Prepositions and the Personal Pronoun
Prepositions
A peculiarity of the use of prepositions in the Greek language is that each preposition "governs" the case of the noun (or pronoun) that follows it:
• With one case: ἐκ (+ genitive = from, out of, ex.: ἐκ λόγου); εἰς (+ accusative = into, to, in, ex.: εἰς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους); ἐν (+ dative = in, on, at, ex.: ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ).
• With two cases: διά (+ gen. = through, by means of; + acus. = because of); κατά (+ gen. = down from, against; + acus. = according to, in accordance with); μετά (+ gen. = with; + acus. = after, behind).
• With three cases: ἐπί (+ gen. = upon, on; + dat. = on, at, in; + acus. = over, upon, on).
Spelling Changes in Certain Prepositions (Elision)
1. A preposition ending in a vowel loses that vowel before a word beginning with a vowel: διά + αὐτοῦ = δι’ αὐτοῦ | ἐπί + αὐτῷ = ἐπ’ αὐτῷ.
2. If the following vowel has a rough breathing mark, the preceding consonant changes to an aspirated stop (π → φ; τ → θ): ἐπί + ὑμᾶς = ἐφ’ ὑμᾶς | μετά + ὑμῶν = μεθ’ ὑμῶν.
3. The preposition ἐκ becomes ἐξ before a vowel: ἐκ κόσμου, but ἐξ οὐρανοῦ.
The Personal Pronoun
1st and 2nd Persons (Singular and Plural)
| Case | 1st Sg. (I) | 1st Pl. (we) | 2nd Sg. (you [sg.]) | 2nd Pl. (you [pl.]) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ἐγώ | ἡμεῖς | σύ | ὑμεῖς |
| Genitive | ἐμοῦ / μου | ἡμῶν | σοῦ / σου | ὑμῶν |
| Dative | ἐμοί / μοι | ἡμῖν | σοί / σοι | ὑμῖν |
| Acusative | ἐμέ / με | ἡμᾶς | σέ / σε | ὑμᾶς |
In the oblique cases of the singular, the first form (accented: ἐμοῦ, ἐμοί, ἐμέ / σοῦ, σοί, σέ) is emphatic.
3rd Person: αὐτός, αὐτή, αὐτό (Singular and Plural)
| Case | Masc. Sg. | Fem. Sg. | Neut. Sg. | Masc. Pl. | Fem. Pl. | Neut. Pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | αὐτός | αὐτή | αὐτό | αὐτοί | αὐταί | αὐτά |
| Genitive | αὐτοῦ | αὐτῆς | αὐτοῦ | αὐτῶν | αὐτῶν | αὐτῶν |
| Dativo | αὐτῷ | αὐτῇ | αὐτῷ | αὐτοῖς | αὐταῖς | αὐτοῖς |
| Acusative | αὐτόν | αὐτήν | αὐτό | αὐτούς | αὐτάς | αὐτά |
Special uses in the Nominative and Intensive:
• Since the verb ending already indicates the subject, the pronoun in the nominative (ἐγώ, σύ, αὐτός) denotes emphasis or contrast (ex.: Mt 16.16 Σὺ εἶ ὁ χριστός = "You are the Messiah"; Mt 3.11 Ἐγὼ μὲν ... αὐτὸς = "I, indeed... but he").
• It can also mean "same / self" (αὐτὸν Ἰησοῦν = "Jesus himself" — Mt 17.8), including when applied to the 1st or 2nd person (ex.: 1 Pet 1.15 καὶ αὐτοὶ ἅγιοι ... γενήθητε = "be holy yourselves").
Vocabulary
Vocabulário do Capítulo
- ἀπό: [with genitive] from, away from (before an aspirated vowel: ἀφ’)
- διά: [with gen.] through, by means of; [with acus.] because of
- εἰς: [with accusative] into, to, toward, in
- ἐκ / ἐξ: [with genitive] out of, from (ἐξ before a vowel)
- ἐν: [with dative] in, on, at
- ἐπί: [with gen.] upon, over; [with dat.] on, at, in; [with acus.] upon, over, to
- κατά: [with gen.] down from, against; [with acus.] according to
- μετά: [with gen.] with; [with acus.] after
- περί: [with gen.] concerning, about; [with acus.] around
- πρός: [with accusative] to, toward, with
- σύν: [with dative] with
- ὑπό: [with gen.] by (agent); [with acus.] under
- ἐγώ: I [plural: ἡμεῖς]
- σύ: you [plural: ὑμεῖς]
- αὐτός, αὐτή, αὐτό: he, she, it [plural: αὐτοί, αὐταί, αὐτά]
ἐξ αὐτοῦ καὶ διʼ αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν τὰ πάντα·
(For from him and through him and for him are all things — Romans 11.36a)