The Article and Adjectives
The Article
Just like nouns, the Greek article is declinable. It has its own forms for gender (masculine, feminine, neuter), number (singular, plural), and case (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative):
| Case | Masc. Sg. | Masc. Pl. | Fem. Sg. | Fem. Pl. | Neut. Sg. | Neut. Pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ὁ | οἱ | ἡ | αἱ | τό | τά |
| Genitive | τοῦ | τῶν | τῆς | τῶν | τοῦ | τῶν |
| Dative | τῷ | τοῖς | τῇ | ταῖς | τῷ | τοῖς |
| Accusative | τόν | τούς | τήν | τάς | τό | τά |
The primary function of the article in the Greek language is not to make something definite that would otherwise be indefinite (Greek can have definite expressions without an article, as in Rom 1:18 ὀργὴ θεοῦ = "the wrath of God"). The article is used to:
• Identify something unique: Ὁ προφήτης εἶ σύ; (Are you the prophet? — John 1:21).
• Serve as a personal pronoun in the expressions ὁ δέ / οἱ δέ: ὁ δὲ εἶπen αὐτοῖς· (but he said to them — John 4:32).
• In the neuter plural without a noun (τά), it translates as "the things": τὰ τοῦ θεοῦ ... τὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων (the things of God ... the things of men — Matt 16:23).
Adjectives
Adjectives attribute quality to nouns and agree with them in gender, number, and case. There are two main paradigms for 1st and 2nd declension adjectives:
1. Vowel Paradigm: δίκαιος, δικαία, δίκαιον (righteous — stem ending in a vowel or ρ)
| Case | Masc. Sg. | Masc. Pl. | Fem. Sg. | Fem. Pl. | Neut. Sg. | Neut. Pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | δίκαιος | δίκαιοι | δικαία | δίκαιαι | δίκαιον | δίκαια |
| Genitive | δικαίου | δικαίων | δικαίας | δικαίων | δικαίου | δικαίων |
| Dative | δικαίῳ | δικαίοις | δικαίᾳ | δικαίαις | δικαίῳ | δικαίοις |
| Accusative | δίκαιον | δικαίους | δικαίαν | δικαίας | δίκαιον | δίκαια |
2. Consonantal Paradigm: δυνατός, δυνατή, δυνατόν (powerful — stem ending in a consonant except ρ)
| Case | Masc. Sg. | Masc. Pl. | Fem. Sg. | Fem. Pl. | Neut. Sg. | Neut. Pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | δυνατός | δυνατοί | δυνατή | δυναταί | δυνατόν | δυνατά |
| Genitive | δυνατοῦ | δυνατῶν | δυνατῆς | δυνατῶν | δυνατοῦ | δυνατῶν |
| Dative | δυνατῷ | δυνατοῖς | δυνατῇ | δυναταῖς | δυνατῷ | δυνατοῖς |
| Accusative | δυνατόν | δυνατούς | δυνατήν | δυνατάς | δυνατόν | δυνατά |
Attributive Use (article immediately before the adjective → "The holy Lord..."):
• ὁ ἅγιος κύριος
• ὁ κύριος ὁ ἅγιος
• κύριος ὁ ἅγιος
Predicative Use (article attached only to the noun, adjective without an article → "The Lord [is] holy."):
• ἅγιος ὁ κύριος
• ὁ κύριος ἅγιος
Substantival Adjective and Degrees of Comparison
Accompanied by the article (without a noun), the adjective assumes the function of a noun: ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ (from the evil one — Matt 6:13); μακάριοι οἱ καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ (blessed are the pure in heart — Matt 5:8).
Comparative: uses the suffix -τερος, -τερα, -τερον (e.g., μικρότερος = smaller, from μικρός) or irregular forms such as μείζων / μεῖζον (greater, from μέγας).
Superlative: uses the suffix -τατος, -τάτη, -τατον (e.g., ἀκριβεστάτην = the strictest — Acts 26:5) or forms like ἐλάχιστος (the least — 1 Cor 15:9).
Vocabulary
Vocabulário do Capítulo
- ἀναβαίνω: I go up, ascend
- ἐκβάλλω: I cast out, send away
- ὁράω: I see, behold
- πίπτω: I fall (Aorist 2 = ἔπεσον)
- ἄρτος (ἄρτου), ὁ: bread, loaf
- δικαιοσύνη (δικαιοσύνης), ἡ: righteousness
- θάλασσα (θαλάσσης), ἡ: sea
- καιρός (καιροῦ), ὁ: time, season; occasion, opportunity
- οἶκος (οἴκου), ὁ: house, home; household
- ἀγαπητός, -ή, -όν: beloved
- δίκαιος, δικαία, δίκαιον: righteous, just
- ἕκαστος, ἑκάστη, ἕκαστον: each, every
- ἕτερος, ἑτέρα, ἕτερον: other, another
- ἴδιος, ἰδία, ἴδιον: one's own
- ὅλος, ὅλη, ὅλον: whole, entire, complete
Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός·
(I am the good shepherd — John 10:11)