top Lesson 4
GreekMeaningNotes
βιβλίονbookCognate: Bible
δένδρονtreeCognate: rhododendron = red tree
δῶρονgiftCognate: Theodore = gift of God; Dorothea = God's gift
δεῖπνονdinner, chief mealevening meal
ἔργονwork, deedCognate: energy, an erg is a unit of work
ἱμάτιονgarment, cloak 
ἱερόνtemple[hee-uh-RON] Cognate: hierarchy = chief in the temple
ξύλονcross, piece of woodCognate: xylophone
παιδίονlittle child, infantCognate: pediatric
πλοῖονboat 
ποτήριονcup 
πρόβατονsheep 
πρόσωπονface 
σάββατονsabbath 
σημεῖονsign, token, markCognate: semeietic = science of sign language
τάλαντονtalent 
τέκνονchild, offspringwhile παιδίον is a newborn, τέκνον is a child of any age

NEUTER NOUNS

  1. Neuter ο-stem nouns are very similar to the masculine ο-stem nouns.
  2. If you have learned the masculine ο-stem declension, you will have no trouble with the neuter.
  3. Here is the pattern:
    δῶρον gift
     SINGULARPLURAL
    NOMδῶρονδῶρα
    GENδώρουδώρων
    DATδώρῳδώροιs
    ACCδῶρονδῶρα
    VOCδῶρονδῶρα

  4. Notice that the inside cases (GEN and DAT) have exactly the same endings as the masculine inside cases which we studied in lesson 2.
    1. In the singular, the outside cases (NOM, ACC, and VOC) are all the same.
    2. Likewise in the plural, the outside cases are all the same.
  5. Many Greek neuter nouns are also neuter in English.
    1. However a word which is neuter in English may be masculine, feminine, or neuter in Greek.
    2. It is therefore important to learn the gender when you learn the noun.
  6. A neuter plural subject regularly has its verb in the singular:
    1. τά δῶρα λύει (not λύουσι) ἀνθρώπους. The gifts destroy men.
    2. When it comes to translating from Greek, you can easily be fooled when the neuter plural subject is linked with a singular verb.

ARTICLES

  1. In English, there are two kinds of articles: definite (the) and indefinite (a, an).
    1. In Greek, however, there is no indefinite article.
    2. Thus a singular noun with no definite article is generally translated "a" or "an."
    3. E.g., ἄνθρωπος means "a man"; δῶρον means "a gift."
    4. Later, we will study grammatical rules which will show that some nouns without the article must be translated as definite.
  2. The definite article is an adjective (a word that modifies a noun).
    1. In English there is only one form of the definite article "the."
    2. In Greek, however, the form of the article changes to agree with the form of the noun.
    3. The article has forms that agree with the case, gender, and number of the noun it modifies.
    4. This rule is true in a number of other languages, too.
     CASEMASC.FEM.NEUT.
    S
    I
    N
    G.    		NOMὁἡτό
    GENτοῦτῆςτοῦ
    DATτῷτῇτῷ
    ACCτόντήντό
    P
    L
    U
    R.    		NOMοἱαἱτά
    GENτῶντῶντῶν
    DATτοῖςταῖςτοῖς
    ACCτούςτάςτά

  3. Examples:
    1. ὁ ἄνθρωπος βλέπει τὸ δῶρον means the man sees the gift.
    2. ὁ ἄνθρωπος βλέπει τὰ δῶρα means the man sees the gifts.
    3. οἱ ἄνθρωποι βλέπουσι τὸ δῶρον means the men see the gift.
    4. οἱ ἄνθρωποι βλέπουσι τὰ δῶρα means the men see the gifts.
  4. Notice: the article agrees with the noun it modifies in number, gender, and case.
    1. When the noun is singular, the article in front of it is also singular.
    2. When the noun is plural, the article is plural.
    3. When the noun is in the NOM case, the article is in the NOM case.
    4. When the noun is masculine, the article is also in the masculine form.
  5. There is no VOC form for the article Oh Thomas! needs no article in English or Greek. You wouldn't say, "Oh the Thomas!"

PUNCTUATION

  1. Punctuation in Greek is similar to that in English with a few exceptions
  2. A period is made just like the English period—a dot on the line.
  3. A comma is made the same as in English.
  4. A colon or semicolon is made by one raised period (·)
  5. A question mark is made by an English semicolon (;).
    1. ἄνθρωπος γράφει βιβλίον. A man writes a book.
    2. ἄνθρωπος γράφει βιβλίον; Does a man write a book? or Is a man writing a book?
  6. Hyphens, dashes, parentheses, and brackets are all made like the English.
  7. When you start to read the New Testament, you will notice that sentences don't always begin with the upper case. Paragraphs often do, and some sentences do.

WORD ORDER

  1. Greek word order is very flexible.
  2. The following Greek sentences all mean the same thing: a man sees the messenger.
    1. ἄνθρωπος βλέπει τὸν ἄγγελον.
    2. τὸν ἄγγελον βλέπει ἄνθρωπος.
    3. βλέπει ἄνθρωπος τὸν ἄγγελον.
  3. Note that even though the word order is switched each time, the subject (ἄνθρωπος) is always in the NOM case in each sentence.
  4. Likewise the direct object (ἄγγελον) is always in the ACC case.
  5. In any given sentence or clause, you can determine what the subject is by looking for the noun that is in the nominative case.
  6. Don't depend on the normal (English) word order or you might incorrectly translate the second sentence as the messenger sees a man.
  7. "A man" is in the NOM case, so it must be the subject.
  8. Thus the sentence must be translated as A man sees the messenger.
  9. Although it may appear that "anything goes" in Greek word order, there are some definite rules and features.
  10. The word or expression which comes first in a sentence is the most important or emphatic.
    1. Thus ἄνθρωπος βλέπει τὸν ἄγγελον means a MAN sees the messenger.
    2. τὸν ἄγγελον βλέπει ἄνθρωπος means a man sees the MESSENGER.
    3. βλέπει ἄνθρωπος τὸν ἄγγελον. means a man SEES the messenger.
  11. Sometimes a whole phrase or clause comes first to indicate that it is emphatic. (e.g., the man who rode a donkey five hundred miles is coming to town
  12. A word in the genitive usually follows the thing it possesses. ἀδελφὸς δοὺλου = a brother of a slave or a slave’s brother.
  13. Most sentences follow the normal order: subject - verb - object
  14. In a sentence with a predicate, the predicate will most often appear first
    1. υἱὸς τῆς βασιλείας ἐστι means he is the son of the king
    2. τέκνα θεοῦ ἐστε means youp are children of God
    3. ἀδελφοί εἰσιν means they are brothers
  15. Sentences based on Hebrew often begin with the verb.

Translate or answer the following:

  1. οἱ ἀπόστολοι γράφουσι βιβλία τῷ ἱερῷ
  2. εὑρίσκετε τὸν ἱμάτιον τῷ πλοίῳ
  3. πιστεύετε τῷ σημείῳ
  4. φυλάσσω τὸν πρόβατον, φεύγετε τοῦ ἔργον
  5. ὁ ἄνθρωπος παύει τὸν δεῖπνον ὅτι [because] λύει ποτήριον τοῦ οἴνου
  6. What are the verb endings for the Present indicative active?
  7. What are the masculine noun endings?
  8. What are the neuter noun endings?
  9. Identify each of the following article forms by indicating their gender (M, F, N), number (S, P), and case (NOM, GEN, DAT, ACC): ἡ, ὁ, οἱ, τά, τῇ, τῆς, τό, τόν, τοῖς, τούς, τῷ, τῶν, ταῖς.