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Learning New Testament Greek (Index)
Keating,Corey. “Learning New Testament Greek”.NewTestament
Greek.3February2014.<http://www.ntgreek.org/learn_nt_greek/grkindex.htm>.
I. Introductory Items and English Grammar
1. Introduction
2. Inflection in the Greek Language
3. Essential Grammatical Terms (These are definitions that you need to know!)
4. Translating Greek - English Translations
II. Greek Grammar - Shorter Explanations
1. Verbs
2. Nouns
3. Pronouns, Adjectives, Adverbs, etc.
4. Other Miscellaneous Terms
III. More detailed Explanation of Greek Grammar
1. Participles
2. Conditional Sentences
3. Advanced Explanation of Greek Tenses -Kind of Action & Time of Action.
4. Syntactical Classifications of Nouns, Verbs, and Participles
5. Advanced Discussion of the Subjunctive Mood - Used in Context
6. Advanced use of Greek Adjectives.
7. Emphasis shown by Greek word order
IV. A list of all documents on this site. (If you want to print them out, etc.)
V. Search for any topics discussed on NT Greek web site.
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I. Introductory Items and English Grammar
1. Introduction
2. Inflection in the Greek Language
3. Essential Grammatical Terms (These are definitions that you need to know!)
4. Translating Greek - English Translations
Introduction to our presentation of New Testament Greek
Please note that until this site is completed (if ever), the amount of information here
will continue to increase. Please email me if there are other items concerning Greek
that you want to know which are not discussed here. Also, please feel free to join
the email list for NTGreek.org so you can be informed when major updates have
occurred.
The purpose of the material presented here is to better equip people with the ability to
dig out many of the hidden riches in the Word of God. Many words, phrases, and
paragraphs in the New Testament cannot adequately be known without some
knowledge of Koine (biblical) Greek and the ability to use some of the many study
aids available today.
Often students of a Biblical language get bogged down with the memorization of
many word forms and long vocabulary lists. This site tries to use Greek grammar and
syntax to give insight into New Testament passages without a person having to
memorize all the declensions, paradigms, and vocabulary required for learning
Greek. However, after a number of years of teaching Greek and, conversely, trying to
explain passages of scripture to people who don’t know Greek (but who want a
deeper understanding of what the Greek of the New Testament actually says), I am
convinced that the best way to understand the New Testament is to actually make
the commitment to learn the Greek language. Although I believe the explanations
and definitions on this web site will help anyone wanting to understand the Bible
(and help a person in the process of learning Greek), in order to obtain the most
benefit from this site (and the Greek New Testament) I don’t believe there is a short
cut to actually learning Greek.
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All too often the beginning student of N.T. Greek gets discouraged and loses interest
(or runs out of time) before acquiring any substantial benefit of studying N.T. Greek.
(Although a little Greek and some good reference books can go a long way.) This web
site is meant to help provide other resources and avenues in your quest for learning
Greek (so you can better know God and His living Word). I have heard it said that,
"Learning Greek is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration." This is true,
but my feeling is closer to, "Learning Greek is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent
repetition and reiteration." In other words, the long-term commitment to learn a
little bit every day is what is critical. Greek is not that difficult of a language if you are
persistent!
For those of you making the decision to study and master the New Testament in Greek, know
for sure that you are a wise person and are spending your life on the highest calling in the
universe. Know also that all hell will break out to discourage, distract, and otherwise thwart your
knowing of God's word. For it is through the living word of God that people come to know our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and through which the church is built; Satan and all his dark
forces know that the gates of Hades will not prevail against the "builded church".
Today there are more study aids available for the Greek N.T. than ever before. We
have study aids and helps available to us that were virtually non-existent ten years
ago. One kind of tool available is a set of books such as "The Complete Biblical
Library" (or others like this) that actually tell you the form of every Greek word. Once
a person knows the form of a word, (for example that a particular verb is present
tense, active voice, and indicative mood), then they can have a much better
understanding of the original meaning and even subtle feeling that the Holy Spirit was
conveying through the New Testament writers. Thus with a little knowledge and the
right books, one can get at many of the riches only previously available to people that
have studied Greek for years. We will focus on learning enough of the basics of Greek
grammar and syntax to be able to use some of the Greek study helps available without
having to do a lot of memorization. We want to immediately begin applying what we
are learning to start enriching our understanding of God's Word. Thus we plan to use
many N.T. examples.
We will be discussing many aspects of the Greek language of the N.T. such as:
- how the understanding of Greek verb tenses brings light to every sentence of the
N.T.
- how Greek participles enrich our understanding of the actions of the N.T.
- how to find the emphasis of the writer in any particular sentence.
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- how many hard-to-understand passages are cleared up by understanding Greek
syntax (even if you don't yet know what syntax is).
This Greek Web Site is continually under construction and updating. It can be used in
many ways. A couple of ideas are as follows: 1) It can be used as an on-line reference
tool. When you have a question about the meaning of any Greek grammatical term,
you can look up that term here in the index and get a quick understanding of how
that may relate to a passage of scripture which you are studying. 2) You can also
print out the pages and use them in a systematic way to better understand the Greek
language. There will be different levels of definitions available; some will start out
very easy to just give a short and simple explanation. We will go on further to more
fully develop the intricacies of each grammatical point so you can come to a more
mature understanding of Greek grammar (and thus of the New Testament). In this
way we hope to help build a framework, or structure, in your understanding which
you can continue to build on and mature your understanding of the Greek New
Testament.
Inflection in the Greek Language
In the English language, the function that a noun performs is based upon its position
in the sentence. Consider the following verse from Romans 16:20, "But the God of
peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly." As a reader of English, one has no
problem in quickly discerning who is the subject of the sentence (the one doing the
crushing) and what is the direct object of the verb (the one being crushed).
Because the noun "God" comes before the verb "will crush", the English reader sees
"God" as the subject of the sentence, the performer of the verb's action. The noun
"Satan" comes after the verb and is thus considered the recipient of the verb's action.
However, consider the meaning of the sentence if the words of this verse were put in
the following order: "But Satan shortly under your feet will crush the God of peace."
Consider the reason why one would call this perversion a blasphemy. All the same
words are in this sentence, but their positions have been rearranged. Since
the order of the words have changed, the reader of English understands that
their role in the sentence has also changed. This example clearly illustrates how
important "word order" is in the English language.
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The Greek language, however, operates altogether differently. It is what is called a
fully "inflected language." Each Greek word actually changes form (inflection) based
upon the role that it plays in the sentence. Verbs also inflect (change forms) to
indicate things such as person, tense, mood, etc. Regardless of the order of the words
in Romans 16:20, the reader of Greek would still be perfectly clear as to the fate of
God's enemy and would not in the least be concerned about the possible demise of the
God of peace.
Thus it is important to understand what the case of each Greek noun indicates and
what the form of every Greek verb is implying.
Grammatical Terms Relating to English and Greek
Terms Related to Sentences in General
Subject
The subject of a sentence is a word or a group of words about which something can be
said or asserted. It must be a noun or a group of words functioning as a substantive.
Predicate
The predicate of a sentence is the part of the sentence that makes the assertion about
the subject. The main part of the predicate is a finite verb (which must be present).
The predicate can be a verb alone, or a verb and other words related to it. Any part of
the sentence which is not a part of the subject is part of the predicate. The verb in
a sentence may include an "unexpressed" subject. In this kind of sentence, a subject is
not explicitly stated but is implied by the verb. For example: "Repent and be baptized
for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near." The subject of the compound verb
"repent" and "be baptized" is obviously the ones to whom this sentenced is addressed.
It implies, "You repent and be baptized".
Sentence
A sentence is a group of words expressing a complete thought. A complete simple
sentence must include both a subject and a predicate (which is comprised of or
includes a verb). For example: "Jesus wept." (John 11:35) 'Jesus', a name of a person,
is a noun and is the subject of this short sentence. (He is obviously the one about
which something is being said or asserted.) 'Wept' is the verb and, by itself, comprises
the predicate of the sentence. Another example: "Those who worship Him must
worship in spirit and reality." (John 4:24b) The subject (about which something is
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being said) is 'those who worship Him'. The predicate, comprising both the verb 'must
worship' and its related words, is 'must worship in spirit and reality.'
Terms Related to Verbs
Verb
A verb is a word expressing action, occurrence, existence, or state of being. It is used
to tell or assert something about a noun (or substantive). In the broadest sense, a verb
shows 'action'.
Finite Verb
A finite verb is one whose form changes in order to match the form of the subject. It
can be the main verb in the predicate part of a sentence (whose form is governed by
the subject of the sentence).
For example "The just shall live by faith".
Non-Finite Verb
A verb whose form does not change based upon any noun in the sentence and thus
cannot function as the main verb in the predicate of a sentence.
For example "A sower went forth to sow" or "...looking upon them, Jesus said to
them...".
Parsing a Verb
There are five basic parts that are clearly defined by every Greek verb form. Parsing a
verb means to identify or describe these five "parts" that make up that verb. ("Parse"
is from the Latin word "pars" which means "part"). These five parts
are: Person, Number, Tense, Voice, and Mood.
There are two main categories of verbs:
1. Transitive Verbs
A transitive verb is a verb that 'transfers' the action to and affects
a noun (or substantive). This noun that it transfers motion to is called the 'direct
object'. Therefore by the very nature of a transitive verb, it is a verb that requires a
direct object. Conversely, if there is a verb that has a direct object, it must be a
transitive verb. Without a direct object, the transitive verb would cause the sentence to
be left hanging and seem incomplete.
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For example "Do not quench the spirit" (I Thess 5:19). The understood subject of
the sentence is 'you' (required because of the imperative mood). (The verb, strictly
speaking, is 'do quench'; however, there is a very important adverb 'not' inserted here).
If the sentence ended with "Do not quench," the question could not help but be asked,
"Do not quench what?" The verb 'quench' requires a direct object to complete the
meaning of the sentence. Thus the noun 'spirit' is added as the direct object of the
verb.
2. Intransitive Verbs
An intransitive verb is a verb that does not transfer action to a noun (a direct object).
Therefore it is a verb that, by nature, does not have a direct object. In essence, the
action begins and ends with the subject of the sentence. For example
"Unceasingly pray" (I Thess 5:17). Again the understood subject of the sentence is
'you'. There is no transfer of motion to a direct object. There are no further words
necessary to make the sentence complete.
Linking (Copulative) Verb
A linking verb (sometimes referred to as a copulative verb by grammarians) is a
special class of intransitive verbs. It is a verb used to equate, identify, or join together
one interchangeable substantive with another. It connects the subject of
the sentence with a coordinating (or complementary) predicate. As with other
intransitive verbs, there is no direct object since there is no action transferred. An
example of linking verbs would be any form of the words 'is' or 'become'.
For example "The words which I have spoken unto you are spirit and are life."
(John 6:63b). Notice here that the noun 'words' is equated with the nouns 'spirit' and
'life' by the linking verb 'are'. It could be said that 'words' are equal to 'spirit' and to
'life'.
Terms Related to Nouns
Noun
A noun is a word that denotes a person, place, thing, or idea. A noun is also referred to
as a substantive. Besides all the common nouns, such as "man", "son", "truth",
"word", etc., there are also proper nouns, which are names of particular people (e.g.
Jesus Christ, Paul), of particular places (e.g. Ephesus, Rome), or of particular things
(e.g. Passover, Jews). Proper nouns are usually capitalized.
Substantive
A substantive is a noun, pronoun, or any word functioning like a noun. This could
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include such items like an adjective, participle, or infinitive used as thesubject or
a direct object of the sentence. A substantive may be one word or a group of words.
Direct Object
The direct object in a sentence is the substantive that receives the action of a transitive
verb.
For example: "... receive with meekness the engrafted word..." (James 1:21). The
word which is directly receiving the action of the finite verb "receive", (answering the
question "Receive what?") is the word "word", and therefore it is the direct object of
this sentence.
Indirect Object
An indirect object is the person or thing that is indirectly affected by the action of
the verb. It is often translated in English by the phrase "to somebody" or "for
somebody (or something)".
For example: "I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens" (Matt
16:19). The word "keys" is the direct object of the transitive verb "give", and thus
receives the action of the verb. But the action of the verb is also indirectly affecting
"you" and therefore "to you" is said to be the indirect object of this sentence. "To you"
is answering the question, "give to whom?" or "for whom?"
(However, it should be noted that Greek word order does make a difference in many
instances and is often used for the purpose of placing emphasis on certain elements
within a sentence. Greek word order will be discussed at length later on.)
"Greek Meaning Versus English Translation"
OR "What is the Best English Translation?"
As people start reading the New Testament in Greek, there is always the
question about how to translate certain words and idiomatic Greek constructions
into English. It is important when learning Greek to understand that the "meaning of
a Greek sentence" and "producing a translation into English" are two distinct ideas
(or processes). Once the Greek meaning of a New Testament passage is understood,
then an adequate English translation can be produced. First year Greek students
should not be too concerned about producing a smooth English translation to start
with. It is probably best to be too 'literal' at first to make sure you understand all the
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Greek nuances. Once the Greek is thoroughly understood, then you can work on
producing a good translation.
Greek Meaning
What something means in Greek has to do with what the writer of the Greek
is trying to convey. What is the Greek writer/speaker saying? In trying to decipher
what the Greek sentence means, obviously you are required in some sense to
translate it into the language you speak/think in. However, you should not be overly
concerned about trying to create a 'polished' translation before you have a complete
understanding of what the Greek sentence (writing) itself is trying to convey. There
are many idioms, nuances, and emphases in Greek that need to be considered
before the meaning of the writer is fully understood. You need to understand each
verbal tense, the different possibilities of meaning for each word, and the
relationships of the words to each other in this construction.
Once you have a thorough understanding of what you feel the writer was
trying to convey, then you can go about trying to find the best English translation to
fit that meaning. As much as possible, you want to convey the same meaning in
English that was written in Greek.
Translating Into English
I have a real respect for people who are able to produce an accurate, yet
easily readable, English translation from the Greek. There are many challenges in
producing an English translation. Some have commented about wanting a 'word for
word' translation of the Greek New Testament. Keep in mind that one language can
never adequately translate another language with the same feeling, emphasis,
rhyme, idiom, etc. Due to these and other factors inherent in language, doing a
'word for word' translation is not really that meaningful. This would only be a valid
kind of exercise if there were two languages that corresponded so close in structure
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that the only difference in the two was their vocabulary. Then there would also be
the requirement that each word in one language had one and only one word that
exactly corresponded to it in the other language. There are no two languages that I
know of that correspond to each other in grammar, rules of syntax, semantic
structure, etc., especially not modern English and Koine (Biblical) Greek.
Because of these differences in language, producing a translation inherently
means that there must be some interpretation on the part of the translator. There is
no such thing as a completely 'unbiased' translation. However, as a translator
consciously puts aside all intention of conveying certain doctrinal notions and
preconceived ideas, then chances are he will produce a less-biased translation.
The 'Best' English Translations
(For a more complete answer and scholarly coverage of this topic, please see an extended answer by
Daniel B. Wallace at http://bible.org/article/why-so-many-versions. - The whole document is quite informative, but
if you want to read about merits of specific translations, scroll down to the section entitled "Which Translation Is
Best?")
Many ask the question, "What is the 'best' or most 'correct' translation?" This
kind of question is not really valid without asking back, "What are you wanting to use
the translation for?" Each translation was made with a specific purpose and
audience in mind. Some try to be more 'literal', trying not to add extra words or
more interpretation than necessary (such as the old 1901American Standard version
or Rotherham's Emphasized Bible). These kinds of translations tend to be less
readable, but more appropriate for study. Others try to convey the more subtle
meaning of the Greek by focusing on the tense and aspect of Greek verbs (e.g.
Wuest). Others use amplification and paraphrase to convey nuances of Greek that
are difficult to bring out in English (e.g. Amplified or Weymouth). Some translations
are more concerned about being easily understandable and therefore are forced to
add more interpretation (e.g. NIV, J.B.Philips, and many of the recent contemporary
translations). I own many kinds of translations and try to read them all depending on
my need at the time. (A couple of my favorite Bibles for all-around use are the New
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American Standard and the New King James version. These tend to be fairly
readable, yet don’t take too many 'liberties' in interpretation.)
If a person is trying to learn Greek, then using a side-by-side Greek-English
parallel New Testament (or possibly a Greek-English interlinear) may be appropriate.
It is surprising how much you can learn over time by being in meetings where
someone is reading the English Bible and you following along in the Greek.
Another interesting New Testament to use for study is "The Precise Parallel
New Testament" (by Oxford University Press). It includes the Greek text and seven
different Bible translations on each page: Greek, King James Version, Rheims Bible,
Amplified Bible, New International Version, New Revised Standard Version, New
American Bible, and the New American Standard Bible.
II. Greek Grammar - Shorter Explanations
1. Verbs
2. Nouns
3. Pronouns, Adjectives, Adverbs, etc.
4. Other Miscellaneous Terms
Greek Verbs (Shorter Definitions)
Just like Greek nouns, the Greek verb also changes form (the Greek 'spelling', so to
speak). The form changes based upon the subject of the verb and thekind of action
indicated. As was mentioned earlier, Greek is a fully "inflected language." Each Greek
word actually changes form (inflection) based upon the role that it plays in the
sentence. The stem of the verb shows the basic meaning or action of the word, but the
ending (or ‘suffix’) changes to show various details. Not only the ending of the verb
may change, but the verb form may have a ‘prefix’ added to the beginning of the
verbal stem. Sometimes the actual stem of the verb may change or may add an ‘infix’
to indicate certain other details.
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The prefix, suffix, and verbal stem all combine together to define a certain form of a
verb. Each verb form indicates a specific meaning. There are five basic parts (or
aspects) that are clearly defined or indicated by every Greek verb form. These five
parts are: Person, Number, Tense, Voice, and Mood. See below for details of these
five aspects of Greek verbs.
Grammatical Person of Verbs
There are three main classes of grammatical person in both English and Greek. Person
indicates the form of the verb (and also pronouns) which refer to:
1) the person(s) speaking (First Person)
2) the person(s) being spoken to (Second Person) and
3) the person(s) being spoken of or about (Third Person).
For example: "Because I live, you shall live also." John 14:19b "He lives by the power
of God." II Cor 13:4
First Person: 'I live' - the person speaking (i.e. 'I') is the subject of the verb.
Second Person: 'you live' - the person being spoken to (i.e. 'you') is the subject of the
verb.
Third Person: 'He lives' - the person being spoken about (i.e. 'He') is the subject of the
verb.
Grammatical Number of Verbs
The concept of grammatical number is quite straightforward in both English and
Koine Greek. It is the property of a verb (and nouns and pronouns also) which
indicates whether the reference is to one (singular) or to more than one (plural).
(Classical Greek at one time had a 'dual' number which made a distinction for 'two',
besides the customary singular and plural.)
Each grammatical person (First, Second, and Third) can be either singular or plural in
number.
For example: Singular Number: "For I am persuaded that neither death, nor
life,...shall be able to separate us from the love of God," (Rom. 8:38-39).
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Plural Number: "For we are His workmanship," (Eph. 2:10a).
Grammatical Voice of Verbs
Active Voice
Grammatical voice indicates whether the subject is the performer of the action of
the verb (active voice), or the subject is the recipient of the action (passive voice). If
the subject of the sentence is executing the action, then the verb is referred to as being
in the active voice.
For example: "Jesus was baptizing the people" (paraphrase of John 3:22; 4:1,2).
"Jesus" is the subject of the sentence and is the one that is performing the action of the
verb; therefore the verb is said to be in the "Active Voice".
Passive Voice
Grammatical voice indicates whether the subject is the performer of the action of
the verb (active voice), or the subject is the recipient of the action (passive voice). If
the subject of the sentence is being acted upon, then the verb is referred to as being in
the passive voice.
For example: "Jesus ... was baptized by John in the Jordan" (Mark 1:9). "Jesus" is the
subject of the sentence, but in this case He is being acted upon (i.e. He is the recipient
of the action), therefore the verb is said to be in the "Passive Voice".
Middle Voice
The Greek middle voice shows the subject acting in his own interest or on his own
behalf, or participating in the results of the verbal action. In overly simplistic terms,
sometimes the middle form of the verb could be translated as "the performer of the
action actually acting upon himself" (reflexive action).
For example: "I am washing myself." "I" is the subject of the sentence (performing the
action of the verb) and yet "I" am also receiving the action of the verb. This is said to
be in the "Middle Voice". Many instances in the Greek are not this obvious and
cannot be translated this literally.
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Verbal Moods
The aspect of the grammatical "mood" of a verb has to do with the statement's
relationship to reality. In broad terms, mood deals with the fact of whether the
asserted statement is actual or if there is only the possibility of its actual occurrence.
"Whether the verbal idea is objectively a fact or not is not the point: mood represents
the way in which the matter is conceived" (Dana & Mantey). If the one asserting
the sentence states it as actual, then the mood reflects this, regardless of whether the
statement is true or false.
The indicative mood is the only mood conceived of as actual while with the other
three moods (imperative, subjunctive, and optative) the action is only thought of as
possible or potential.
Indicative Mood
The indicative mood is a statement of fact or an actual occurrence from the writer's or
speaker's perspective. Even if the writer is lying, he may state the action as if it is a
fact, and thus the verb would be in the indicative mood. It may be action occurring in
past, present, or future time. This 'statement of fact' can even be made with a
negative adverb modifying the verb (see the second example).
This is in contrast to one of the other moods (see below) in which the writer/speaker
may desire or ask for the action to take place.
For example: "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb."
Rev. 12:11 "God is not mocked." Gal. 6:7
Imperative Mood
The imperative mood is a command or instruction given to the hearer, charging the
hearer to carry out or perform a certain action.
For example: "Flee youthful lusts." 2 Tim. 2:22
Subjunctive Mood
The subjunctive mood indicates probability or objective possibility. The action of
the verb will possibly happen, depending on certain objective factors or
circumstances. It is oftentimes used in conditional statements (i.e. 'If...then...' clauses)
or in purpose clauses. However if the subjunctive mood is used in a purpose or result
clause, then the action should not be thought of as a possible result, but should be
viewed as a definite outcome that will happen as a result of another stated action.
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For example: "Let us come forward to the Holy of Holies with a true heart in full
assurance of faith." Heb 10:23
"In order that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known through the
church..." Eph 3:10
Optative Mood
The optative is the mood of possibility, removed even further than the subjunctive
mood from something conceived of as actual. Often it is used to convey a wish or
hope for a certain action to occur.
For example: "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your
whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ." I Thess 5:23
Verb Tenses
Time & "Kind of Action" in Greek Verbs:
In English, and in most other languages, the tense of the verb mainly refers to the
'time' of the action of the verb (present, past, or future time). In Greek, however,
although time does bear upon the meaning of tense, the primary consideration of the
tense of the verb is not time, but rather the 'kind of action' that the verb portrays. The
most important element in Greek tense is kind of action; time is regarded as a
secondary element. For this reason, many grammarians have adopted the German
word 'aktionsart' (kind of action) to be able to more easily refer to this phenomenon of
Greek verbs.
The kind of action (aktionsart) of a Greek verb will generally fall into one of three
categories:
1) Continuous (or 'Progressive') kind of action.
2) Completed (or 'Accomplished) kind of action, with continuing results.
3) Simple occurrence, (or 'Summary occurrence') without reference to the question
of progress. (This is sometimes referred to as 'Punctiliar' kind of action , but it is a
misnomer to thus imply that, in every instance, the action only happened at one point
of time. This can be true, but it is often dependent on other factors such as the
meaning of the verb, other words in the context, etc.).
It is an important distinction to understand (and it will be discussed more fully later)
that the only place in which 'time' comes to bear directly upon the tense of a verb is
when the verb is in the indicative mood. In all other moods and uses the aktionsart of
the verb tense should be seen as primary.
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Present Tense
The present tense usually denotes continuous kind of action. It shows 'action in
progress' or 'a state of persistence.' When used in the indicative mood, the present
tense denotes action taking place or going on in the present time.
For example: "In Whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God
in spirit." Eph 2:22
"Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together." Heb 10:25
Aorist Tense
The aorist is said to be "simple occurrence" or "summary occurrence", without regard
for the amount of time taken to accomplish the action. This tense is also often referred
to as the 'punctiliar' tense. 'Punctiliar' in this sense means 'viewed as a single,
collective whole,' a "one-point-in-time" action, although it may actually take place
over a period of time. In the indicative mood the aorist tense denotes action that
occurred in the past time, often translated like the English simple past tense.
For example: "God...made us alive together with Christ." Eph 2:5
"He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus."
Phil 1:6
Imperfect Tense
The imperfect tense shows continuous or linear type of action just like the present
tense. It always indicates an action continually or repeatedly happening in past time. It
portrays the action as going on for some extended period of time in the past.
The idea of continual action in the past does not apply when the verb "to be" is in the
imperfect tense. There it should be considered a simple action happening in past time,
without regard to its "on-going" or "repeated happening" in the past.
For example: "For you were once darkness, but now light in the Lord." Eph 5:8
Perfect Tense
The basic thought of the perfect tense is that the progress of an action has
been completed and the results of the action are continuing on, in full effect. In other
words, the progress of the action has reached its culmination and the finished results
are now in existence. Unlike the English perfect, which indicates a completed past
action, the Greek perfect tense indicates the continuation and present state of a
completed past action.
For example, Galatians 2:20 should be translated "I am in a present state of having
been crucified with Christ," indicating that not only was I crucified with Christ in the
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past, but I am existing now in that present condition.
"...having been rooted and grounded in love," Eph 3:17
Future Tense
Just like the English future tense, the Greek future tells about an anticipated action or
a certain happening that will occur at some time in the future.
For example: "We know that if he is manifested, we will be like Him, for we will
see Him even as He is." 1 John 3:2
Pluperfect Tense
The pluperfect ('past perfect') shows action that is complete and existed at some time
in the past, (the past time being indicated by the context). This tense is only found in
the indicative mood and is rarely used in the New Testament.
For example: "...and they beat against that house; and it did not fall, for it was
founded on the rock." Matt 7:25
Future Perfect Tense
There is also a future perfect tense in Greek which is very rare in the New Testament.
It is only formed by periphrasis in the New Testament is much like the past perfect,
only the completed state will exist at some time in the future rather than in the past.
Non-Finite Verb Forms
Participles
A participle is considered a "verbal adjective". It is often a word that ends with an "ing" in English (such as "speaking," "having," or "seeing"). It can be used as
an adjective, in that it can modify a noun (or substitute as a noun), or it can be used as
an adverb and further explain or define the action of a verb. (For a more complete
explanation of participles, please go to the advanced section on participles.)
For example:
Adjectival use: "The coming One will come and will not delay." Heb 10:37
Adverbial use: "But speaking truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things."
Eph 4:15
(Please be sure to see the list of 'Reference Sheets' where the participle and other uses and classifications can be
printed out for quick reference.)
Infinitives
The Greek infinitive is the form of the verb that is usually translated into English with
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the word "to" attached to it, often used to complement another verb. It can be used to
function as a noun and is therefore referred to as a "verbal noun".
For instance, "For to me to live is Christ" (Phil 1:21). In this sentence, the words "to
live" are an infinitive in Greek and are functioning as the subject of the sentence (a
noun).
GREEK NOUNS (Shorter Definitions)
A noun in the Greek language is viewed just like the English noun. But because Greek
is a highly inflected language (i.e. the form of words change to indicate the role each
word plays in the sentence), a noun changes forms based upon its relationship to other
words and how it functions in the sentence. The stem of the noun contains the basic
meaning of the noun, but a suffix is added to indicate the noun’s role in the sentence.
The endings are changed according to certain patterns, or ‘declensions’, that indicate
what is the number, case, and gender of the noun form. To "decline" a noun means to
analyze it and break it down into its basic parts according to number, gender,
and case - see below. ('Declension' is a subset of the broader term 'inflection', in that it
only refers to nouns and pronouns, not to verbs. There are a number of different
patterns in which nouns decline; these patterns are referred to as 'paradigms'.)
Grammatical Number of Nouns
Number can either be singular or plural. A noun that is in a singular form indicates
"only one". A noun that is in the plural form indicates "more than one." In English,
most nouns change forms depending on whether it is singular or plural. However,
some nouns and pronouns do not change form for singular or plural; e.g. "you" singular, and "you" - plural. The Greek language always makes a distinction between
singular and plural forms.
Grammatical Gender of Nouns
Gender, as it relates to nouns and other substantives in the Greek language, does not
necessarily refer to "male" and "female". It refers to grammatical gender, which is
determined purely by grammatical usage and must be learned by observation.
Although nouns referring to people or animals that are obviously "male" or "female"
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would normally (but not always) be classified as masculine or feminine accordingly,
the gender of most nouns seems to be somewhat arbitrary. Every noun must fall into
one of three categories of gender: masculine, feminine, or neuter. The fact of gender,
when considering a word in isolation, is of little importance to the student of the
Greek New Testament. But in analyzing a sentence as a whole, gender may play a key
role, especially when considered along with the adjectives, pronouns, and relative
clauses that may be present. Taking note of the gender may alter altogether what a
sentence may seem to be saying in English.
For example: "And receive...the sword of the spirit which is the word of God"( Eph
6:17). The word "sword" in Greek is feminine gender and the word "spirit" is neuter
gender. So it is important in this sentence to find out what is the antecedent of the
relative pronoun "which". (i.e. What is the "which" referring back to?) The word
"which" in this sentence is neuter, therefore it is referring back to the word "spirit"
and not "sword." Thus this sentence means: "And receive...the sword of the spirit
which (spirit) is the word of God."
Noun Cases
The term "case" relates to substantives (nouns and pronouns)
and adjectives (including participles). It classifies their relationship to other elements
in thesentence. Noun cases are formed by putting the ‘stem’ of the noun with an
‘ending’. The case form is shown by the ending of the word. There are four different
case forms in Greek. The four cases are Nominative, Genitive, Dative,
and Accusative. Following is a discussion of these four different cases. There is
another case not included in the four main noun cases because it is so closely related
to the nominative: the Vocative. (Note that in the following definition of each noun
case, it only refers to nouns which are not in prepositional phrases. When a noun is the
object of a preposition, the preposition usually dictates the case of the noun).
Nominative Case
A noun or pronoun that is the subject of the sentence is always in the nominative case.
Likewise a noun that is in the predicate part of a sentence containing a linking
verb should also be in the nominative case.
For example: "Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her" (Eph 5:25). The
word "Christ" is in the nominative case in Greek and is therefore the subject of this
sentence.
Galatians 5:22 says: "But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, ..."
As the subject of the sentence, the Greek word for "fruit" is in the nominative case.
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Likewise the words in the predicate part of the sentence, that are equated to "fruit" by
the copulative verb "is", are also in the nominative case in Greek.
Genitive Case
For the most part, the genitive is often viewed as the case of possession. In more
technical terms one noun in the genitive case helps to qualify anothernoun by showing
its "class" or "kind". The genitive case has more uses than most other cases, but in
general a noun in the genitive case helps to limit the scope of another noun by
indicating its "kind" or "class". It is generally translated into English with
a prepositional phrase starting with the word "of". The most common use of the
genitive is to show possession (although it does not necessarily indicate actual, literal
ownership).
For instance: "the servant of the high priest" (Mark 14:47). The words "of the high
priest" are in the genitive case in Greek and modify the word "servant". (In Greek the
word "of" is not present, but it is supplied in English in the translation of the genitive
case). Here the genitive helps to qualify "which" servant the writer is referring to. It is
helping to limit the sphere of all servants to a particular one.
And: "But you have received a spirit of sonship..." (Rom 8:15). Again the word
"sonship" is in the genitive case, telling what kind of spirit we have received.
(Please be sure to see the list of 'Reference Sheets' where the genitive and other uses
and classifications can be printed out for quick reference.)
Dative Case
The dative is the case of the indirect object, or may also indicate the means by which
something is done. The dative case also has a wide variety of uses, with the root idea
being that of "personal interest" or "reference". It is used most often in one of three
general categories: Indirect object, Instrument(means), or Location. Most commonly
it is used as the indirect object of a sentence. It may also indicate the means by which
something is done or accomplished. Used as a dative of location, it can show the
"place", "time", or "sphere" in which something may happen.
For example: (Indirect object): "Jesus said to them", or "he will give the Holy Spirit to
those who ask" (Luke 11:13).
(Instrument or Means): "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by (by means of) prayer
and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God" (Philippians
4:6). In this sentence, there is a single Greek word translated into the phrase "by
prayer" showing the means by which to let our requests be made known to God.
(Location): "... and on the third day He will be raised up" (Matt 20:19). The phrase
"the third day" is in the dative case, showing the time in which Jesus will be raised. In
this sentence, there is no Greek word present that is translated into the English word
"on"; it is added to show the meaning of the dative of location.
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Accusative Case
The accusative case is the case of the direct object, receiving the action of the verb.
Like the other cases, the accusative has a wide variety of uses, but its main function is
as the direct object of a transitive verb. The direct object will most often be in the
accusative case.
For example: "As newborn babes, long for the guiless milk of the word" (1 Peter 2:2).
The word "milk" is in the accusative case and is functioning as the direct object of the
transitive verb "long for" (or "desire").
Vocative Case
The vocative is the case of direct address. It is used when one person is speaking to
another, calling out or saying their name, or generally addressing them. With
many nouns, the case form of the vocative is the same as the nominative, but the
context and function leave no question as to whether the person is being addressed or,
contrariwise, spoken about. (Note that, obviously, the vocative is used most often in
conjunction with the "second person" form of the verb).
For example: "... Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" (Acts 7:59). Here Stephen is directly
addressing the Lord, so the form of "Lord Jesus" is in the vocative case. (Note that the
verb "receive" is also in the second person, as would be expected).
Miscellaneous Greek Items
Pronouns, Adjectives, Adverbs, Conjunctions,
Prepositions, Interjections, and Articles
Greek Pronouns
Pronouns are words that take the place of a noun in order to avoid awkward
repetitions. For example: "he", "she", "myself", "yours". Greek pronouns are used very
much like English pronouns. There are many different kinds of pronouns that will be
defined later. Greek pronouns are declined just like the corresponding noun that they
replace. That is, they take on case, number, and gender depending on their role within
the sentence. Note that every Greekverb implies an unexpressed subject, since the
verb form includes grammatical "number" and "person". For example, if the verb
"love" is used in the "first person, singular", then it implies "I love", whereas the
"second person, singular" would imply "you love", and so on. If a subject is not
explicitly expressed in Greek, then the appropriate pronoun should be used to translate
the sentence into English, (corresponding to the correct "person" and "number").
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Greek Adjectives
An adjective is a word that modifies or describes a noun or a pronoun (or any type
of substantive). It may be describing the physical attributes of the noun (e.g.
"the glorious church"), any kind of general attribute (e.g. "the contrite heart"), or a
number of other descriptions. An adjective in Greek is used just like an English
adjective. However it may also take the place of and function as a noun. Like
pronouns, Greek adjectives are treated just as Greek nouns in the sense that they
are declined. The form that the adjective is in will be determined by the noun being
modified. That is, each adjective will have the form that matches the noun it is
modifying in number, case, and gender.
Adverbs
An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb. It often limits
or describes the verb by indicating time, place, manner, or degree. In English many
adverbs end in "-ly". Some examples are: "very", "now", "faithfully", "worthily", etc..
The Greek adverb is used very much like an adverb in English and is usually
not declined (i.e. it does not change case form).
Conjunctions
A conjunction is a word that joins together two or more words, phrases, clauses, or
sentences. They can be used to join together similar things or to contrast different
items. For example: "and", "but", "also", "however". Greek conjunctions are used very
much like English conjunctions and typically do not change forms (i.e. they are
not declined).
Prepositions
Prepositions are words that are used to describe the relationship of
a noun (substantive) to another word or words in a sentence. A preposition has been
over-simply described as "anywhere a mouse can go", such as, "under", "in",
"around", "through", and so forth. In Greek, as in English, prepositions are most often
found in prepositional phrases which consist of a preposition and a noun. The noun
is considered the object of the preposition. For instance, "in your heart" or "from the
Lord." Prepositions are words that developed in order to help define a more precise
and explicit relationship of a noun to other words in the sentence. For example, a noun
in the genitive case may carry the sense of "from" (without an actual preposition being
used in Greek). But if the writer wanted to make clear that it was "out from"
something, he would include the preposition meaning "out from". In this situation the
noun which was the object of the preposition would still be in the genitive case. In
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fact, every Greek preposition requires that its object be in a specific (predefined) grammatical case. Thus we can say that the preposition governs the
particular case of the noun it is modifying.
Interjections and Particles
Interjections are words used in exclamations. They usually have no grammatical
connection to the rest of the sentence. They are often adverbs used for exclamation.
Examples of interjections are the words ‘O’ in Romans 11:33 and ‘Ah’ in Mark
15:29. An interjection is often classified under the classification of a ‘particle’,
which is a catch-all phrase used for little words that don’t really fit into any other
category.
Articles (Definite and Indefinite)
In English the definite article is the word "the", which tends to point out one or more
particular items of a group or class. It is like an adjective in that it always modifies
a noun (substantive). In Greek, the definite article is declined (i.e. it changes form to
match the case, number, and gender of the noun which it modifies). In many cases the
definite article in Greek is used to draw attention to the noun it modifies in a way very
much unlike the English definite article. However, without a thorough understanding
and "feel" for the Greek definite article, it is probably best to include the English
article when one is present in Greek (unless it creates an awkward result in the
English translation) and to omit it in English if not present in the Greek.
English also has what is called an indefinite article, which is the word "a" or "an".
The indefinite article points out or denotes any one of the items in a group or class.
Greek does not have a word exactly corresponding to the English indefinite article,
therefore sometimes a noun without a definite article can be translated and treated in
English as if it had an indefinite article (however, this is not always the case and
should be applied cautiously since there are ways to indicate the same idea as the
English indefinite article). (A more in-depth explanation will be included in
subsequent lessons).
A substantive that is being modified by a definite article is referred to as being
‘articular’, whereas a substantive without a definite article is termed ‘anarthrous’.
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More Grammatical Terms Related to Greek and English
Some Terms Related to 'Grammar'
Morphology
Morphology is the study of word formations. As words change form, they convey
different meanings, such as a certain verb tense, person, or noun case. When a first
year Greek student memorizes a noun declension or a verb paradigm, he/she is
learning the morphology of Greek words. A 'morpheme' is considered the smallest
part of a word that conveys meaning, such as the 's' in English that makes a word
plural.
Terms Related to Clauses and Phrases
Clause
A clause is a group of words including a subject and a verb that form a thought. It
may stand alone as a complete sentence (an independent clause) or may be
subordinate to the main sentence and be incapable of standing alone as a complete
sentence (a subordinate clause). If the clause starts with a subordinating conjunction
(such as 'although', 'because', 'if', 'that', etc.), an adverb (such as 'when', 'while',
'where', etc.), or a relative pronoun (such as 'who', 'whose', 'which', etc.), then it will
be a subordinate clause.
An example of a subordinate clause would be, "while he talked with us". Note that
this subordinate clause cannot form an independent, complete sentence by itself. It
needs to be connected to an independent clause in order to form a complete sentence:
"Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked with us".
When analyzing a sentence, it is important to identify which words make up an
dependent (subordinate) clause and which are a part of the main sentence (the
independent clause).
Phrase
A phrase is a group of words that does not include both a subject and a verb, such as
a prepositional phrase. It cannot stand alone as a sentence but is dependent upon the
sentence to which it is attached.
Relative Clause
A relative clause is a subordinate clause that begins with a relative pronoun (such as
'who', 'whose', or 'which' in English). The relative clause includes both the relative
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pronoun and all the words that modify it. In analyzing a sentence, it is important to
identify which words belong to the relative clause.
Periphrasis (or Periphrastic Construction)
The English word 'periphrasis' comes from the Greek words 'peri' (which means
'round about') and 'phrasis' (which means 'to say'). A periphrastic construction of a
verb form is a 'round about way of saying something'. In Greek, normally verb forms
are made by inflection (the form of the word changing to indicate
the person, number, tense, voice, and mood of the verb). However, another way of
forming some verb occurrences is by adding a form of a linking verb (usually the verb
'to be') to a nominative form of the verbal participle.
III. More detailed Explanation of Greek Grammar
1. Participles
2. Conditional Sentences
3. Advanced Explanation of Greek Tenses -Kind of Action & Time of Action.
4. Syntactical Classifications of Nouns, Verbs, and Participles
5. Advanced Discussion of the Subjunctive Mood - Used in Context
6. Advanced use of Greek Adjectives.
7. Emphasis shown by Greek word order
Greek Participles
Simple Definition of the Participle (From the 'Terms' page):
A participle is considered a "verbal adjective". It is often a word that ends with an "ing" in English (such as "speaking," "having," or "seeing"). It can be used as
an adjective, in that it can modify a noun (or substitute as a noun), or it can be used as
an adverb and further explain or define the action of a verb.
For example:
Adjectival use: "The coming One will come and will not delay." Heb 10:37
Adverbial use: "But speaking truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things."
Eph 4:15
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Introduction and Importance of the Greek Participle
Greek has been called a 'participle loving language'. "There are few languages which
have equaled the Greek in the abundance and variety of its use of the participle, and
certainly none has surpassed it.... This wealth of significance which belonged to the
Greek participle at the zenith of its development lies undiminished before the student
of the New Testament, and becomes a valuable asset in interpretation when
adequately comprehended." (Quote by Dana and Mantey, pg 220.)
Use of the Greek Participle
A participle is called a 'verbal adjective' because it is formed from a verb, yet often
modifies other words. Oftentimes it may be hard to to translate a participle into
English and still bring out the same force as it has in the Greek. First try to understand
the meaning of the Greek participle is trying to convey, then worry about an
appropriate English translation. The translation may have to be as an English relative
clause when used adjectivally in Greek.
The participle can be used in one of three major categories of use:
1. Adjectivally
A participle can be used as an adjective to modify a noun or assert something
about it. This is a common use of the adjective in Greek.
E.g. Colossians 1:12 "to the Father who made us sufficient". The word 'made
sufficient' is a participle in Greek, but it needs to be translated into arelative
clause in English to make sense.
2. Substantively (This category is really a subset of the adjectival use.)
A participle can be used as a 'substantive' to take the place of a noun.
3. Adverbially
Participles can also be used in the same way that an adverb is, to modify a
verb. There are different classifications and uses of adverbial participles.
(These are also referred to as 'Circumstantial participles'.) One of the most
exciting and enlightening areas of Greek grammar for the student of the New
Testament comes in identifying the use of these adverbial participles. Listed
below are some of the most common uses found in the New Testament. For a
complete list of all adverbial participles (and all non-adjectival uses), please
view the chart at the bottom of this page.
A. Temporal Participle
i) Translated with English words ‘while’ or ‘after’
ii) Shows ‘when’ something happened.
iii) Mark 9:5 ‘All the crowd, seeing Him, were amazed.’
(“When all the crowd saw Him, they were amazed.”)
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B) Causal Participle
i) Indicates the Cause or Reason
ii) Answers the question “Why?”
iii) Translated by ‘because’ (or ‘since’)
iv) John 4:6 “Jesus, being wearied, sat.” (‘Because Jesus was wearied, He
sat.’)
v) Perfect Adverbial participles very often belong to this category (i.e.
convey this meaning).
C) Instrumental Participle (Participle of Means)
i) Shows “How?”
ii) Translated with ‘by’ or ‘by means of’
iii) Matt. 27:4 – “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.”
D) Participle of Purpose (Telic Use)
i) Indicates the purpose of the action of the finite verb
ii) Answers the questions ‘Why?’
iii) Should be translated with the English ‘infinitive’ or ‘with the purpose of’
or ‘in order to’. A simple ‘-ing’ translation misses the point.
iv) (A future adverbial participles always belong here.)
v) Luke 10:25 “A certain lawyer stood up testing Him (in order to test Him),
saying, ‘Teacher, what must I do to gain eternal life?’”
E) Participle of Concession
i) Indicates that the action of the main verb is true in spite of the state or
action of the participle.
ii) Usually translated 'although'
iii) Romans 1:21 “although they knew God, they did not glorify (honor) Him
as God.”
iv) 1 Peter 1:8 “whom having not seen (although you have not seen Him),
you love”
- Complete Classification of Adverbial Participles (Version 2.7) - Please see this PDF
document for a detailed description (and handy summary) of the use and formation
of adverbial participles.
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Greek Conditional Sentences
Conditional sentences are "If ..., then ..." statements. They make a statement that if
something happens, then something else will happen.
The 'if' clause is referred to as the 'protasis' by grammarians. It comes from the
Greek words 'pro' (meaning before) and 'stasis' (meaning 'stand'). So the 'protasis'
means 'what stands before' or 'comes first' as far as these two clauses are concerned.
The 'then' clause is termed the 'apodosis'; it is what 'comes after' the protasis.
Logical Relationship between Protasis and Apodasis
There are a number of different relationships that can exist between the protasis and
apodosis. It is important that you try to distinguish between these relationships for sake of more
clearly understanding the text. Please also note that there can be some overlap between these
three relationships.
They could represent a Cause-Effect relationship, where the action in the protasis will
cause the effect in the apodosis. For example Romans 8:13b, "...but if by the spirit you put to
death the practices of the body, you will live."
They could show a Evidence-Inference type relationship, where the apodosis is inferred to be
true based upon the evidence presented in the protasis. This will often be semantically the
converse of the ‘Cause-Effect’ relationship. For example 1 Cor. 15:44, "If there is a soulish
body, there is also a spiritual one."
Or, the relationship could be one showing Equivalence between the protasis and apodosis,
which is actually a subset of the Evidence-Inference relationship. For example Gal. 2:18, "...if I
build up again those things which I destroyed, I prove myself a transgressor."
Classification of Greek Conditional Sentences
Greek has more ability than English in describing the kind of relationship between
the protasis, and the apodosis. It is possible for the writer/speaker to indicate whether
the protasis is true or not. Actually they can indicate if they are presenting the protasis
as 'assumed true (or false) for the sake of argument'. In order to indicate this kind of
relationship between the protasis and apodosis, Classical Greek traditional had four
kinds of conditional sentences, based upon what tense and mood the verb occurs in
and upon some helping words. These are much the same in Koine (Biblical) Greek,
with slight variations.
First Class Condition - Is considered the 'Simple Condition' and assumes that the
premise (protasis) is true for the sake of argument. The protasis is formed with the
helping word ei ('if') with the main verb in the indicative mood, in any tense; with any
mood and tense in the apodosis.
Second Class Condition - Is known as the 'Contrary-to-Fact Condition' and
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assumes the premise as false for the sake of argument. The protasis is again formed
with the helping word ei ('if') and the main verb in the indicative mood. The tense of
the verb (in the protasis) must also be in a past-time tense (aorist or imperfect). The
apodosis will usually have the particle an as a marking word, showing some
contingency.
Third Class Condition - Traditionally known as the 'More Probable Future
Condition', the third class condition should actually be split into two different
categories, the 'Future More Probable Condition' (indicating either a probable future
action or a hypothetical situation) and the 'Present General Condition' (indicating a
generic situation or universal truth at the present time). It is formed in the protasis
using the word ean (ei plus an = 'if') and a verb in the subjunctive mood. The main
verb of the protasis can be in any tense, but if the condition is a 'Present General', the
verb must be in the present tense.
Fourth Class Condition - Is usually called the 'Less Probable Future Condition'
and does not have a complete example in the New Testament. The fulfillment of this
condition was considered even more remote than the Third Class Condition. It was
formed with the helping word ei and the optative mood in the protasis. The apodosis
had the helping word an and its verb was also in the optative mood.
GREEK VERB TENSES (Intermediate Discussion)
"No element of Greek language is of more importance to the student of the New
Testament than the matter of tense. A variation in meaning exhibited by the use of a
particular tense will often dissolve what appears to be an embarrassing difficulty, or
reveal a gleam of truth which will thrill the heart with delight and inspiration. Though
it is an intricate and difficult subject, no phase of Greek grammar offers a fuller
reward. The benefits are to be reaped only when one has invested sufficient time and
diligence to obtain an insight into the idiomatic use of tense in the Greek language and
an appreciation of the finer distinctions in force." (Dana & Mantey, pgs 176-7). These
comments by Dana and Mantey are to be taken seriously if the student of the New
Testament desires to get any benefit from the study of Greek; this is an area that offers
much reward. Never neglect to notice the tense of each Greek verb and note its
significance and bearing upon the meaning of each passage.
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In English, and in most other languages, the tense of the verb mainly refers to the
'time' of the action of the verb (present, past, or future time). In Greek, however,
although time does bear upon the meaning of tense, the primary consideration of the
tense of the verb is not time, but rather the 'kind of action' that the verb portrays. The
most important element in Greek tense is kind of action; time is regarded as a
secondary element. For this reason, many grammarians have adopted the German
word 'aktionsart' (kind of action) to be able to more easily refer to this phenomenon of
Greek verbs.
The kind of action (aktionsart) of a Greek verb will generally fall into one of three
categories:
1) Continuous (or ‘Progressive’) kind of action.
2) Completed (or ‘Accomplished’) kind of action, with continuing results.
3) Simple occurrence, (or ‘Summary occurrence’) without reference to the question
of progress. (This is sometimes referred to as 'Punctiliar' kind of action , but it is a
misnomer to thus imply that, in every instance, the action only happened at one point
of time. This can be true, but it is often dependent on other factors such as the
meaning of the verb, other words in the context, etc.).
It is an important distinction to understand, as discussed below, that the only place in
which 'time' comes to bear directly upon the tense of a verb is when the verb is in
the indicative mood. In all other moods and uses the aktionsart of the verb tense
should be seen as primary.
See the chart below for a brief summary of the kind of action shown by each Greek
verb tense and its corresponding time of action when it occurs in the indicative mood:
Kind of Action and Time of Action for Each Verb Tense
Tense Name
Present
Kind of Action
Progressive (or 'Continuous')
Time Element (In Indicative Mood)
present
Aorist
Simple (or ‘Summary’) Occurrence
past
Perfect
Completed, with Results
past, with present results
Imperfect
Progressive (or 'Continuous')
past
Future
Simple Occurrence
future
Past Perfect
Completed, with Results
past
Future Perfect
Completed, with Results
future
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Aktionsart versus Time
The 'time' aspect of the tense of a verb really only comes into affect when the verb is
in the indicative mood. When a verb is outside of the indicative mood, then the
aktionsart (‘kind of action’) of the tense is usually emphasized and should be carefully
noted, and its bearing upon the passage should be considered. (In referring to 'verbs
outside of the indicative mood' in this context, it means both actual finite verbs in the
imperative, subjunctive, and optative moods, and participles (verbal adjectives) and
infinitives (verbal nouns)). The participle may have temporal significance in relation
to the time of the finite verb in the sentence. See the section on participles for a
discussion of this aspect.
For instance, outside of the indicative mood it is often customary to use the tense that
implies a 'simple occurrence', the aorist tense. The aorist places no emphasis on the
progress of the action, but only shows a simple occurrence (or summary occurrence),
the action viewed as a whole. If the writer does not wish to emphasize or focus on the
progress of the verb's action (whether continuous or completed) he will use the aorist
tense. The term 'aorist' means 'unspecified' or 'unlimited'. It signifies nothing as to the
progression or completeness of an action, it just indicates 'happenedness' or simple
occurrence. If one has the mistaken concept that aorist tense means past time, many
passages of the New Testament will be very confusing if not altogether nonsensical.
(Only in the indicative mood does the aorist indicate past time). Many times the action
of a verb in the aorist subjunctive or aorist imperative forms, for instance, will
actually take place at a future time, not a past time.
For example, in Matthew 14:29, when Jesus was walking on the water, He told Peter
"Come", which is in the aorist imperative form in Greek. Although Jesus used a verb
in the aorist tense, He surely was not telling Peter to come at some time in the past, as
'came' would indicate; but He was telling him to do something at the present time. If
Jesus would have desired to put some special emphasis on the progress of Peter's
coming to Him, He could have said "Be coming" in the present imperative. Since the
present tense indicates progressive or continuous kind of action, using the present
would have indicated something to the affect that each and every step Peter took
would have been a task or accomplishment in itself. This is one of the many examples
which show that outside of the indicative mood, oftentimes the aorist tense is used
(although the present tense is used quite frequently also). The diligent seeker of New
Testament truth will take careful note of this most crucial aspect of Greek verb usage.
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An Overview of Aktionsart with Time with the Different Tenses
If the writer is referring to an action that happened in past time, he could refer to it as
either progressive (by using the imperfect tense) or as merely a simple occurrence,
with no emphasis on the action's progress (by using the aorist tense).
For action happening at the present time, only the 'present tense' is available. Whether
the writer is wishing in any particular instance to emphasis the progressive aspect of
the verb or just indicate a simple occurrence at the present time, there is only one
choice of tense to use. Therefore, one must consider the context and the basic meaning
of the verb to determine whether the emphasis is on the continuous aspect of the
action or merely on the present time element. It may be that no real emphasis on
progressive action is intended but, for a statement requiring the element of present
time, there is no choice but to use the 'present tense'. (Of course outside the indicative
mood the emphasis almost certainly will be on the progressive element of the verb,
since the aorist tense could readily be employed).
The future tense is mainly found in the indicative mood and therefore primarily refers
to the future time. Since the future tense functions very much like a potential mood
(because the action is only as of yet conceived), there is no reference to the progress
of the action. In this sense the aktionsart of the future tense closely resembles that of
the aorist, being merely a simple occurrence.
The perfect tense has to do with the completed progress of an action and its
corresponding finished results. That is, it shows a present state of affairs (from the
writer’s perspective), based upon an action in past time (when using the indicative
mood). There is no tense in English that has this same meaning. Oftentimes the
student of English will fail to realize the importance of the perfect tense and will tend
to blend it with the aorist in translation. This is mainly due to English idiom and the
customary practice of translating the Greek perfect as the English perfect. This can be
a big mistake and can blur the point or emphasis of a New Testament passage. Since
the perfect tense is used less frequently than other tenses, it is exegetically more
significant. When it does occur, there is usually a definite and deliberate reason it was
chosen by the writer. The emphasis may be on the culmination of the action's progress
or on the resulting state of affairs brought about by the action.
The aktionsart of the past perfect (pluperfect) is the same as in the perfect tense. The
difference is that it refers to this 'completed' condition at some time in the past. It may
seem strange, based upon the foregoing discussion of aktionsart versus time, to define
his tense as something that happened in past time. This is due to the fact that the
pluperfect is used exclusively in the indicative mood - thus the past time element - and
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the discussion of the perfect tense explains the aktionsart of the past perfect also. The
use of the pluperfect is rare in the New Testament.
The explanation of the future perfect (which is only formed by periphrasis in the New
Testament) is much like the past perfect, only the completed state will exist at some
time in the future rather than in the past. Its use is also very rare in the New
Testament.
Syntactical Classification of Greek Nouns, Verbs Tenses, and Participles
Back to main Learn NT Greek page.
Introduction to 'syntax' and purpose of classification
One aspect of grammar is syntax. The term ‘syntax’ refers to the relationship of
words - and phrases - within a sentence. (Whereas ‘morphology’ or ‘accidence’ deals
only with the formation of words themselves, not how they relate to other words in the
sentence.)
This section attempts to classify different types of words (either nouns, verbs, or
participles) into different syntactical categories (i.e. to show syntactical relationships
of words and clauses). Among Greek grammarians, there are differences of thought
as to what each of these categories should be called. But these designations are
merely "labels" to describe "uses" and relationships of words. The labels by
themselves are unimportant, but the meanings associated with them are very
important.
The ‘form’ of a word does not change for different categories. (For instance, when
classifying the genitive case, the form of a particular word in the genitive will always
be the same.) Therefore, in classifying a particular form of a word, the use (or
category) can only be told by context. These categories are not absolutes; they are
only put forth as a tool to help better understand what the meaning of a passage is. In
many instances, the category is a matter of interpretation, since the particular instance
may actually be able to fit into a number of different categories. However, the value
of thinking through the syntactical use of a particular form in a NT verse will often
yield much light from God’s holy word. (2 Timothy 2:7 – "Consider what I say, for
the Lord will give you understanding in all things.")
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For instance, notice the genitive form of the word ‘God’, in Jude 21: "keep
yourselves in the love of God". Does this mean "keep yourselves in the place where
God is loving you," or "keep yourselves loving God"? Is God doing the loving
(making God the subject of the action ‘love’), or are you loving God (making God the
object of the word ‘love’)? Pondering this (and countless other words and phrases)
can yield much light from God’s Word.
The following pages outline some of the different ways in which each noun case, verb
tense, and participle form can be used. (It is not meant to be an exhaustive outline or
list; please consult one of the grammar books mentioned below for a more thorough
presentation of this subject matter).
These categories have different names associated with them based on which grammar
book is being consulted. A good reference for a more detailed explanation (and more
examples) of these categories is Wallace’s book, "Greek Grammar Beyond the
Basics". Another popular (and more concise) book is "Syntax of New Testament
Greek" by Brooks and Winbery. Both of these books are considered ‘intermediate’
level grammar books. A good ‘beginner’ (first year) book that introduces some of
these concepts while teaching the basics, is David Alan Black’s book, "Learn to Read
New Testament Greek."
Please be sure to see the list of 'Reference Sheets' where many of these uses and
classifications can be printed out for quick reference.
1. Classification of Nouns
A. Nominative Case
B. Genitive Case
C. Dative Case
D. Accusative Case
2. Classification of Verb Tenses
A. Present Tense
B. Imperfect Tense
C. Aorist Tense
D. Future Tense
E. Perfect Tense
3. Classification of Participles
Nominative Case - Syntactical Classification
Back to main Learn NT Greek page. Back to Syntactical Classification Pages.
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A. Subject Nominative - When a word is used as the subject of a finite verb, it is
usually in the nominative case.
E.g. John 1:14
"Kai; oJ lovgo" sa;rx ejgevneto"
"the word became flesh".
B. Predicate Nominative - The object of a copulative (linking) verb will also usually
be in the nominative case, rather than in the accusative case as would be expected.
E.g. John 1:14
"Kai; oJ lovgo" sa;rx ejgevneto"
"the word became flesh".
C. Nominative of Appellation - Sometimes a proper noun is used in the nominative
case, regardless of what role it plays in the sentence.
E.g. John 13:13
"uJmei'" fwnei'tev me JO didavskalo" kai; JO kuvrio","
"You call me Teacher and Lord,"
D. Nominative of Direct Address (Vocative) - When speaking directly to a person,
addressing them by name, often their name will be in the nominative case.
E.g. Acts 26:19
"{Oqen, basileu' jAgrivppa, oujk ejgenovmhn ajpeiqhV; th'/ oujranivw/
ojptasiva/,"
"Wherefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision"
E. Independent Nominative - Oftentimes the nominative case will be used in
expressions where no finite verb exists, such as in Exclamations, Salutations, Titles of
Books, and in Parenthetic, Absolute, and Proverbial Expressions.
E.g. Romans 11:33
" \W bavqo" plouvtou kai; sofiva" kai; gnwvsew" qeou':"
"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!"
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Genitive Case - Syntactical Classification
Back to main Learn NT Greek page. Back to Syntactical Classification Pages.
In general, the genitive case describes or defines. It is the case of ‘quality’, ‘attribute’,
‘description’, or ‘kind’. It limits the meaning of a substantive. It tends to be adjectival in nature
and mainly answers "What kind?"
A. Genitive After Certain Prepositions - as discussed in the section dealing with prepositions,
the noun governed by each preposition will be in a certain case form or forms. Some
prepositions require that the noun be in the genitive case.
B. Genitive of Direct Object - after certain verbs - Many verbs, such as those of the five
physical senses and of emotion, etc., require that their direct object be in the genitive case (as
opposed to theaccusative case which is normally expected).
E.g. John 5:25
"oiJ nekroi; ajkouvsousin th'" fwnh'" tou' uiJou' tou' qeou' "
"the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God"
C. Possessive Genitive - Showing the ideas of ownership or possession. To see if it is the
Genitive of Possession, try substituting the word ‘of’ with ‘belonging to’ or ‘possessed by’.
However, this use does not have to indicate actual, physical ownership of some property. It may
be a broadly defined type of ownership. This is a very common use of the genitive. A possessive
pronoun will often be used in the genitive case to show possession.
E.g. Hebrews 11:25
"tw'/ law'/ tou' qeou'"
"the people of (belonging to) God"
John 1:29
"[Ide oJ ajmno;V tou' qeou' oJ ai[rwn th;n aJmartivan tou' kovsmou."
"Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."
D. Genitive of Relationship - This is a subset of the Possessive Genitive. It indicates familial
relationship. The article modifying the word in the genitive case is usually present, but not
always. The actual word showing the relationship may be omitted (except for the definite article)
when it is clearly known by context or by general knowledge. The genitive noun is often a proper
noun. It is a relatively rare use of the genitive.
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E.g. Matthew 20:20
"hJ mhvthr tw'n uiJw'n…"
"mother of the sons"
Acts 13:22
"Daui;d to;n tou' jIessaiv"
"David, the [son] of Jesse"
E. Partitive Genitive ("Wholative") - The genitive substantive (preceded by the article) can
indicate the whole of which the head noun is a part. The word ‘of’ can be substituted the words
‘which is a part of’. This use of the genitive requires the head noun to in some way imply or
indicate ‘portion’. E.g ‘piece of pie’, ‘some of you’, ‘a tenth of something’, etc. It will often be
found with the Greek words ti",e{kasto", and ei|". This is a fairly common use of the genitive in
the New Testament.
E.g. Luke 19:8
"ta; hJmivsiav mou tw'n uJparcovntwn"
"half of my possessions"
F. Attributive Genitive - (Sometimes called the Descriptive Genitive.) - The word in the
genitive case is being used as an adjective, describing an attribute or quality to the head noun. It
can be thought of as a simple adjective modifying the head noun, but with stronger force and
emphasis. If it can be turned into an attributive adjective, then it is probably this use of the
genitive. It is very common in the New Testament.
E.g. Luke 16:9
"mamwna' th'" ajdikiva""
"mammon of unrighteousness" = "unrighteous mammon"
Romans 6:6
"to; sw'ma th'" aJmartiva""
"the body of sin" = "the sinful body"
G. Genitive with Nouns of Action - Many nouns have an implicit verbal idea (indicating
action). For instance the noun ‘love’ implies that someone is loving. The participle ‘coming’
when used as a substantive, clearly has an implicit verbal, action idea. When a ‘noun of action’
acts as a head noun modified by noun in the genitive case, it could indicate one of the following
three uses.
1. Subjective Genitive - The genitive substantive functions semantically as the subject of
the verbal idea implicit in the head noun. To substantiate this thought, try to turn it into
a sentence with the noun in the genitive as the subject.
E.g. Romans 8:35
"tiv" hJma'" cwrivsei ajpo; th'" ajgavph" tou' Cristou'"
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"who shall separate us from the love of Christ"
Christ is loving us.
Matthew 24:27
"ou{tw" e[stai hJ parousiva tou' uiJou' tou' ajnqrwvpou"
"so shall the coming of the Son of Man be"
The Son of Man is coming.
Acts 12:11
"ejxeivlatov me ejk pavsh" th'" prosdokiva" tou' laou' tw'n jIoudaivwn."
"… delivered me from … all the expectation of the Jewish people"
The Jewish people were expecting.
2 Corinthians 7:15
"th;n pavntwn uJmw'n uJpakohvn"
"the obedience of you all"
You are obeying.
2. Objective Genitive - The genitive substantive functions semantically as the direct
object of the verbal idea implicit in the head noun. (Again, to substantiate, try to turn it into a
sentence.)
E.g. Luke 11:42
"parevrcesqe ... thn ajgavphn tou' qeou'."
"you have neglected … the love of God."
Neglected loving God.
Matthew 12:31
"hJ de; tou' pneuvmato" blasfhmiva oujk ajfeqhvsetai"
"but the blasphemy of the Spirit shall not be forgiven"
Blaspheming the Spirit.
Romans 3:25
"e[ndeixin th'" dikaiosuvnh" aujtou'"
"a demonstration of His righteousness"
He is righteousness.
3. Plenary Genitive - Indicating both Subjective and Objective Genitives simultaneously.
This is a case in which a writer can use an intentional ambiguity to convey a deeper meaning.
E.g. Revelation 1:1
"Apokavluyi" jIhsou' Cristou'"
"the revelation of Jesus Christ"
Jesus Christ is revealing something and it is revealing Jesus Christ.
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2 Corinthians 5:14
"hJ ga;r ajgavph tou' Cristou' sunevcei hJma'""
"the love of Christ constrains us"
Christ’s love for us and our love for Him is constraining us.
H. Genitive of Time (kind of time) - In keeping with the basic meaning of the genitive, the
genitive with words of time indicate the kind of time in which something occurs. That is, it
indicates the time within which an event occurs (i.e. at nighttime as opposed to in the daytime).
The normally inserted word ‘of’ for the genitive, could instead be translated ‘during’, ‘at’, or
‘within’.
E.g. John 3:2
"h\lqen proV aujto;n nukto;V"
"he came to Jesus during the night"
1 Thessalonians 2:9
"nukto;" kai; hJmevra" ejrgazovmenoi"
"working at night and at day"
i.e. ‘during the night and during the day’, not really ‘all through the night and day’
I. Genitive of Comparison - This use of the genitive almost always comes after an comparative
adjective (like ‘more’, ‘less’, ‘greater’, etc.). The customarily used ‘of’ translated with the
genitive should instead be translated ‘than’. It is a relatively common use of the genitive case.
E.g. Matthew 3:1
"ijscurovterov" mouv ejstin."
"He is mightier than I."
Matthew 6:25
"oujci; hJ yuchV plei'ovn ejstin th'" trofh'""
"Is not your life (worth) more than food?"
J. Genitive of Source - Sometimes the genitive case indicates the source from which the head
noun is derived or depends. The word ‘of’ could instead be translated ‘out of’, ‘derived from’, or
‘dependent on’. This use is relatively rare; rather source is often shown with the
preposition ejk used with the genitive case.
E.g. Romans 15:4
"th'" paraklhvsew" tw'n grafw'n"
"the comfort of (derived from) the scriptures"
K. Genitive of Apposition - The word in the genitive case refers to the same thing as the word it
modifies. To see if this is the use, try substituting the words which show this kind of equality,
"which is", "namely", or "who is", instead of the word "of". As seen below, there are two
different possibilities for a genitive case in apposition.
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1. Simple Apposition - If the head noun is in the genitive case, due to other relationships
within the sentence, then the noun in apposition is also required to be in the genitive case. Notice
that in this case, the word ‘of’ could not be used in translation to show the relationship between
the two nouns. One of the words (phrases) showing equality must be used.
E.g. Colossians 1:18
"aujtov" ejstin hJ kefalhV tou' swvmato", th'" ejkklhsiva""
"He is the head of the body, (namely) the church"
(Could not be translated, ‘the body of the church’.)
2. Epexigetical Genitive - This use of the genitive helps to define an ambiguous or
metaphorical head noun, or gives a specific example of the larger category named by the head
noun. It also requires the words of equality for proper understanding, but the word ‘of’ can be
used (unlike the case with Simple Apposition).
E.g. Romans 4:11
"kai; shmei'on e[laben peritomh'""
"and he received the sign of circumcision"
i.e. the sign which is circumcision.
2 Corinthians 5:5
"oJ dou;V hJmi'n to;n ajrrabw'na tou' pneuvmato"."
"Who has given to us the down payment of the Spirit."
i.e. the down payment which is the Spirit.
L. Genitive Absolute - The genitive absolute construction is a clause that is formed with the
following components. It will always have an anarthrous participle in the genitive case. There
will usually be a accompanying substantive in the genitive case. These words will most often be
at the beginning of the sentence.
The noun in the genitive case will act as the subject of the participle. This subject will be
different from the subject of the main part of the sentence (main clause) to which this clause is
attached. In this way, the genitive absolute clause has only a loose syntactical connection to the
rest of the sentence.
E.g. Acts 13:2
"leitourgouvntwn de; aujtw'n tw'/ kurivw/ ... ei\pen to; pneu'ma to; a{gion, "
"As they ministered to the Lord …, the Holy Spirit said, …"
The subject of the main clause of the sentence is ‘the Holy Spirit’. Whereas the subject of the
subordinate ‘genitive absolute’ clause is ‘they’.
Dative Case - Syntactical Classification
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The following categories mainly refer to uses of the Dative case when used without
a preposition. Some prepositions require their object to be in the Dative Case. Even
the Dative with the preposition will often still fit into one of these syntactical
categories.
The Dative is the case of personal interest, pointing out the person to or for whom
something is done. When it refers to a person, it indicates the one who is concerned
about or affected by the action of the verb. When it refers to an object, it refers to the
setting or framework in which an action takes place.
A. Dative After Certain Prepositions - as discussed in the section dealing with
prepositions, the noun governed by each preposition will be in a certain case form or
forms. Certain prepositions will normally have their direct object in the dative case.
B. Dative Indirect Object - This is one of the most basic and most common uses of
the dative case. It is used to indicate an indirect object for many transitive verbs.
The substantive in the dative case indicates to or for whom something is done.
E.g. John 4:10
"kaiV e[dwken a[n soi u{dwr zw'n"
"and he would have given to you living water"
Mark 10:13
"prosevferon aujtw'/ paidiva"
"they were bringing children to Him"
C. Dative of Means (also called the Instrumental Dative) - This is also a very
common use (and a root meaning) of the dative case. It shows the "means" or the
"instrument’ by which something is accomplished. The English prepositions with, by,
or by means of can be used to translate this use of the dative. The dative noun is
typically concrete as opposed to an abstract idea. This use can also be formed using
the preposition ejn with the dative case.
E.g. Ephesians 2:8
"th'/ ga;r cavritiv ejste sesw/smevnoi dia; pivstew""
"for by means of grace you are saved through faith"
Other examples: Romans 3:28, John 11:2, Philippians 4:6
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D. Dative of Sphere (or Place) Also called the Locative Dative - This use shows the
sphere, location, or even physical place, of an item or in which an action takes place.
Although it can be translated by the English prepositions in, on, at, upon, or beside,
(where appropriate) this use of the dative is most clearly translated by the phrase ’in
the sphere of’ or ’in the realm of’. See the explanation if the Dative of Reference since
these two can be confused with each other.
E.g. Matthew 5:3
"Makavrioi oiJ ptwcoiV tw'/ pneuvmati"
"Blessed are the poor in (the realm of) spirit"
Romans 4:19
"mh; ajsqenhvsa" th'/ pivstei"
"without being weakened in (the sphere of) faith"
E. Dative of Time (Answering ‘When?’ or ‘At what point of time?’) - The emphasis
is on the chronology of an event. It indicates a particular point of time within a
succession of events.
E.g. Matthew 20:19
"th'/ trivth/ hJmevra/ ejgerqhvsetai"
"on the third day He will be raised"
2 Corinthians 6:2
"Kairw'/ dektw'/ ejphvkousav sou"
"at the appointed time I heard you"
F. Dative of Interest - Emphasizes the idea of personal interest, or the person
interested in the verbal action. It can convey the idea of interest in a positive or
negative sense: interest in terms of advantage or disadvantage. Both of these uses are
relatively common, with the dative of advantage being more common than that of
disadvantage. Even the Dative of Direct Object tends to show some kind of ‘interest’,
this classification is used when the idea of interest is stressed. ‘Interest’ is usually
indicated by the kind of verb used.
I. Dative of Advantage - Indicates the meaning "for the benefit of" or "in the
interest of", although these may be rather awkward for a smooth translation.
E.g. 2 Corinthians 5:13
"ei[te ga;r ejxevsthmen, qew'/: ei[te swfronou'men, uJmi'n"
"For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right minds, it is for
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you"
Revelation 21:2
"… hJtoimasmevnhn wJ" nuvmfhn kekosmhmevnhn tw'/ ajndri; aujth'"."
"… prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."
II. Dative of Disadvantage - Can be translated "to the detriment of" or "against".
E.g. Matthew 23:31
"marturei'te eJautoi'""
"you testify against yourselves"
G. Dative of Direct Object - after certain verbs - A number of verbs require that
their direct object be in the dative case (as opposed to the accusative case which is
normally expected). These are verbs that usually emphasize a personal relationship
such as verbs that indicate trusting, worshipping, obeying, serving, thanksgiving, or
following.
E.g. Hebrews 1:6
"Kai; proskunhsavtwsan aujtw'/ pavnte" a[ggeloi qeou'."
"And let all the angels of God worship Him."
Matthew 8:27
"oiJ a[nemoi kai; hJ qavlassa aujtw'/ uJpakouvousin;."
"the winds and the sea obey Him."
H. Dative of Reference - Shows interest in a way that is similar but more remote
than that of the indirect object. It is typically used to qualify a statement that would
otherwise typically not be true. It acts to give a frame of reference or context to the
statement. The statement will often make no sense if the dative word is removed. It
can be translated with the phrases with reference to, concerning, about, or in regard
to.
The Dative of Reference can sometimes be confused with the Dative of Sphere, but
their meanings are somewhat the opposite. Make sure to not just see if the grammar
fits, but to think through what the author intended to say in the context. For instance,
in Romans 6:2, ‘having died in the sphere (realm) of sin’ or ‘having died with
reference to sin’ have very different meanings. This should be a true Dative of
Reference.
E.g. Romans 6:11
43
"logivzesqe eJautou;V [ei\nai] nekrou;" me;n th'/ aJmartiva/ zw'nta" de; tw'/
qew'/"
"consider yourselves to be dead in reference to sin, but alive to God"
I. Dative of Association - This relatively common use of the dative indicates the
person or thing one associates with or accompanies. It can be translated in English
with the phrase in association with. It is typically formed with a dative substantive
modifying a verb rather than a noun. Oftentimes the verb will be one that is prefixed
with the preposition suvn.
E.g. Ephesians 2:5
"sunezwopoivhsen tw'/ Cristw'/"
"he made us alive together (in association) with Christ"
2 Corinthians 6:14
"Mh; givnesqe eJterozugou'nte" ajpivstoi":"
"Do not be unequally yoked together in association with unbelievers;"
Introduction to Subjunctive Mood
1. As stated in the area giving a short definition of the subjunctive mood, the subjunctive indicates
probability or objective possibility. The action of the verb will possibly happen, depending on certain
objective factors or circumstances. It has a number of specific uses and is oftentimes used in conditional
statements (i.e. 'If...then...' clauses) or in purpose clauses.
2. However, if the subjunctive mood was used in isolation it may be accurate to merely call it the
mood of probability, but this is an overly simplistic view when you look at how it is used in the
NT. As seen by the classification of its uses (below), it is almost never used in making a kind of
objective statement that something will possibly happen. It must be seen in context to
understand how it used.
3. As far as the tense of the verb in the subjunctive mood, it should be remembered that the
subjunctive only shows the kind of action (verbal aspect or ‘aktionsart’) and not time. Only verbs
in the indicative mood indicate time in an absolute sense. (See intermediate discussion of verb
tenses). However, the ‘time’ implied by the subjunctive is usually future since it is a mood of
contingency. Thus the future indicative and the aorist subjunctive are closely related and
sometimes used in substitution for each other.
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4. The subjunctive mood is used in both independent (main) and depended (subordinate) clauses.
That is, it can be used as the main verb that makes up a sentence, or may be used in a subordinate
clause that is dependent upon another clause to make up a complete sentence. The following
explanations are divided into these two broad categories of classification.
I. Subjunctive in Main (Independent) Clauses These are uses that stand in a clause (or sentence) by themselves, not requiring
another clause to form a complete sentence.
Hortatory Subjunctive
a) This is a statement urging others to join in some action (commanding oneself and one’s associates). (It
is roughly the same as first person imperative, which does not exist in Greek.)
b) It is easily identified because it will always be the first person plural form of the subjunctive
mood. This verb form will often come near the beginning of the sentence.
c) It is usually translated "let us…." (Thus, as a mnemonic device, it can be referred to as the
‘Salad Subjunctive’.)
d) Examples:
i) Hebrews 10:22
"Let us come forward to the Holy of Holies with a true heart in full assurance of faith."
"prosercwvmeqa meta; ajlhqinh'" kardiva" ejn plhroforiva/ pivstew","
ii) Hebrews 12:1
"Let us run the race that is set before us."
"di uJpomonh'" trevcwmen to;n prokeivmenon hJmi'n ajgw'na,"
iii) 1 John 4:7
"Beloved, let us love one another."
"jAgaphtoiv, ajgapw'men ajllhvlou","
Deliberative Subjunctive
a) Whereas the indicative mood makes a statement, the subjunctive mood can be
used to ask a question. The question usually involves deliberating about a certain
course of action. The question may be either a real question (seeking an answer
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from the hearers) or a rhetorical one (just wanting consideration, with no answer
expected). It is typically not asking "What?" or "Who?", but rather "How?",
"Whether?", or "Where?" ("Could or Should I?"). The use of the subjunctive is
indicating some uncertainty about the answer.
b) As was stated earlier about the overlap in use between the subjunctive mood and
the future indicative, the future indicative
can also be used to ask deliberative questions, but the subjunctive is more common.
c) It is usually translated into English using the future tense.
d) Real examples (rather than rhetorical):
i) John 19:15
"Shall I crucify your king?"
"To;n basileva uJmw:n staurwvsw~"
ii) Matthew 6:31
"Therefore do not worry (be anxious), saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we
drink?' or 'What shall we wear?"
"mh; ou\n merimnhvshte levgonteV, Tiv favgwmen~ h[, Tiv pivwmen~ h[, Tiv
peribalwvmeqa~"
The subjunctive mood in this example indicates that those who would be asking
these questions have some doubt as to whether food, drink, or clothing will be
available.
e) Rhetorical examples:
i) Mark 8:37
"What can a person give in exchange for his (soul) life?"
"tiv ga;r doi: a[nqrwpoV ajntavllagma th:V yuch:V aujtou:~"
The subjunctive here implies that nothing would compensate for such a loss.
ii) Romans 10:14
"How can they hear without a preacher?"
"pw:V de; ajkouvswsin cwri;V khruvssontoV~"
Here the subjunctive implies that there is no way for them to hear without a
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preacher, but causes the audience to ponder (and thus is used to motivate).
Subjunctive of Emphatic Negation
a) This is a way to strongly deny that something will happen. It is the strongest way
to negate something in Greek.
b) It is formed by using a double negative (ou mh) with an aorist subjunctive verb (or
possibly future indicative). While ou plus the indicative denies a certainty, ou
mh plus the subjunctive denies even the potentiality.
c) It is translated "certainly not" or "never", with the English future tense.
d) This use is found primarily in the reported sayings of Jesus and in quotes from the
Septuagint. Outside of these two occurrences, it is used only rarely.
e) Examples:
i) Matthew 24:35
"but my words will not at all (certainly not) pass away."
"oiJ de; lovgoi mou ouj mh; parevlqwsin."
ii) Matthew 5:20
"unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and
Pharisees, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of the heavens".
"ejan mh; perisseuvsh/ uJmw'n hJ dikaiosuvnh plei'on tw'n grammatevwn kai;
Farisaivwn, ouj mh; eijsevlqhte eij" th;n basileivan tw'n oujranw'n."
iii) Hebrews 13:5
"I will not at all (certainly not) fail you, nor will I ever leave you."
"Ouj mhv se ajnw' oujd ouj mhv se ejgkatalivpw:"
Subjunctive of Prohibition (A negative command)
a) It is used to forbid in advance the initiation or occurrence of an action.
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b) It is formed by using the negating adverb (mh) with the aorist subjunctive, typically
in the second person. It is equivalent to imperative after mh.
i) In second person verb forms, the subjunctive takes the place of a verb in the
imperative mood. In third person verb forms, either the subjunctive or the imperative
may be used.
ii) The subjunctive of prohibition is usually seen with the aorist tense, rather than
the present tense.
c) It is translated "don’t ever…" or just "do not…." It does not have the sense that
"You should not…."
d) Examples:
i) Matthew 6:34
"Therefore don’t ever worry about tomorrow;"
"mh; ou\n merimnhvshte eij" th;n au[rion,"
ii) John 3:7
"Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born anew’."
"mh; qaumavsh/" o{ti ei\povn soi, Dei' uJma'" gennhqh'nai a[nwqen."
e) Comparative Note: A prohibition can be formed by using the negative adverb (not)
with the present imperative or with the aorist subjunctive (or with the future
indicative). As seen earlier, in general the present tense emphasizes the
continuation of an action and the aorist sees the action as a whole (and thus
sometimes has an ingressive idea). When used in prohibition, the present tense
(imperative) can mean to cease the continuation of an action, i.e. "stop doing…"
something. The prohibition formed with the aorist tense (subjunctive) can mean to
not start the action, i.e. "don’t start doing…" something. This is a generality but
cannot always be assumed to be the case. One needs to take caution and not blindly
apply this generality. The context of the prohibition always needs to be taken into
consideration.
i) The present tense prohibition may also just be telling a ‘general or customary
precept’, without commenting on whether the action is going on or not.
ii) The aorist tense in prohibitions does not always have an inceptive sense, but
can just be looking at the action as a whole, also as a general precept.
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II. Subjunctive in Subordinate (Dependent) Clauses These are uses of the subjunctive mood in a clause which is dependent on the
presence of another clause to make a complete sentence. A complex sentence
that includes a ‘dependent (subordinate) clause’ will, by definition, also include a
clause that is ‘independent’ (principal). The verb in the independent clause will
be the main verb in the sentence.
Purpose Clause
a) The ‘purpose clause’ (a dependent clause) is used to show the purpose or
intention of the action of the main verb in the sentence (in the independent clause).
This construction is meant to show intention, not to state whether something
actually happens or not.
b) The purpose clause answers the question "Why?" or "For what reason?", rather
than "What?".
c) The conjunction that precedes the subjunctive verb (usually i{na or o{pw") is
translated "in order that" or possibly "that". For the sake of clarity, it is probably best
translated "in order that".
d) If the subjunctive mood is used in a ‘purpose’ (or in a ‘result’) clause, then the
action should not be thought of as a possible result, but should be viewed as the stated
outcome that will happen (or has happened) as a result of another stated action. The
use of the subjunctive is not to indicate that something ‘may’ or ‘might’ result from a
given action, but it is stating the ‘purpose of’ or ‘reason for’ an action.
e) The subjunctive mood in a purpose clause actually functions more like a verb in the
indicative mood rather than in the optative mood. It is not stating the possibility or
probability of an action, but instead telling the intention of the primary action.
f) The ‘purpose clause’ is most frequently introduced by the
conjunction i{na or o{pw". (The single most common use of the subjunctive is
after i{na, comprising about one third of all occurrences.) These words are used in
clauses that show ‘purpose’, ‘result’, (or other related ideas). But the most frequent
use is to show ‘purpose’.
g) For ‘negative purpose’ i{na mh or o{pw" mh is used, translated "in order that
…not" or "lest". This indicates that the intention of the action of the main clause is in
order that something else would not happen.
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h) For example:
i) John 10:38
"In order that you might know and keep on knowing that the Father is in Me,
and I in the Father."
"i{na gnw'te kai; ginwvskhte o{ti ejn ejmoi; oJ path;r kajgw; ejn tw'/ patriv."
ii) Ephesians 3:10
"In order that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made
known through the church..."
"i{na gnwrisqh'/ nu'n ... dia; th'" ejkklhsiva" hJ polupoivkilo" sofiva tou' qeou',"
iii) John 1:7
"He came for a testimony, in order that he might testify about the light, in
order that all might believe through him."
"ou|to" h\lqen eij" marturivan, i{na marturhvsh/ peri; tou' fwtov", i{na pavnte"
pisteuvswsin di aujtou'."
Notice that this verse has two purpose clauses, emphasizing the ultimate
reason for John’s coming as a testimony to Christ.
Indefinite Relative Clause
a) Referring to an indefinite/generic (or sometimes an uncertain) ‘person’ or ‘thing’.
b) The clause starts with the relative pronoun o}sti" or o}", followed by the
particle a]n (which adds another element of indefiniteness to the clause), followed by
a verb in the subjunctive mood.
c) This clause often operates as a substantive within the structure of a sentence.
d) It is the person that is ‘uncertain’, not the verbal element. (Thus the verb - in the
subjunctive mood - is often translated as indicative, since the potential element
belongs to the subject of the clause rather than to the verb.)
e) For example:
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i) Matthew 20:27
"And whoever wants to be first among you will be your slave."
"kai; o}" a]n qevlh/ ejn uJmi'n ei\nai prw'to" e[stai uJmw'n dou'lo":"
ii) John 4:14
"Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never (emphatic
negation) thirst again."
"o}" d` a]n pivh/ ejk tou' u{dato" ou| ejgw; dwvsw aujtw'/, ouj mh; diyhvsei
eij" to;n aijw'na,"
iii) Romans 9:15
"For he said to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have
compassion on whom I have compassion."
"tw'/ Mwu>sei' ga;r levgei, jElehvsw o}n a]n ejlew', kai; oijktirhvsw o}n a]n
oijktivrw."
Indefinite Temporal Clause
a) Often the subjunctive will be used after a temporal adverb (like e{w", a[cri, or mevcri) or after
a temporal conjunction o{tan (or less frequently ejpan or hJnivka). These temporal adverbs
mean ‘until’; the temporal conjunctions mean ‘whenever’.
b) This use of the subjunctive indicates a future contingency relative to the time of the main verb
in the sentence.
c) Examples with temporal adverbs:
i) Galatians 3:19
"It (the law) was added because of transgressions, until the seed should come to whom
the promise was made;"
"tw'n parabavsewn cavrin prosetevqh, a[cri" ou| e[lqh/ toV spevrma w|/ ejphvggeltai,"
ii) 2 Peter 1:19
"...word, which you do well to heed …, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in
your hearts;"
"...lovgon, w|/ kalw'" poiei'te prosevconte" ..., e{w" ou| hJmevra diaugavsh/ kai;
fwsfovro" ajnateivlh/ ejn tai'" kardivai" uJmw'n:"
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d) Examples with temporal conjunctions:
i) 2 Corinthians 12:10
"For whenever I am weak, then I am strong."
"o{tan ga;r ajsqenw', tovte dunatov" eijmi."
ii) 2 Corinthians 3:16
"But whenever it (the heart) turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away."
"hJnivka de; eja;n ejpistrevyh/ pro;" kuvrion, periairei'tai to; kavlumma."
Greek Conditional Sentences
Conditional sentences are "If ..., then ..." statements. They make a statement that if
something happens, then something else will happen.
The 'if' clause is referred to as the 'protasis' by grammarians. It comes from the
Greek words 'pro' (meaning before) and 'stasis' (meaning 'stand'). So the 'protasis'
means 'what stands before' or 'comes first' as far as these two clauses are concerned.
The 'then' clause is termed the 'apodosis'; it is what 'comes after' the protasis.
Logical Relationship between Protasis and Apodasis
There are a number of different relationships that can exist between the protasis and
apodosis. It is important that you try to distinguish between these relationships for sake of more
clearly understanding the text. Please also note that there can be some overlap between these
three relationships.
They could represent a Cause-Effect relationship, where the action in the protasis will
cause the effect in the apodosis. For example Romans 8:13b, "...but if by the spirit you put to
death the practices of the body, you will live."
They could show a Evidence-Inference type relationship, where the apodosis is inferred to be
true based upon the evidence presented in the protasis. This will often be semantically the
converse of the ‘Cause-Effect’ relationship. For example 1 Cor. 15:44, "If there is a soulish
body, there is also a spiritual one."
Or, the relationship could be one showing Equivalence between the protasis and apodosis,
which is actually a subset of the Evidence-Inference relationship. For example Gal. 2:18, "...if I
build up again those things which I destroyed, I prove myself a transgressor."
Classification of Greek Conditional Sentences
Greek has more ability than English in describing the kind of relationship between
the protasis, and the apodosis. It is possible for the writer/speaker to indicate whether
the protasis is true or not. Actually they can indicate if they are presenting the protasis
as 'assumed true (or false) for the sake of argument'. In order to indicate this kind of
relationship between the protasis and apodosis, Classical Greek traditional had four
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kinds of conditional sentences, based upon what tense and mood the verb occurs in
and upon some helping words. These are much the same in Koine (Biblical) Greek,
with slight variations.
First Class Condition - Is considered the 'Simple Condition' and assumes that the
premise (protasis) is true for the sake of argument. The protasis is formed with the
helping word ei ('if') with the main verb in the indicative mood, in any tense; with any
mood and tense in the apodosis.
Second Class Condition - Is known as the 'Contrary-to-Fact Condition' and
assumes the premise as false for the sake of argument. The protasis is again formed
with the helping word ei ('if') and the main verb in the indicative mood. The tense of
the verb (in the protasis) must also be in a past-time tense (aorist or imperfect). The
apodosis will usually have the particle an as a marking word, showing some
contingency.
Third Class Condition - Traditionally known as the 'More Probable Future
Condition', the third class condition should actually be split into two different
categories, the 'Future More Probable Condition' (indicating either a probable future
action or a hypothetical situation) and the 'Present General Condition' (indicating a
generic situation or universal truth at the present time). It is formed in the protasis
using the word ean (ei plus an = 'if') and a verb in the subjunctive mood. The main
verb of the protasis can be in any tense, but if the condition is a 'Present General', the
verb must be in the present tense.
Fourth Class Condition - Is usually called the 'Less Probable Future Condition'
and does not have a complete example in the New Testament. The fulfillment of this
condition was considered even more remote than the Third Class Condition. It was
formed with the helping word ei and the optative mood in the protasis. The apodosis
had the helping word an and its verb was also in the optative mood.
Adjectives (More In-depth)
A Greek adjective can have one of two major relationships to
the noun (or substantive) that it is modifying. It can be either in the attributive
position or the predicate position. Following is an explanation of these two positions
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of Greek adjectives.
A Greek adjective can also be used as a substantive, taking the place of a noun. See
below for an explanation of the substantival use of the adjective.
Attributive Position of Greek Adjectives
If an adjective is in the attributive position, it is not making the central statement or
thought in the sentence concerning the noun it is modifying. It is only ascribing an
attribute or quality to the noun, while the predicate part of the sentence is making the
grammatically more fundamental statement about the noun. The Attributive and
Predicate positions of the adjective are determined by word order, especially in
relation to the definite article.
In the syntactical formation of the 'attribute position of the adjective', the
adjective comes after the definite article. That means that the adjective could stand
between the definite article and the noun (the ascriptive use - as in the first example
below) or the adjective could come after the definite article which is following the
noun (the restrictive use - as in the second example below).
It is common even in English for there to be a definite article followed by an
adjective, which is in turn followed by the noun that they are modifying. This is also a
common Greek phrase as far as word order is concerned (and is called the ascriptive
use of the attribute position). That is "Article-Adjective-Noun".
However, Greek can say basically the same thing by having a definite article, the noun
it modifies, then another definite article (in the same form as the first one), and then
the adjective that modifies the noun. That is "Article-Noun-Article-Adjective". (This
is called the restrictive use of the attribute position). Rather than merely ascribing a
quality to the noun, this form gives a little more emphasis to that quality represented
by the adjective and helps to set this noun apart from other ones without this quality.
(See the second example below).
Although in the attributive use the adjective usually comes after the definite article
(associated with the noun), if the noun it is modifying does not have a definite article
associated with it (i.e. it is anarthrous), one can only tell by context whether it is in the
attributive or predicate position.
The Ascriptive Use of the Attribute Adjective: For example Luke 6:45 says,
"The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good." Here
the order of the Greek words is 'article', 'adjective', 'noun'.
The Restrictive Use of the Attribute Adjective: For example John 10:11
Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd". In Greek, the word order is "I am the
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shepherd the good", that is 'article', 'noun', 'article', 'adjective'. This is the
second way the attributive adjective can be formed. The noun 'shepherd' is
being modified by the adjective 'good'. Notice that 'good' still comes after the
second definite article which modifies this noun. This position helps to
emphasis the quality of "good" as if to say that not all shepherds are good. It
could be translated, "I am the shepherd, that is, the good one (as opposed to the
others who are not good)".
Predicate Position of Greek Adjectives
In the predicate position of the adjective, the adjective itself is actually making the
statement about the noun (i.e. it is in the predicate part of the sentenceor clause). The
noun and the adjective could by themselves be the complete simple sentence. (But
note that the adjective used attributively could not form a complete sentence.) When
the adjective is in the predicate position, a form of the verb "to be" may or not be
explicitly present in Greek, but will always be in the English translation of the phrase.
When the adjective is in the predicate position, it will not follow the definite
article connected to the noun (whether the noun is articular oranarthrous).
For example: Jesus said in Mark 10:18, "No one is good except One, that is, God."
The phrase "No one is good" is only two words in Greek. The first word means 'no
one' and the second word means 'good'. Thus there is a noun and an adjective with no
intervening definite article. This is the predicate position of the adjective (since there
is no definite article before the adjective). In translation, you must insert the
appropriate form of the word "to be" to capture the sense of the predicate position.
Therefore these two words by themselves could form a complete simple sentence in
Greek.
Substantival Use of Greek Adjectives
The adjective can also be used alone (with or without the article) as
a noun (substantive). In this situation, if the adjective is masculine, it is referring to
"men" (or "man" - singular), "people", or "ones". If the adjective is feminine, it is
referring to "women." And if the adjective is neuter, it is referring to a "class" or
"things" .
For example, the neuter, plural adjective for "living" would mean "the living" as
opposed to "the dead." An example from Galatians 1:1 is "...God the Father, who
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raised Him (Christ) from among the dead." The word 'dead' is a genitive, plural
adjective (either neuter or masculine -- probably neuter). It means "the dead" or,
possibly, "the dead ones" or "the dead men."
Notice also that in Greek the adjective "raised" is actually an attributive adjectival use
of on aorist participle.
Some Terms Associated with Definite Articles
Articular
When a noun is said to be "Articular", it means that there is a definite
article modifying (associated with) the noun.
Anarthrous
When a noun is said to be "Anarthrous", it means that there is not a definite
article modifying (associated with) the noun.
Word Order and Emphasis in Greek
1) Due to the linear nature of the Greek language, in general, words at the beginning of a
sentence/clause
have more prominence than words at the end.
2) Emphasis in Greek is oftentimes shown by words occurring out of their customary order in
relation to
other words in the sentence.
3) The normal order of words in Greek is not well understood yet. It has generally been taught
that for a
sentence on the whole, the normal order would be “verb - subject - object/complement”.
However, it has
been show that when a subject of the verb is explicitly stated, it oftentimes comes first in the
sentence.
Thus a more accurate order may instead be “subject - verb - object/complement”
4) Emphatic Word Order
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a) Splitting of Syntactical Units
i) E.g. John 7:38b “potamoiV ejk th'" koiliva" aujtou' rJeuvsousin u{dato" zw'nto".” “from
within
him shall flow rivers of living water.”
ii) 2 Cor. 7:1 “tauvta" ou\n e[conte" taV" ejpaggeliva",” “Having therefore these promises,”
iii) 3 John 4 “meizotevran touvtwn oujk e[cw caravn,” “Greater joy have I none than this,”
b) “Nominative Absolutes” placed at beginning of clause, without regard to the syntax focuses
on the
subject.
i) E.g. Rev. 3:12 “oJ nikw'n poihvsw aujtoVn stu'lon” “He that overcometh, I will make him a
pillar”
c) Extra Words or Repeated Words
i) E.g. 1 Cor. 1:24 “CristoVn qeou' duvnamin kaiV qeou' sofivan:” “Christ the power of God,
and the
wisdom of God.”
d) Direct Object or Predicate Nominatives/Adjectives preceding subject and/or verb.
i) E.g. Heb. 4:12 “Zw'n gaVr oJ lovgo" tou' qeou' kaiV ejnerghV"” “For the word of God is
living, and
active,”
ii) John 19:18 “o{pou aujtoVn ejstauvrwsan, kaiV met· aujtou' a[llou" duvo” “where they
crucified
him, and with him two others,”
e) Genitive nouns/pronouns preceding the noun they modify
i) E.g. Matt. 27:54 “jAlhqw'" qeou' uiJoV" h\n ou|to".” “Truly this was the Son of God.”
ii) 1 Cor. 2:7 “ajllaV lalou'men qeou' sofivan ejn musthrivw/,” “but we speak God's wisdom in a
mystery,”
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iii) See 1 Cor. 1:24 above.
f) Prepositional Phrases or Indirect Object preceding the verb.
i) E.g. John 1:46 “jEk NazareVt duvnataiv ti ajgaqoVn ei\nai;” “Can any good thing come out of
Nazareth?”
5) Intrinsically Emphatic Word Classes (see “Black” pg. 183)
a) Adverbs (alhqw", euqu")
b) Emphatic Personal Pronouns
c) Emphatic Possessive Adjectives
d) Nominative Personal Pronouns (egw, hmei")
i) E.g. John 10:11 “jEgwv eijmi oJ poimhVn oJ kalov":” “I am the good shepherd:”
e) Intensive Pronouns (auto")
i) E.g. Matt. 1:21 “aujtoV" gaVr swvsei toVn laoVn aujtou' ajpoV tw'n aJmartiw'n aujtw'n.” “for
it is he
that shall save his people from their sins.”
f) Intensive Adverbs (nuni, ouci)
i) E.g. Eph. 2:13 “nuniV deV ejn Cristw'/ jIhsou' uJmei'" oi{ pote o[nte" makraVn ejgenhvqhte
ejgguV" ejn
tw'/ ai{mati tou' Cristou'.” “But now in Christ Jesus you that once were far off are made near in
the blood of Christ.”
g) Double Negatives (ou mh)
i) Mark 14:31 “ouj mhv se ajparnhvsomai.” “I will not deny you.”
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