LESSON 7
ADJECTIVES

Greek	Meaning	Notes
ἀγαθός, -ή, -όν	good	intrinsic goodness, opposite to πονηρός; Cognate: the name Agatha
ἀγαπητός, -ή, -όν	beloved
ἄδικος, -ον	unjust, unrighteous
ἄλλος, -η, -ο	other, another (of the same kind)	Cognate: allopathy is a cure for one disease that also cures another one
βασιλικός, -ή, -όν	royal, kingly
δίκαιος, -α, -ον	just, righteous
ἕτερος, -α, -ον	other, another (of a different kind)	Cognate: words that begin with hetero-
καινός, -ή, -όν	new
κακός, -ή, -όν	bad, ugly	opposite to καλός; Cognate: cacophony
καλός, -ή, -όν	good, noble, beautiful	opposite to κακός; Cognate: calligraphy
μικρός, -ά, -όν	small, little	Cognate: microscope
μόνος, -η, -ον	only, alone	Cognate: monologue
νεκρός, -ά, -όν	dead	Cognate: necrosis, necromancy
πιστός, -ή, -όν	faithful
πονηρός, -ά, -όν	evil, wicked	opposite to ἀγαθός
πρῶτος, -η, -ον	first	Cognate: prototype
ἔσχατος, -η, -ον	last	Cognate: eschatology

Adjectives

1. Adjectives are modifiers of nouns.
   1. In the following sentence, the word "small" is an adjective: I live in a small house.
   2. All languages have adjectives because the word "house," for instance, is a general word for all dwellings.
   3. An adjective qualifies or limits the possible number of types of houses.
   4. With more specific adjectives, you can limit the number of houses down to just one.
   5. I live in a small, green, two-story house.
2. English adjectives almost always retain the same form no matter what they modify.
   1. We can say small man, small men, small woman, small women, small house, small houses.
   2. In other inflected languages the adjective changes form to agree with the number and gender of the noun.
   3. The same will be true of Greek.
3. Vocabulary word
   1. When you see ἀγαθός, -ή, -όν in the vocabulary, it means that the stem of the adjective is to be repeated in the second and third spots.
   2. Thus, it means ἀγαθός, ἀγαθή, ἀγαθόν.
   3. These are the forms of three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter.
4. Exceptions
   1. Sometimes an adjective has only two forms in the vocabulary.
   2. For instance ἄδικος, -ον = unjust, unrighteous.
   3. The first form is both masculine and feminine.
   4. The second form is the neuter.
   5. It has no separate feminine form.
   6. The adjective could have been given as ἄδικος, -ος, -ον to show all three genders, but the feminine is just a repeat of the masculine.
5. Greek adjectives agree with the noun they modify in three areas: number, gender, and case.
6. When the noun is in the NOM, the adjective is also in the NOM.
   1. μικρὸς ἄνθρωπος βλέπει δοῦλον
      A small man sees a slave
      
      
   2. μικροὶ ἄνθρωποι βλέπουσι δοῦλον
      Small men see a slave.
7. When the noun is in the GEN, the adjective is also in the GEN.
   1. λόγοι μικροῦ ἀνθρώπου παύουσι δοῦλον
      Words of a small man stop a slave
      
      
   2. λόγοι μικρῶν ἀνθρώπων παύουσι δοῦλον
      Words of small men stop a slave
8. When the noun is in the DAT, the adjective is also in the DAT.
   1. οἶνος μικρῷ ἀνθρώπῳ λύει δοῦλον
      Wine in a small man destroys a slave
      
      
   2. οἶνος μικροῖς ἀνθρώποις λύει δοῦλον
      Wine in small men destroys a slave
9. When the noun is in the ACC, the adjective is also in the ACC.
   1. δοῦλος βλεπει μικρὸν ἀνθρώπον
      A slave sees a small man
      
      
   2. δοῦλος βλεπει μικροῦς ἀνθρώπουν
      A slave sees small men
10. Greek forms for adjectives whose stem ends in ε, ι, ρ:
    

    Stem ends in ρ

    Singular
    	Masc.	Fem.	Neut.
    NOM	μικρός	μικρά	μικρόν
    GEN	μικροῦ	μικρᾶς	μικροῦ
    DAT	μικρῷ	μικρᾷ	μικρῷ
    ACC	μικρόν	μικράν	μικρόν
    Plural
    	Masc.	Fem.	Neut.
    NOM	μικροί	μικραί	μικρά
    GEN	μικρῶν	μικρῶν	μικρῶν
    DAT	μικροῖς	μικραῖς	μικροῖς
    ACC	μικρούς	μικράς	μικρά

    
    
    

    Stem ends in ι

    Singular
    	Masc.	Fem.	Neut.
    NOM	δίκαιος	δικαία	δίκαιον
    GEN	δικαίου	δικαίας	δικαίου
    DAT	δικαίῳ	δικαίᾳ	δικαίῳ
    ACC	δίκαιον	δικαίαν	δίκαιον
    Plural
    	Masc.	Fem.	Neut.
    NOM	δίκαιοι	δίκαιαι	δίκαια
    GEN	δικαίων	δικαίων	δικαίων
    DAT	δικαίοις	δικαίαις	δικαίοις
    ACC	δικαίους	δικαίας	δίκαια

    
    
    1. Notice that the stem (μικρ- or δικαι-) are consistent throughout the forms
    2. The endings on the masculine forms are the same as the second declension masculine nouns that we learned in lesson 2:

       	Singular	Plural
       NOM	-ος	-οι
       GEN	-ου	-ων
       DAT	-ῳ	-οις
       ACC	-ον	-ους

       
       
    3. The endings on the feminine forms are the same as the first declension ε, ι, ρ feminine nouns that we learned in lesson 6

       	Singular	Plural
       NOM	-α	-αι
       GEN	-ας	-ων
       DAT	-ᾳ	-αις
       ACC	-αν	-ας

       
       
    4. The endings on the neuter forms are the same as the second declension neuter nouns that we learned in lesson 4:

       	Singular	Plural
       NOM	-ον	-α
       GEN	-ου	-ων
       DAT	-ῳ	-οις
       ACC	-ον	-α

       
       
11. Greek forms for adjectives whose stem ends in a sibilant (i.e., they end in σ or λλ):
    1. These are very rare.
    2. The few that exist like ἴσος (equal) and τόσος (as great as) can follow the rules of the sibilants or the forms of the standard.

    Singular
    	Masc.	Fem.	Neut.
    NOM	ἴσος	ἴσα or ἴση	ἴσον
    GEN	ἴσου	ἴσης	ἴσου
    DAT	ἴσῳ	ἴσῃ	ἴσῳ
    ACC	ἴσον	ἴσαν or ἴσην	ἴσον
    Plural
    	Masc.	Fem.	Neut.
    NOM	ἴσοι	ἴσαι	ἴσα
    GEN	ἴσων	ἴσων	ἴσων
    DAT	ἴσοις	ἴσαις	ἴσοις
    ACC	ἴσους	ἴσας	ἴσα

    
    
12. Greek forms for adjectives whose stem do not end in ε, ι, ρ (standard):

    Singular
    	Masc.	Fem.	Neut.
    NOM	ἀγαθός	ἀγαθή	ἀγαθόν
    GEN	ἀγαθοῦ	ἀγαθῆς	ἀγαθοῦ
    DAT	ἀγαθῷ	ἀγαθῇ	ἀγαθῷ
    ACC	ἀγαθόν	ἀγαθήν	ἀγαθόν
    Plural
    	Masc.	Fem.	Neut.
    NOM	ἀγαθοί	ἀγαθαί	ἀγαθά
    GEN	ἀγαθῶν	ἀγαθῶν	ἀγαθῶν
    DAT	ἀγαθοῖς	ἀγαθαῖς	ἀγαθοῖς
    ACC	ἀγαθούς	ἀγαθάς	ἀγαθά

    
    
    

    Singular
    	Masc.	Fem.	Neut.
    NOM	μόνος	μόνη	μόνον
    GEN	μόνου	μόνης	μόνου
    DAT	μόνῳ	μόνῃ	μόνῳ
    ACC	μόνον	μόνην	μόνον
    Plural
    	Masc.	Fem.	Neut.
    NOM	μόνοι	μόναι	μόνα
    GEN	μόνων	μόνων	μόνων
    DAT	μόνοις	μόναις	μόνοις
    ACC	μόνους	μόνας	μόνα

    
    
    1. The endings of the masculine and neuter in these "standard" forms are the same as the second declension
    2. The endings on the feminine forms are the same as the first declension of non-ε, ι, ρ feminine nouns (standard) that we learned in lesson 6

       	Singular	Plural
       NOM	-η	-αι
       GEN	-ης	-ων
       DAT	-ῃ	-αις
       ACC	-ην	-ας

       
       
13. Articles (which you studied in lesson 4) are really adjectives.
    1. When you say the man instead of a man, you are being more definitive.
    2. You are modifying "man" by clarifying which "man" when you use an article

USES OF THE ADJECTIVES

1. Adjectives can be used in three different ways:
   1. attributively
   2. predicatively
   3. substantivally

Attributive Adjective

1. The attributive use of the adjective is the simple modification form:
   1. The small man.
   2. The adjective "small" tells which "man" we are identifying.
   3. We want only "the small man."
2. In the attributive position, the adjective always follows immediately after the article.
3. In other words: "the" comes in front of the adjective.
4. One form of the attributive position has a single article followed by the adjective followed by the noun it modifies
   1. ὁ μικρός ἄνθρωπος = the small man [NOM]
   2. τοῦ μικροῦ ἀνθρώπου = of/from the small man [GEN]
   3. τῷ μικρῷ ἀνθρώπῳ = to/with the small man [DAT]
   4. τὸν μικρὸν ἄνθρωπον = the small man [ACC]
   5. οἱ μικροὶ ἄνθρωποι = the small men [NOM]
   6. τῶν μικρῶν ἀνθρώπων = of/from the small men [GEN]
   7. τοὶς μικροῖς ἀνθρώποις = to/with the small men [DAT]
   8. τοὺς μικροὺς ἀνθρώπους = the small men [ACC]
5. The other form of the attributive position has two articles: an article followed by the noun followed by a second article followed by the modifying adjective.
   1. ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁ μικρός = the small man [NOM]
   2. τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τοῦ μικροῦ = of/from the small man [GEN]
   3. τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τῷ μικρῷ = to/with the small man [DAT]
   4. τὸν ἄνθρωπον τὸν μικρὸν = the small man [ACC]
   5. οἱ ἄνθρωποι οἱ μικροὶ = the small men [NOM]
   6. τῶν ἀνθρώπων τῶν μικρῶν = of/from the small men [GEN]
   7. τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τοῖς μικροῖς = to/with the small men [DAT]
   8. τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τοὺς μικροὺς = the small men [ACC]
6. In both of these forms of the attributive position, the adjective follows an article—so they are both in the attributive position.
7. When you are translating the second form, don't repeat the second "the."
8. In other words, ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁ μικρός is the small man not the man the small or the small the man.
9. In future lessons, we will refer to a situation as attributive position. We mean that the modifier comes immediately after the article.
10. Exception:
    1. The only exception to the attributive position rule is that some very short words like δὲ ("moreover, but, however") sometimes come between the article and the adjective.
    2. ὁ δὲ μικρός ἄνθρωπος is still in the attributive position even though the word δὲ separates the article from the adjective.
    3. The word δὲ is called "postpositive" because it never appears at the beginning of a sentence or clause.

Predicate Adjective

1. To predicate means to make a statement, to assert, to say something.
2. The predicate position makes a statement
   1. In the predicate position, the article does not come immediately in front of the adjective.
   2. In this position, there is a descriptive statement being made and we have to add the words is/are/was/were to the sentence: The house is small.
3. One form of the predicate position has the adjective following the noun
   1. ὁ ἄνθρωπος μικρός = the man is small [NOM]
   2. οἱ ἄνθρωποι μικροὶ = the men are small [NOM]
4. The other form of the predicate position has the adjective just before the article and noun
   1. μικρός ὁ ἄνθρωπος = the man is small [NOM]
   2. μικροὶ οἱ ἄνθρωποι = the men are small [NOM]
5. You will rarely find the adjective in the predicate position in any case other than the NOM
6. Sometimes no article is used.
   1. You will have to determine whether it is in the attributive position or the predicate position by the context.
   2. ἄνθρωπος μικρός could be a small man or a man is small.
   3. If the full sentence is ἄνθρωπος μικρός βλέπει τὸν δοῦλον then it is obviously in the attributive position meaning a small man sees the slave.
   4. If the full sentence is just ἄνθρωπος μικρός then it is in the predicate position and means a man is small.

Substantival Adjective

1. When we speak about the substantival use of the adjective, we mean that the adjective acts like a noun.
   1. We use this feature in English:
      1. Good men love the Lord, but the bad ignore Him.
      2. Really we mean Good men love the Lord, but the bad men ignore Him.
      3. The word "bad" is an adjective, but it stands for "bad men".
   2. In Greek an adjective can stand by itself and imply a noun because of the gender and case of the adjective.
      1. In this way, ὁ ἀγαθός by itself may mean the good man or the good person.
      2. Also, ἡ ἀγαθή (feminine form) may mean the good woman.
      3. And τὸ ἀγαθόν (neuter form) may mean the good thing.
      4. In the plural οἱ ἀγαθοί may mean the good men, the good people, or simply the good.
      5. Likewise οἱ νεκροί may mean the dead men, the dead people, or just the dead.
   3. In the Lord's Prayer, the expression, but deliver us from evil is sometimes translated, but deliver us from the evil one.
      1. The difference is that the first one asks for deliverance from the principle of evil
      2. the second ask for a deliverance from a person who is characterized by evil.
      3. The Greek text says:
         ἀλλὰ ῥῦσαι ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ
         but deliver us from the evil
      4. Here we have an adjective (τοῦ πονηροῦ) which is in the GEN case.
      5. It may be neuter or masculine.
      6. If it is neuter, it refers to the evil thing
      7. but if it is masculine, it is the evil person.
      8. Since the ending may be either one, the jury is still out as to whether it is masculine or neuter.

Translate the following:

1. ἀγαθὴ ἡ ἐκκλησία καὶ ἡ βασιλεία κακή.
2. ἡ κακὴ καρδία τῶν ἀνθρώπων γινώσκει θάνατον.
3. οἱ ἀπόστολοι βλέπουσι τοὺς μικροὺς οἴκους καὶ τὰς κακὰς ὁδούς.
4. οἱ δοῦλοι οἱ κακοὶ λύουσι τὸν οἴκον τοῦ ἀποστόλου.
5. οἱ κακοὶ λύουσι τὸ ἱερόν.
6. οἱ λόγοι τῆς ἀληθείας διδάσκουσι τοὺς ἄλλους ἀποστόλους.