauses, sentences, or paragraphs)

Question 11

καί is sometimes translated with “but.” Does it show contrast?

Answer 11

1. No, it does not show the presence or absence of contrast

2. it only signals that there are two items of equal status being connected

Question 12

Are “but” and ἁλλά equivalent?

Answer 12

No. (a word’s translation does not necessarily inform us of that word’s meaning or function. There is no such thing as a one-to-one equivalence in meaning or function between two words in two different languages.)

Question 13

What is the function of ἁλλά?

Answer 13

it instructs the reader to regard what follows as a corrective to some preceding element (“corrective” refers to a specific relation between two pieces of linguistic information where the second piece is viewed as countering some aspect of the first. That is, ἀλλά is calling for a realignment of something in the recipient’s mental representation.)

Question 14

Sometimes words that are considered conjunctions are instead called particles. Why?

Answer 14

1. it allows us to focus more on the function of the words rather than forcing us to define them in terms of a particular meaning or syntactic role.

Question 15

What are two glosses that will often translate ἁλλά more accurately?

Answer 15

“instead,” and “nevertheless”

“Don’t do X, instead do Y.”

Question 16

True or False? Sometimes ἀλλά corrects not an explicit preceding syntactical element but rather an expectation that may incorrectly arise from the preceding context.

Answer 16

True
(sometimes ἀλλά corrects not an explicit preceding syntactical element but rather an implication, assumption, or expectation that may incorrectly arise from the preceding context. )

Question 17

Which of the following is the best description of discourse grammar?
Select one:
a. study of the form of words
b. describes how words and phrases work in combination with one another
c. helps to understand how various parts of a text/speech fit into an overarching whole

Answer 17

c. helps to understand how various parts of a text/speech fit into an overarching whole

Question 18

True or False? The conjunction δέ can function to segment a Greek text in the same way that temporal adverbs can function to segment an English text.

Answer 18

True

Question 19

Why are verbs in narrative that are reporting past events used with a present tense verb?

Answer 19

They represent the historical present: Remember that in narrative literature especially, the present tense is sometimes used of past events. This so-called historical present has a special function, which is to highlight a significant event in the following narrative. You will learn more about the significance of the historical present in this course, and in order to make sure that you are properly attentive to these historical presents, we are going to ask that you translate historical presents with a present tense instead of a past tense. Thus instead of “cast out,”here you will translate “is casting out.”

Question 20

εἶδεν

Answer 20

3rd per. sing. aorist perfective form of ὁράω
(1st per. sing. εἶδόν ; sing. nom. part. ἰδὼν; plural nom. part. ἰδόντες; 2nd per. pl. subj. ἴδητε; 2nd per. pl. imp. ἴδετε)

Question 21

εἶπεν

Answer 21

3rd per. sing. 2nd aorist, “I say”

Question 22

ἐρῶ

Answer 22

1st per. sing. future of εἶπον “I say” (3rd. per. sing. ἐρεῖ )

Question 23

εἴρηκα

Answer 23

1st per. sing. perfect of εἶπον “I say”

Question 24

When both a main verb and a modifying temporal participle are aorist, what are the options for translation?

Answer 24

there are two options for the time relationship between the two. Specifically, the participle may describe an event that happens either (1) at the same time as or (2) before the event of the main verb. In grammatical jargon, these participles may alternatively be described as (1) contemporaneous or (2) antecedent. Here the departure from the synagogue happens before the main verb, so ἐξελθόντες is best taken as an antecedent participle, and thus you can supply the word “after” prior to this participle: “after coming out” or “after they came out.”

Question 25

How should Ὀψίας γενομένης be translated?

Answer 25

A genitive absolute construction (which is always composed of a genitive participle and a genitive noun or pronoun). Genitive absolute constructions are “switch-reference” devices that indicate a shift from what is being talked about in the genitive absolute construction to what is being talked about in the main clause. Here the shift is from Ὀψίας, the subject of the genitive absolute construction, to the implied “they” in ἔφερον, the subject of the main clause. Genitive absolute constructions are frequently temporal.