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GRAMMAR GLOSSARY
 

accent
 A mark placed above a vowel (or second vowel of diphthong) to indicate the pitch of the syllable as:
  • rising (acute a& ),
  • falling (grave a_ ),
  • or rising then falling (circumflex a~ );

invented circa 200 BC.
 

accidence
 Technical term for the area of grammar which deals with changes in individual words and their endings.
 

accusative
 Technical term for the case which indicates
  • the object or recipient of a verb of action: r(i/ptei to_n ce/non He strikes the stranger,
  •  or, with prepositions, generally of the place targeted: pro_j to_n a)gro&n towards the field.
 

active
 The voice of a verb when the subject performs the action:
  • He strikes the stranger;

the other voices are middle and passive.
 

adjective
 A word which describes or identifies a noun, and agrees with it in case, gender and number:
  • h( kalh_ qea&  The beautiful goddess;

an adjective can also be used as a complement:

  • h(   )Afrodi/th e0sti kalh&  Aphrodite is beautiful.

The adjective may be a combination of 1st and 2nd declensions:

  • kalo&j, kalh&, kalo&n

or 3rd and 1st declensions:

  • h(du&j, h(dei=a, h(du&  pleasant

or 3rd declension with no separate feminine:

  • safh&j, safe/j clear.
 

adverb
 An adverb accompanies a verb and describes its action, usually indicated by -ly in English:
  • He walks quickly.
 

agent
 The person indicated as the one who performs the action when the verb is is the passive, usually introduced with by:
  • The stranger was struck by the guard;

cf. instrument.
 

agreement
 The rule that requires an adjective, pronoun or participle to have the same case, gender and number as the noun it describes, or a verb to have the same number as its subject.
 

antecedent
 Usually a noun that is further described by a relative pronoun:
  • The girl whom I saw.
 

aorist
 The normal past tense of a verb which gives a single completed action:
  • I came, I saw, I conquered.

It is usually marked by an initial augment and is classified as:

  • strong:   e1lipon I left
  • or weak:   e1pausa  I stopped.
 

article
 See definite article; indefinite article.
 

augment
 A prefix e- added before the verb stem as a marker to indicate that the verb is in the past tense (imperfect, aorist or pluperfect):
  • pau&w I stop,  e1pausa I stopped.
 
 

 

 

breathing
 A mark essential to any word beginning with a vowel or rho (r-) indicating that the vowel is:
  • aspirated (rough breathing: h(donh&, r(odo&n)
  • or not aspirated (smooth breathing: a)gora& ).
 
 

 

 

cardinal numbers
 The most common numerals given in Greek by letters of the alphabet with a special mark:
  • a / , b / , g /  (1, 2, 3)
 

case
 The form of a noun, pronoun or adjective that shows by its ending its role in the sentence as
  • subject (nominative case)
  • object (accusative)
  • possessor (genitive)
  • indirect object (dative)
  • person addressed (vocative)

there are also other uses for the indirect cases (accusative, genitive, dative) usually indicated by associated prepositions.
 

clause
 A string of words which contains a verb, usually understood as a main clause which can stand on its own:
  • (we shall leave soon)

and a subordinate clause which depends on a main clause to complete its sense:

  • (when the sun sets we shall leave)
 

comparative
 The form of an adjective or adverb that indicated more, usually expressed by adding -er in English (stronger),  -teroj  in Greek (i0sxuro&teroj).
 

comparison
 The comparison of an adjective or adverb indicates the forms in the
  • positive (strong)
  • comparative (stronger)
  • superlative (strongest)
 

complement
 An adjective or noun which completes the sense of the verbs be, become, seem and is in the nominative as it describes the subject:
  • the judge is wise
  • she became queen
 

compound verb
 A verb which extends its meaning by prefixing a preposition:
  • e0k-bai/nw  I go out.
 

conjugation
 The scheme of verb forms according to their different endings:
  • pau&w
  • pau&eij
  • pau&ei
  • pau&omen
  • pau&ete
  • pau&ousi

The correct expression is to conjugate a verb but decline a noun.
 

conjunction
 A conjunction normally introduces a clause which depends on a main sentence:
  • I cannot leave before my father comes.
 

consonant
 A letter of the alphabet (e.g. b, g, d) that is not a vowel, but which combines with a vowel to form a syllable.
 

contraction
 The natural shortening of two vowels sounds into one, in which the weaker is assimilated to the stronger as:
  • file/w  >  filw~ 
  • tima&ete  > tima~te
 
 

 

 

dative
 The case of a noun used for the:
  • indirect object: I gave him a book
  • instrument: he was killed by an arrow
  • or with some prepositions: he swam in the river
 

declension
 The scheme of the different cases of nouns, adjectives and pronouns and their division into the forms of first, second and third declension.
 For example to decline lo&goj is to give the second declension endings as:
 

Singular

 

  

Plural

 
lo&goj lo&goi
lo&gon lo&gouj
lo&gou lo&gwn
lo&gw|  lo&goij
 

definite article
 The grammatical term for the word the:
  • in Greek  o(,  h(,  to&, 

which agrees with the noun it points out and defines

(see also: indefinite article)
 

dental consonant
 Consonants pronounced with the teeth, namely:
  • t  (soft)
  • d  (hard)
  • q  (aspirated)
 

deponent
 A verb with active meaning but middle or passive form.
 

diaeresis
 A sign of two dots placed over the second of two vowels but beneath the accent which shows that the two should be pronounced separately and not as a diphthong as:

 

e0n th~| nhi5  

 on the ship.
 

diphthong
 Two vowels giving one sound as aisle in English,  ai0  in Greek.
 

direct object
 The recipient of the action of an active or transitive verb as:

r(i/ptei li/qon

 

 He throws a stone.

 
 

dual
 A rare number, between singular and plural, referring to two taken together, which may have a separate form for adjectives, nouns and verbs as:

tw_  a)delfw&  

 

 the two brothers

 
 

 

 

enclitic
 An unimportant word which has no accent and cannot stand alone, but 'leans back on' a preceding word which may then have its last syllable accented.
 

ending
 One or more letters added to the stem of a noun, adjective or verb to show its function in the sentence.
Such a modification is formally called an inflection.
 

 

 

feminine
 See gender.
 

future
 The tense that refers to a time after now, usually indicated in Greek by a sigma added to the verb stem.
 
 

 

 

gender
 Greek nouns, adjectives and pronouns are classified as masculine, feminine or neuter, but nouns which English regards as things are not necessarily neuter, but may be:
  • masculine as o( li/qoj stone
  • feminine as h( oi0ki/a house
 

genitive
 Technical term for the case which indicates the possessor:

 

oi9 tou~ qeou~ lo&goi

 the words of the god / the god's words

(shown in English by adding  's)

 

or, with prepositions, generally of the place of departure:

a)po_ tou~ a)grou~ 

 from the field
 

guttural consonant
 Consonants pronounced in the throat (sometimes called 'velar'):
  • k  (soft)
  • g  (hard)
  • x  (aspirated)
 
 

 

 

hiatus
 A break between two vowels which end one word and begin the next;
this is generally avoided in Greek by dropping the first vowel and indicating the loss with an apostrophe;
if the second vowel has a rough breathing then the aspirated form of the preceding consonant is used:

 
  • u(po_ au)tou~  by him becomes  u(p' au)tou~ 
but
  • u(po_ h(mw~n  by us becomes  u(f' h(mw~n
 

 

 

imperative
 The mood of a verb which gives a command to one or more people (you singular or plural) in present or aorist tense as:
  • e0lqe/  /  e0lqe/te deu~ro  come here.
Greek also has a rarer third person imperative equivalent to let him / let them come.

 
 
 

imperfect
 The past tense of a verb indicating an action previously ongoing or repeated and usually marked by an initial augment:
  • e1rgafon eu]  I was writing / I used to write well.
 

impersonal verb
 A verb which has no actual personal subject (I, you, they)
but is used in the third person singular (it) for a continuous state of affairs,
usually with a following infinitive:
  • xrh_  fugei=n  it is necessary to / we must run away.
 
 

indefinite pronoun
 A pronoun with no particular reference, as:
  • tij  someone
  • ti   something
Indefinite pronouns, like indefinite adverbs such as pote  sometime and pou  somewhere,
have no accent and are enclitic.
 
 

indefinite article
 Greek has a definite article:
  • o(,  h(,  to&   the
but not an indefinite article (a, an)
although tij, ti (indefinite adjective: some, any) may be used.
 
 

indicative
 The mood of a verb which indicates the normal statement as:
  • positive:  le/gei  he is speaking
  • negative:  ou) le/gei  he is not speaking
  • interogative:  a}ra le/gei;  is he speaking?
The indicative may be in any tense or voice.
 
 

indirect object
 A noun or pronoun in the dative which gives the recipient of the direct object, usually with verbs of giving or telling:
  • le/gei toi=j pai=si mu~qon  He is telling the children a story
  • pare/xei au)toi=j dw~ron  He offers them a gift
 
 

infinitive
 The mood of a verb which names it, equivalent to to [do] in English:
  • gra&fein  to write
The tense of the infinitive may be present, future, aorist or perfect.
 
 

inflection
 See ending.
 

instrument
 A noun in the dative which indicates a thing by means of which an action, often passive, is performed:
  • bla&ptetai liqw|   he is hurt by a stone
If the action is due to a person, not a thing, this is called the agent,
and the genitive case is used (with the preposition u(po&).
 
 

interrogative
 A sentence which asks a question:
  • a}ra kaqeu&dei; Is he sleeping?
An interrogative pronoun or adverb introduces a question:
  • ti/j le/gei;  Who is speaking?
  • pou~ oi0kei=j;  Where do you live?
Unlike their indefinite counterparts the interrogative forms are accented and come first in the sentence.
 
 

intransitive
 A term used of a verb which does not take an object as:
  • bai/nw  I walk
See also transitive.
 
 

 

 

labial consonant
 Consonants pronounced with the lips, namely:
  • p   (soft)
  • b   (hard)
  • f   (aspirated)
 

liquid consonant
 Technical term for the consonants l and p,
which, because of their 'flowing' sound act almost like vowels.
 
 

 

 

masculine
 See gender.
 
 

middle voice
 Between active and passive, and identical to the passive form in present, imperfect and perfect tenses, the middle returns directly to the subject with reflexive sense:
  • louo&mai   I wash (myself)
or indirectly:
  • ai9rou~mai  I take for myself / I choose
There are also middle deponents which are middle in form, active in meaning:
  • ma&xomai   I fight
 
 

mood
 The technical term for the various functions of a verb,
comprising (in Greek):
  • indicative
  • imperative
  • infinitive
  • subjunctive
  • optative
 

 

 

nasal consonant
 Consonants pronounced through the nostrils, namely n and also m.
 
 

negative
 The opposite of positive, involving no or not;
Greek has the word ou) for a negative statement and mh& for a negative command, infinitive, subjunctive and sometimes optative.
 
 

neuter
 See gender.
 
 

nominative
 Technical term for the case which names or describes the subject or complement of a verb:
  • h( qea& a)kou&ei   The goddess listens
  • e0sti kalh&    She is beautiful.
 
 

noun
 A word which names a person or a thing; it is distinguished by:
  • gender  (masculine, feminine or neuter)
  • case      (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, vocative)
  • number (singular, plural)
  • declension (first, second, third)
 
 

number
 Number distinguishes nouns, adjectives and verbs as:
  • singular  (one of them)
  • plural    (more than one)
  • dual   (two counting as one): [this is rare]
 
 

numerals
 The three kinds of numerals are:
  • cardinal   (1, 2, 3 ...)
  • ordinal     (1st., 2nd., 3rd. ...)
  • adverbial  (once, twice, thrice ...)
 

 

 

optative
 The mood of a verb which basically expresses a wish:
  • eu)tu&xoio  May you have good luck
 
 

ordinals
 See numerals.
 
 

 

 

parsing
 Analysing a word into its various grammatical forms as:
  • kalh|~  dative, singular, feminine
of the adjective
  • kalo&j,  kalh&, kalo&n  beautiful
also
  • pau&sei  3rd person, singular, future indicative active
of
  • pau&w,  pau&sw,  e1pausa  I stop
 

particle
 A common short word that connects words and sentences:  (kai/, de/  and)
or contrasts them: (a)lla&  but)
or emphasises them: (ge, dh&  indeed).
 
 

participle
 A very common Greek form derived from a verb and so with voice (active, middle or passive) 
and tense (present, future, aorist, perfect),
but, since it is also an adjective it agrees with its noun in gender, case and number, e.g.:
  • path_r filw~n   a loving father
  • path_r filou&menoj   a loved father
It can often translate a when, while or who clause:

  • a)fiko&menoi e0deipnh&samen  after arriving (or when we had arrived) we dined

  • oi0 teqnhko&tej   (those who have died)
 
 

passive
 The voice of a verb which indicates that the subject is the recipient of the action of the verb:

o( strathgo&j tima~tai u(po_ pa&ntwn

The general is honoured by all.
The passive has a form distinct from the middle in the future and aorist.
 

penultimate
 Literally: The last but one,
i.e. the second syllable in a word of three syllables.
eg 
 

perfect tense
 The perfect is used for a past action with results continuing into the present,
marked by reduplication (doubling of the initial consonant with -e-):
  • gega&mhka   I have married
  • gegra&ptai  It has been written
For a past action without present connotations the aorist is used in Greek.
 
 

person
 The technical term for the subject of a verb as:
  •  first     singular and plural (I, we)
  • second  (you)
  • third     (he, she, it, they)
 
 

personal pronoun
 The pronouns corresponding to the persons are:
  • e0gw&     I
  • h(mei=j   we
  • su&        you (sing.)
  • u(mei=j   you  (pl.)
For the third:  au)to&j,  au)th&,  au)to&  is used for  he, she, it,
and au)toi/  for they.
 
 

pluperfect
 The perfect tense in the past, rarely used and marked by augment and reduplication:
  • e0gegamh&kh    I had married
  • e0ge/grapto   It had been written
 

plural
 See number.
 

positive
 Affirmative (not negative);
also, in comparison:
  • the basic adjective or adverb without endings added for the comparative or superlative.
 
 

prefix
 A letter, such as an augment, syllable or word (often a preposition),
added to the beginning of a word, especially a verb:
  • e1graya   I wrote
  • ei0sh~lqon   I entered
 
 

preposition
 A word that goes with a noun to indicate time, place or other circumstances connected with it.
The case of the noun may then be accusative, genitive or dative:
  • ei0j to_n potamo&n    into the river
  • a)po_ tou~ potamou~  from the river
  • e0n tw|~ potamw|~       in the river
 
 

pronoun
 A word that replaces a noun to avoid repetition,
and which takes its number and gender:

o(ra|~ ta_j gunai=kaj kai\ kalei= au)ta_j 

He sees the women and calls them.
 

 

 

reduplication
 The doubling of an initial consonant with -e-, characterising the perfect and pluperfect tenses:
  • gegra&ptai    It has been written.
 
 

reflexive pronoun
 A pronoun of the 'self' form that refers back to the subject of the main verb:
  • e1legon ei0j e0mau~ton   I was talking to myself.
 
 

relative pronoun
 The pronoun translated who, whom, whose or which introducing a clause which describes a noun:

o( r(h&twr o$j e0painei= to_n dh~mon

The speaker who praises the people
However, Greek tends to use a participle rather than a relative pronoun:

  • o( r(h&twr e0painw~n   The speaker praising
 

 

 

singular
 See number.
 

stem
 The part of a verb, noun or adjective which expresses its root meaning,
and to which endings (and sometimes prefixes) are added:

 
-maq- is the stem of e1maqon  I learnt
which also appears in maqhth&j pupil, and ta_ maqhmatika&  things learned /mathematics
 
 
 

subject
The person or thing responsible for the action of a verb,
expressed by the nominative case:
  • o( lo&goj sw&zei  The word saves.
 
 
 

subscript
 In Greek the letter iota is sometimes written underneath the long vowels a, h, w as a|, h|, w|,
especially in the dative singular of first and second declension nouns as:

  • e0n th~| a)rxh|~  in the beginning
but this iota is written in full to the right of capitals:

  • )EN THI   0ARXHI
 
 
 

subjunctive
 A mood of a verb in present or aorist characterised by a long vowel in the ending, with a variety of senses as:
  • i1wmen  let's go
  • i3na i1wmen  so that we may go
 
 
 

suffix
 See ending, prefix
 

superlative
 The form of an adjective or adverb that indicates most,
usually expressed by adding -est in English (strongest), -tatoj in Greek (i0sxuro&tatoj).
 
 

syllable
 A unit of sound containing a vowel, alone or with one or more consonants, which make:
  • a word (ga&r  for)
  • or part of a word (pa - th&r  fa - ther)
 

syntax
 The area of grammar concerned with the construction of sentences.
See also accidence
 
 

 

 

tense
 The word denoting the time of the action or state of a verb, which may be:
  • present
  • future
  • imperfect
  • perfect
  • pluperfect  (rare)
 
 

transitive
 A term used of a verb which requires a direct object to complete its sense as:
  • filw~ [tina&  / ti]  I love [someone / something]
See also intransitive.
 
 

 

 

vocative
 The case of a noun used for addressing a person,
usually prefixed by w} :
  • w} Zeu~    O Zeus
  • w} fi/le   My dear
 
 

voice
 The form of a verb which shows the relation of the subject to it as:
  • active:
h( mh&thr lou)sei to_n pai=da
The mother will wash the child
  • passive:
o( pai=j louqh&setei u(po_ th~j mh&troj
The child will be washed by the mother
  • middle:
h( mh&thr lou&setai
The mother will wash herself
 
 

vowel
 The letters a, e, h, i, o, w, u
these can form a syllable alone or in combination with one or more consonants.
 

 
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