Aug 3, 2006

From the Classroom

There is a widely known television commercial that always ended with “…and, we’ll
keep the light on for you.” The following alphabetical list of summary statements and explanations gleaned from my beginning New Testament Greek classroom instruction is intended to do just that: to help you “keep the light on” in your recognition and comprehension of various Greek grammatical structures, rules, or endings. While not an exhaustive list, the following includes much of what I encourage students to actually “write down” as we proceed through the various stages of beginning Greek. And, while not as personal as it might occur in a “live” classroom environment, I trust that it will be helpful to you as well.

The Greek Alphabet

Even at the very beginning of your Greek experience, things don’t have to be ominously difficult. Take the Greek alphabet for instance, the lower case letters in particular. From the outset it is readily observable just how many of the lower case Greek letters resemble corresponding letters from the English alphabet. Notice English similarities to the alpha, beta, delta, epsilon, iota, kappa, omicron, sigma, tau, and upsilon. Even the zeta can be easily recognized as corresponding to the English “z.” And, pi we have become comfortable with as a mathematical symbol. These 12 Greek letters are half of the alphabet! As for the more “difficult” Greek letters, there are ways to correctly recognize and remember many of them quite early on in one’s studies. For example, look at the Greek lambda, corresponding to the cursive English “ l. ” Simply remove the upper loop from the English letter and you have the Greek lambda (i.e., l = λ). Similarly, with the gamma, removing the loop from the head of the English cursive “g ” leaves its Greek equivalent ( γ with a loop in its tail ). The Greek mu, nu and rho can also been seen as corresponding to the English “m,” “n” and “r” if one only adds a little information in the “mind’s eye.” Even the Greek omega (ω) looks, humorously, like a infant’s bottom when one shockingly discovers he needs a diaper change. The exclamation, “Ohhhhh” can be heard all across the room! And that is exactly what the omega represents in English: a long “o.” All together this encompasses 18 of the 24 Greek letters. The remaining six can be learned with limited difficulty through frequent encounters with them within the spelling of various Greek words.

Grammatical Structures

• SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT: Remember, observation of a 3rd person singular verb ending means you will find the subject noun (or pronoun) of the sentence or independent clause in a nominative singular form (i.e., subject-verb ”agreement”).

• ACCUSATIVE OF GENERAL REFERENCE: There is an unusual Greek sentence construction that employs the use of the Accusative case plus the Infinitive to form what is called the “Accusative of General Reference.” In this construction, the accusative noun or pronoun is translated as a “nominative” with the infinitive translated as an Indicative verb.

• GENITIVE ABSOLUTE IDENTIFICATION & TRANSLATION: Here are five plausible steps for recognizing and translating the unsual Greek construction called the “Genitive Absolute.”

(1) Identify the "genitive absolute" construction: a circumstantial participle and a noun or pronoun, both occurring in the genitive case in a "dependent" clause.

(2) Translate the main ("independent") clause of the sentence (the part not containing the "genitive absolute" construction).

(3) Identify the time frame (present or past time) of the Indicative verb in the main ("independent") clause. The time frame of the participle in the "genitive absolute" construction will be translated either as being "simultaneous" with the time frame of the Indicative verb of the main ("independent") clause, or as occurring "prior" to the time frame of the main Indicative verb (see point 5, below).

(4) Translate the noun or pronoun in the "genitive absolute" construction ("dependent" clause) as if it were in the Nominative case. And finally,

(5) Translate the genitive participle as an indicative verb, preceded by the adverbial, circumstantial word "While…" if the participle is a Present tense participle, or with the word "After…" if the participle is in the Aorist tense. (For more on “Genitive Absolute” constructions, see Wermuth’s GREEKBOOK, pages 70-71.)

• DIRECT QUESTIONS WITH οὐ or μή: The Greek negative οὐ or μή is found in direct questions to indicate the specific kind of answer the questioner expects.

(1) When a “Yes” answer is expected to a Greek question, οὐ is used:

οὐ τῷ ὀνόματι ἐπροφητεύσαμεν; (Matt. 7:22).
“Did we not prophesy by Thy name?” (Ans.: “Yes.”)
“We prophesied by Thy name, didn’t we?” (Better, more clearly expecting the “Yes” answer)

(2) Using μή + Indicative mode in direct questions expecting a “No” answer, the questioner would be shaking his head (“No”) from side to side:

εἶπεν οὖν ὁ Ἰησους τοῖς δώδεκα μή καὶ ὑμεῖς θέλετε ὑπάγειν; (John 6:67)
“Then Jesus said to the Twelve, You do not wish to go away also, do you?” (Ans.: “No.”)

Greek Nouns

• “Stick to your cases!” (Helps avoid mis-translation of sentences. Look first for nominatives = subjects, and accusatives = direct objects.)

• Neuter nouns (pronouns, adjectives) always repeat their nominative endings in the accusative case (singular and plural, respectively).

• Within the eight-case system for the inflected noun endings are found two additional cases not readily found in the more widely used five-case system. Sharing the same endings, singular and plural, as the Dative case are the Locative and Instrumental cases. As a memory aid, a helpful acronym for these three cases is to refer to them as the “L.I.D.” cases, particularly since their singular and plural forms always reveal, either an “iota subscript” or an iota “sandwiched” in between two other letters (e.g., -οις, -αις). So, the “L.I.D.” acronym has an “I” in it, and the endings also have an “I” in them in the form of an iota. (Note: 3rd Declension L.I.D. plurals have –σι as their shared cases’ ending.)

• There are various types of Greek nouns declined in the 3rd Declension, also called the “Consonant Declension.” These types derive their names based on the final letter(s) of their respective stems. Stems in this declension are not readily identifiable by referring to their Nominative singular (lexical) forms, but rather (usually) from their Genitive singular forms. It is helpful, therefore, for the student to memorize the Genitive singular stems of these types of “irregular” Greek nouns.

Greek Participles

• “When you see something that looks like a verb at its beginning that has declined endings, that word must be a participle.”

• Whenever you see a -θε- in a Greek verbal form, it always is an Aorist passive participle. (Exception: ἀκόλoυθεω = I am following. See: GREEKBOOK, “Signal Flags” chart, p. 45.)

• It is imperative that the beginning Greek student learn the declension of the 3rd Declension noun ἀρχῶν, ὁ (ruler). From this noun active participle endings are derived, and the noun’s stem (ἀρχ-) is replaced with a verbal stem (or, as I like to say in class, “We’re putting Noah back into the ‘ark’ [ἀρχ-] and sending him on a vacation.” The resultant verb stem + declined endings = a verbal-adjective, the grammatical description for a participle (e.g., λύων, λύοντος...).

• When studying and memorizing participle endings, it is helpful to remember the nominative singular forms of each of the active, middle and passive endings that occur. Including thematic vowel changes, there are four active forms of participle endings (one of them used “passively” with Aorist passives) and three middle/passive forms. Since participles are verbal adjectives, the student will observe a verbal stem with declined endings in all three genders. The active endings (nominative singular) are represented by: -ων, -ουσα, -ον (Present, 2nd Aorist); -ας, -ασα, -αν (1st Aorist); -εις, -εισα, -εν (1st & 2nd Aorist passive); and -ως, -υια, -ος (Perfect). Since each of these groups of endings are declined in a similar way with the masculines and neuters in the 3rd declension and the feminines in the 1st declension (like γλῶσσα), knowledge of the nominative singulars becomes a “jumping off” point in the student’s mind for recognition of any other case forms he may encounter. The middle/passive endings are much more simple, occuring in the 2nd declension for masculine and neuter forms, and the 1st declension for the feminines (like ἀγάπη) and represented by: -ομενος, -ομενη, -ομενον (Present, 2nd Aorist); -αμενος, -αμενη, -αμενον (1st Aorist); –μενος, -μενη, -μενον (Perfect).

• When the Greek “circumstantial” (temporal, adverbial) participle occurs (without an article) in the Present tense. The “temporal” (time-oriented) adverb used to translate a Present tense circumstantial participle is “As” (or “While”). The time frame of the “dependent” (temporal, circumstantial) clause should be consistent with the time frame of the indicative verb of the “independent” (main) clause. (See GREEKBOOK, p.69)

(PRESENT) βλέπει τὸν κύριον ἐρχόμενον πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ . . .
“He is seeing the Lord (as He [the Lord] is) coming toward him and he is saying to him...” (John 1:29a)

When the Greek “circumstantial” participle occurs in the Aorist tense. The “temporal” (time-oriented) adverb used to translate an Aorist tense circumstantial participle is “After.” Again, the time frame of the “dependent” (temporal, circumstantial) clause is translated concurrent with the time frame of the indicative verb in the “independent” (main) clause. (ibid, p. 69)

(AORIST) ἐλθῶν οὖν ὁ Ἰησους εὖρεν αὐτὸν.
“Therefore after He came Jesus found him.” (John 11:17a)
(Better): “Therefore after Jesus came He [Jesus] found him.”

Greek Pronouns

• Remember, the Nominative forms, singular and plural, of all three personal pronouns (ἐγώ, ἡμεῖς = I, we; σύ, ὑμεῖς = you;αὐτός, -ή, - ό; αὐτοι, -αί, -ά and = he, she, it; they) should be translated as reflecting emphasis, since, by virtue of their function as “subjects,” they duplicate or “rename” the person(s) represented by the verb’s “personal” ending in any given Greek sentence. When translating, the emphasis should be represented by an underline when written (e.g., “I am the way, and the truth, and the life”), or by a heightened emphasis in voice tone when taught or preached.

Greek Verbs

• Since the Greek Indicative mode is the only mode that denotes real time through the use of its various tenses (as opposed to the “contingency” represented by the Subjunctive mode, for example), the Indicative mode is the only mode that utilizes augments (indicating an activity occurring in past time). Therefore, when the Greek student observes an augment as part of the verb form, that form can only be an Imperfect, Aorist, or (sometimes) a Pluperfect Indicative verb.

• When observing Greek verbs in context, remember to notice the three potential components that all verbs may possess:

(1) Is there an augment (there may or may not be)?

(2) What is the stem (including any added tense sign letters)?

(3) What are the endings (including thematic vowels and whether active, middle, or passive). In this way, the student should learn mentally to “disect the frog” when it comes to identifying Greek verbal forms. One day, with routine practice, your mental “computer” will do the work for you without you even asking.

• Remember, Aorist Passive verbal forms (all modes) always utilize endings that are “active” in appearance!

• There are several key indicators that are so constant that one can “hang his hat on” them when attempting to identify certain verbal forms. Two of those “constants” are:

(1) Whenever you see a -θε- in a Greek verbal form, it always is an Aorist passive participle. (Exception: ἀκόλoυθεω = I am following. See: “Signal Flags” chart, p. 45 in the GREEKBOOK);

(2) When observing either a -θῆ- or a -θῶ- (-φῆ- or -φῶ-, etc.) toward the end of a verbal form, you always are looking at an Aorist Passive Subjunctive. (For other “Signal Flags for Verbal Forms,” see p. 45 in the GREEKBOOK.)

 

The Imperative Mode

Remember, since the Present tense in Greek is primarily a tense of continuous (linear, durative) action, a Present Imperative will predominantly carry that same sense of commanding a “progressive” action. For example, in Matt. 7:7, “Ask...seek... knock...” is more appropriately translated, “Keep on asking...keep on seeking...keep on knocking...” Conversely, a “negative” command using the Present tense (with οὐ) mandates the hearer’s “discontinuance” of an action. Therefore, “Do not love the world...” (1 John 2:15) is more precisely rendered, “Stop loving the world...” (See “Subjunctive Mode: Uses & Translation,” p.38 in Wermuth’s GREEKBOOK, on the prohibition of the “commencement” of an action: μή + Aorist Subjunctive = “Do not begin to...”)


Mute Stems

When Greek words whose stems end with “mute” letters (consonants) collide with consonants to form other tenses, or when they add certain endings beginning with a consonant (in instances where no thematic vowel is present), there is a resultant letter change that must be discernable when translating. In order to remember what produces these mute stem changes, the student must remember the rules represented in the following chart:

Even though this chart’s layout is primarily horizontal, the Greek student can remember how to “set it up” (in his mind by first reciting the Greek alphabet and mentally writing the letters “β, γ, δ” (vertically) to form the first part of each category of mutes (labials, gutterals, and dentals). For the second letter of each row, simply remember the saying: “Preacher’s kids are terrific,” and write the Greek equivalent for the initial letters of each of these: “π, κ, τ.” For the last vertical row of labials, gutterals, and dentals, simply add a phonetic “h” to the letters you’ve just written, resulting in the Greek letters “φ, χ, θ.” Even though it may seem overwhelming at first glance, the rest of the chart, with its consonantal “collisions” and resultant changes, can be both discerned and learned as the student progresses through his grammatical studies.

Principal Parts of Verbs

• “The only two tenses in Greek that utilize a present stem (first “principle part”) are the Present and Imperfect.” (Therefore, once you have isolated this characteristic witin a verbal form, you may rule out all other tense possibilities, saving yourself a lot of faulty and unnecessary parsing deliberations.)

• There exists a healthy handful of 2nd Aorist (i.e., “irregular” Aorist) verb stems that every beginning New Testament Greek student simply needs to memorize (without their augmentation), including many of the changes within the framework of the “Principle Parts of Verbs” that are readily available for study (see Wermuth’s GREEKBOOK, pages 48-51). Ten of the more frequently used ones include: βαλ- (from βάλλω), ἐλθ- (from ἔρχομαι), λαβ- (from λαμβάνω), ἰδ- (no present stem in use; ὁράω is used), ἀποθαν- (from ἀποθνήσκω), γεν- (from γίνομαι), εἰπ- (no present stem in use: λέγω is used), εὑρ- (from εὑρίσκω), σχ- (from ἔχω), and φαγ- (from ἐσθίω). These, and other 2nd Aorist stems, will occur with and without augmentation, depending on whether used in the Indicative mode, or in any other Greek mode, and also as Infinitives.

Study Habits and Memorization Techniques

• When working on memorization of endings, it is important to “see” (in your mind’s eye) what you “say” (outloud or silently) as you practice. Therefore, regarding the Greek diphthong “ει,” it seems preferable and wise to pronounce it phonetically as the same diphthong in the English word “height,” as opposed to the phonetic sound in the English word “freight.” This is because the “ει” diphthong occurs within the 2nd and 3rd persons of the verb endings of the Indicative mode (-ει, εις), later “lengthening” to -ῃ when used in the same persons in the Subjunctive mode (-ῃ,-ῃς). Since the phonetic sound of ῃ is the same as the diphthong in “freight,” it tends to confuse the usage of these separately occurring endings (“ει” in the Indicative; “ῃ” in the Subjunctive) if pronounced identically.

• “If you should accidentally fall out of bed at night, don’t say ‘Ouch!’ Say, ‘Oh, ice, eye, ahmen, ete, ousi.’” (Indicative mode verb endings: -ω, -εις, -ει, -ομεν, -ετε, -ουσι)

• From my teaching experience, it seems very wise to recommend that students learn their memory paradigms (verbs, nouns, participles, etc.) in vertical layouts from singular down through plural. Studying endings in verticle “columns” facilitates repeated opportunities to compare and contrast the many relationships that can be observed horizontally between groups of endings of the same part of speech. This is the consistent layout pattern within the pages of Wermuth’s GREEKBOOK, where I have also utilized color in various ways (arrows, highlighting) to draw special attention to these relational patterns. Memorizing language components in this way is also beneficial, since it gives the student a consistent and organized way to retrieve things from memory more readily. Regarding memorization techniques, my professor used to humorously encourage his students with the expression, “You just push on the end of your nose, and it all lights up inside your head!” (As it turns out, he was absolutely correct, even without having to push on your nose.)

• Before completing the translation of new Greek sentence exercises, it is always important first to study newer and older vocabulary and to write out memorized endings and other paradigms.

• “-α- means Aorist” (the verb ending's thematic vowel serves as the tense indicator clue. And, while the Perfect Active Indicative also utilizes endings with a thematic -α-, since the Perfect tense also reveals other tense related indicators, this general “rule” is still a worthy one to work from.)

The Subjunctive Mode

• Remember, the Subjunctive mode endings (Active, Middle, and Passive) are simply Indicative endings whose thematic vowel has lengthened (e.g., -ω, -εις, -ει, -ομεν, -ετε, -ουσι becomes –ω, -ῃς, -ῃ, -ωμεν, -ητε, -ωσι). Think of these Subjunctive endings as “Southern Greek,” since the sound of all the endings has a longer (Southern?) vowel sound. In Wermuth’s GREEKBOOK (p. 35), the Subjunctive mode endings are coded “S-1” (active endings) and “S-2” (middle and passive endings). “S” for Subjunctive; “S” for “Southern.” Remember, too, that when you see active Subjunctive endings with no verb stem (i.e., ὦ, ᾖς, ᾖ, ὦμεν, ἦτε, ὦσι[ν]), you’re looking at the Present Active Subjunctive of the verb εἰμί.

• In the Subjunctive mode, the “circumflex” accent that occurs over the thematic vowel of the verb endings in the Aorist passive voice is the result of a collision of the stem’s ending vowel (η-) and the thematic vowel of the endings (–ω, -ῃς, -ῃ, -ωμεν, -ητε, -ωσι). Therefore: λυθῶ…λυθῇς...etc. Think of it as a car accident resulting in a “fender bender” (what the circumflex accent looks like. See also: “Signal Flags” for verbal forms chart, p. 45 in the GREEKBOOK). So, when observing either a -θῆ- or a -θῶ- (-φῆ- or -φῶ-, etc.) toward the end of a verbal form, you always are looking at an Aorist Passive Subjunctive. (For other “Signal Flags for Verbal Forms,” see p. 45 in the GREEKBOOK.)

• When attempting to translate a Subjunctive mode clause, always remember that you must identify what use of the Subjunctive is in play. For example, is it an exhortation (1st person plural Subjunctive verb form = “We should...")? Or, is it a clause with ἵνα ( = “in order that, so that, that”)? Or maybe the clause ends with a Greek question mark ( ; ), indicating the presence of a 1st person singular or plural Subjunctive verb form and a question of doubt as to what the speaker(s) should say or do. (For a concise listing and explanation of all the “Uses of the Subjunctive” mode, see pages 36-39 in the GREEKBOOK).

• A cultural distinction seems important when translating the Subjunctive mode verb form that occurs in the 1st person plural. The use of the Subjunctive here is the exhortation, which many (if not most) grammars and bible tranlations render with “Let us...” While this is perfectly legitimate under Greek grammatical rules, culturally it seems weak, since we often use the contraction “Let’s...” in everyday speech when we are simply hoping that something will occur. In this regard, it seems much more preferable (and therefore I teach my students) to render this use of the Subjunctive with a culturally stronger, clearer “We should...” Now, read (and hear) the difference contrasted with the following short verse from 1 John 4:7:

                                         “Let us love one another.”

ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλων      =           [or]

                                         “We should love one another.” (Culturally stronger)

Posted by Robert Wermuth at 22:49:13 | Article Path: Home: Static Pages: From the Classroom