Lesson 4
DECLENSION OF NEUTER O-STEMS

πᾶν δένδρον ἀγαθὸν καρποὺς καλοὺς ποιεῖ¹

NEUTER NOUNS

1. Neuter ο-stem nouns are very similar to the masculine ο-stem nouns. If you have learned the masculine ο-stem declension, you will have no trouble with the neuter.
2. Here is the pattern:

   δῶρον gift

   	SINGULAR	PLURAL
   NOM	δῶρον	δῶρα
   GEN	δώρου	δώρων
   DAT	δώρῳ	δώροιs
   ACC	δῶρον	δῶρα
   VOC	δῶρον	δῶρα

3. Notice that the inside cases (GEN and DAT) have exactly the same endings as the masculine inside cases which we studied in lesson 2.
   1. In the singular, the outside cases (NOM, ACC, and VOC) are all the same.
   2. Likewise in the plural, the outside cases are all the same.
4. Many Greek neuter nouns are also neuter in English.
   1. However a word which is neuter in English may be masculine, feminine, or neuter in Greek.
   2. It is therefore important to learn the gender when you learn the noun.
5. A neuter plural subject regularly has its verb in the singular:
   1. τά δῶρα λύει (not λύουσι) ἀνθρώπους. The gifts destroy men.
   2. When it comes to translating from Greek, you can easily be fooled when the neuter plural subject is linked with a singular verb.

ARTICLES

1. In English, there are two kinds of articles: definite (the) and indefinite (a, an).
   1. In Greek, however, there is no indefinite article.
   2. Thus a singular noun with no definite article is generally translated "a" or "an."
   3. E.g., ἄνθρωπος means "a man"; δῶρον means "a gift."
   4. Later, we will study grammatical rules which will show that some nouns without the article must be translated as definite.
2. The definite article is an adjective (a word that modifies a noun).
   1. In English there is only one form of the definite article "the."
   2. In Greek, however, the form of the article changes according to the form of the noun.
   3. The article has forms that agree with the case, gender, and number of the noun it modifies.
   4. This rule is true in a number of other languages, too.

   	CASE	MASCULINE	FEMININE	NEUTER
   S I N G.	NOM	ὁ	ἡ	τό
   	GEN	τοῦ	τῆς	τοῦ
   	DAT	τῷ	τῇ	τῷ
   	ACC	τόν	τήν	τό
   P L U R.	NOM	οἱ	αἱ	τά
   	GEN	τῶν	τῶν	τῶν
   	DAT	τοῖς	ταῖς	τοῖς
   	ACC	τούς	τάς	τά

3. Examples:
   1. ὁ ἄνθρωπος βλέπει τὸ δῶρον means the man sees the gift.
   2. ὁ ἄνθρωπος βλέπει τὰ δῶρα means the man sees the gifts.
   3. οἱ ἄνθρωποι βλέπουσι τὸ δῶρον means the men see the gift.
   4. οἱ ἄνθρωποι βλέπουσι τὰ δῶρα means the men see the gifts.
4. Notice: the article agrees with the noun it modifies in number, gender, and case.
   1. When the noun is singular, the article in front of it is also singular.
   2. When the noun is plural, the article is plural.
   3. When the noun is in the NOM case, the article is in the NOM case.
   4. When the noun is masculine, the article is also in the masculine form.
5. There is no VOC form for the article Oh Thomas! needs no article in English or Greek. You wouldn't say, "Oh the Thomas!"

PUNCTUATION

1. Punctuation in Greek is similar to that in English with a few exceptions
2. A period is made just like the English period—a dot on the line.
3. A comma is made the same as in English.
4. A colon or semicolon is made by one raised period (·)
5. A question mark is made by an English semicolon (;).
   1. ἄνθρωπος γράφει βιβλίον. A man writes a book.
   2. ἄνθρωπος γράφει βιβλίον; Does a man write a book? or Is a man writing a book?
6. Hyphens, dashes, parentheses, and brackets are all made like the English.
7. When you start to read the New Testament, you will notice that sentences don't always begin with the upper case. Paragraphs often do, and some sentences.

WORD ORDER

1. Greek word order is very flexible. The following Greek sentences all mean the same thing: a man sees the messenger.
   1. ἄνθρωπος βλέπει τὸν ἄγγελον.
   2. τὸν ἄγγελον βλέπει ἄνθρωπος.
   3. βλέπει ἄνθρωπος τὸν ἄγγελον.
2. Note that even though the word order is switched each time, the subject (ἄνθρωπος) is always in the NOM case in each sentence.
3. Likewise the direct object (ἄγγελον) is always in the ACC case.
4. In any given sentence or clause, you can determine what the subject is by looking for the noun that is in the nominative case.
5. Don't depend on the normal (English) word order or you might incorrectly translate the second sentence as the messenger sees a man.
6. "A man" is in the NOM case, so it must be the subject.
7. Thus the sentence must be translated as A man sees the messenger.
8. Although it may appear that "anything goes" in Greek word order, there are some definite rules and features.
9. The word or expression which comes first in a sentence is the most important or emphatic.
   1. Thus ἄνθρωπος βλέπει τὸν ἄγγελον means a MAN sees the messenger.
   2. τὸν ἄγγελον βλέπει ἄνθρωπος means a man sees the MESSENGER.
   3. βλέπει ἄνθρωπος τὸν ἄγγελον. means a man SEES the messenger.
10. Sometimes a whole phrase or clause comes first to indicate that it is emphatic. (e.g., the man who rode a donkey five hundred miles is coming to town
11. A word in the genitive usually follows the thing it possesses. ἀδελφὸς δοὺλου = a brother of a slave or a slave’s brother.
12. Most sentences follow the normal order: subject - verb - object
13. In a sentence with a predicate, the predicate will most often appear first
    1. υἱὸς τῆς βασιλείας ἐστι means he is the son of the king
    2. τέκνα θεοῦ ἐστε means you are children of God
    3. ἀδελφοί εἰσιν means they are brothers
14. Sentences based on Hebrew often begin with the verb.

Translate or answer the following:

1. οἱ ἀπόστολοι γράφουσι βιβλία τῷ ἱερῷ
2. εὑρίσκετε τὸν ἱμάτιον τῷ πλοίῳ
3. πιστεύετε τῷ σημείῳ
4. φυλάσσω τὸν πρόβατον, φεύγετε τοῦ ἔργον
5. ὁ ἄνθρωπος παύει τὸν δεῖπνον ὅτι [because] λύει ποτήριον τοῦ οἴνου
6. What are the verb endings for the Present indicative active?
7. What are the masculine noun endings?
8. What are the neuter noun endings?
9. Identify the following article forms by indicating their gender (M, F, N), number (S, P), and case (NOM, GEN, DAT, ACC): ἡ, ὁ, οἱ, τά, τῇ, τῆς, τό, τόν, τοῖς, τούς, τῷ, τῶν, ταῖς.