Wallace_The Article I: Regular use of the article

Question 1

What is not and what is the main function of the article in Greek?

Answer 1

1. not to definitize (there are at least 10 ways a word can be definite without the article)
2. to nominalize (make it a concept)

Question 2

What is the article’s most common function?

Answer 2

to identify an individual or class or quality (it also serves a determining function ie definitizes)

Question 3

Again, what are the three general functions of the article?

Answer 3

1. conceptualize
2. identify
3. definitize
   (all articles that make definite also identify; all articles that identify also conceptualize)

Question 4

Explain how an article is used as a personal pronoun (he, she, it, they)

Answer 4

1. used in place of a third person personal pronoun in the nominative case
2. Only used this way with μεν … δε construction or μεν or δε alone
3. so “ὁ δε” or “ὁ μεν” immediately followed by finite verb or circumstantial participle (note a circumstantial participle is never articular, but it looks like it is in these constructions; this is an adverbial participle; ie “ὁ δε ἀποκριθεις εἷπεν” “But he, answering, said”

Question 5

Explain how an article is used as a relative pronoun (who, which)

Answer 5

1. typically after a noun before a phrase
2. Found in 2nd and 3rd attributive positions (2nd A-N-A-M; 3rd N-A-M)
3. Thus when the modifier is a genitive, prepositional phrase, or participle the article is translated as a pronoun

Question 6

Explain how an article is used as a possessive pronoun (his, hers, its)

Answer 6

1. used when possession is obvious (esp. with human anatomy; conversely if there is no possessive pronoun nor a article that can be taken possessively, then possession is almost ruled out)

Question 7

What are the two broad and common uses of the article with substantives?

Answer 7

1. individualizing: particularizes, distinguishing otherwise similar objects
2. generic: used to distinguish one category of individuals form another

Question 8

What is the individualizing article and what are 7 common categories?

Answer 8

1. to point out a particular object

2. simple, anaphoric, deictic, par excellence, monadic, well-known, abstract

Question 9

Explain the article used in simple identification

Answer 9

1. distinguish one individual from another

2. drip pan category and only used as a last resort

Question 10

Explain the anaphoric article

Answer 10

1. first use of the substantive is usually anarthrous
2. subsequent mentions use article (most common use and easiest to identify)
3. typically will have at least mentioned in same book, but preferably in the same passage
4. Can by used with synonyms
5. Can translate with demonstrative if necessary

Question 11

Explain the deictic article

Answer 11

1. used to point out something/one that is present at the moment
2. has demonstrative force

Question 12

Explain the par excellence article

Answer 12

1. “in a class by itself”

2. best or worst of a class

Question 13

Explain the monadic article

Answer 13

1. one-of-a-kind-noun
2. When an articular substantive has an adjuct (adjective or gen. phrase) the entire expression often suggests monadic; if no modifier is used, the article is typically par excellence (thus, “the kingdom of God” is monadic, while “the kingdom” is par excellence.)

Question 14

Explain the well-known article

Answer 14

1. Well known for some other reason

2. but not previously mentioned (anaphoric), only kind (monadic), nor best in its class (par excellence)

Question 15

Explain the article used with abstract nouns

Answer 15

1. nouns that focus more on quality (frequent)

2. In translating the article should rarely be used

Question 16

Contrasts the individualizing and generic article

Answer 16

1. the individualizing distinguishes or identifies a particular object belonging to a larger class
2. the generic article distinguishes one class from another(this is less frequent)

Question 17

What is the key to determining whether an article is generic? And how will it often be translated in actuality?

Answer 17

1. insert the phrase “as a class” after the noun the article is modifying
2. often times will be translated with an indefinite article (ὁ ἀνθρωπος; “human beings as a class” not “the man” which would be individualizing; also used to distinguish among other classes, such as animal kingdom or realm of angels)

Question 18

Explain the article as a substantiver

Answer 18

1. can turn almost any part of speech into a noun (adverbs, adjectives, prepositions phrases, particles, infinitives, participles, and finite verbs; and can turn phrases into nominal entity; most common with adjective and participles)

Question 19

What are the two most common non-genitive articles used before genitive words?

Answer 19

ὁ (ὁ του ἀλφαιου “the son of Alphaeus”)

τα (τα του θεου “the things of God”)

Question 20

How is the article commonly used with clauses, statements, and quotations? And what is a translation option?

Answer 20

1. το is sometimes used before a statement, quotation, or clause
2. Sometimes the word “statement” may be supplied (το δε ανεβη “now the [statement]…”)

Question 21

Explain the use of the article as a function marker

Answer 21

1. when the article is used as a grammatical function marker, it may or may not also bear a semantic force