2013 edition Wilfred E. Major wmajor@lsu

1. Ancient Greek for Everyone:A New Digital Resource for Beginning GreekUnit 3 part 3: Neuter Nouns 2013 edition Wilfred E. Major wmajor@lsu.edu

2. Ancient Greek for Everyone This class AGE Unit 3: Neuter Nouns • You have learned the basics of masculine and femininenouns in Greek. • Now we add neuter nouns, the final gender.

3. Ancient Greek for Everyone • A NOUN indicates a person, place or thing. • A Greek noun, however, normally communicates THREE pieces of information: • Gender • Number • Case

4. Ancient Greek for Everyone Building a Greek Noun • All the nouns in this unit have been either masculine or feminine in genderand have used the same endings to indicate number and case. • This part of the unit adds nouns that are neuter in gender. • Grammatically, neuter means that the noun is “neither” masculine nor feminine.

5. Ancient Greek for Everyone Building a Greek Noun • The Neuter Law: two rules apply to all neuter words in Greek. • (1) The nominative singular and the accusative singular must be identical. • (2) The nominative plural and the accusative plural must both end ina short -α.

6. Ancient Greek for Everyone Building a Greek Noun • The Neuter Law: two rules apply to all neuter words in Greek. The nouns in this unit meet the requirements as follows: • (1) The nominative singular and the accusative singular add no ending to the stem. • (2) The nominative plural and the accusative plural add short –αto the stem.

7. Ancient Greek for Everyone Singular • Nominative – • Genitive –ος • Dative –ι • Accusative – Plural • Nominative –α • Genitive –ων • Dative –σι • Accusative –α Building a Greek Noun Third Declension Endings for neuter nouns

8. Ancient Greek for Everyone Building a Greek Noun • The stem ending –ματ is very common for neuter nouns. • Recall that one of the noun endings involves adding a sigma to the stem (dat. plu. -σι) and that τ+ σ= σ. • Also recall that only a limited number of sounds may end a Greek word (vowel, -ν/-ρ/-ς), so the final –τ must drop off in the nominativesingular and accusative singular, since now there is no additional ending. σωματ = “body”

9. Ancient Greek for Everyone Singular • Nom. (σωματ ) σῶμα • Gen. σώματος • Dat. σώματι • Acc.(σωματ ) σῶμα Plural • Nom.σώματα • Gen. σωμάτων • Dat.σώμασι • Acc. σώματα Building a Greek Noun declension of σῶμα -ατος τό body

10. Ancient Greek for Everyone • VOCABULARY: Since the nominative singular displays variations in response to the sigma, nouns are listed in three parts: • The nominative singular: so you always see exactly how this form appears. • The genitive singular: so you can see the stem (everything before the ending -ος) • The gender: the wordτό indicates that these nouns are neuter.

11. Ancient Greek for Everyone Examples of Vocabulary entries • αἷμα -ατος τό blood • ὄνομα -ατος τό name • πνεῦμα -ατος τό wind, breath, spirit • στόμα -ατος τό mouth • σῶμα -ατος τό body

12. Ancient Greek for Everyone Building a Greek Noun • The word τό indicates the noun is neuter in gender. • This is the neuter form of the definite article in Greek. As with masculine and feminine nouns, the article must match its noun in gender, number and case. • The neuter definite article is the same as the masculine definite article, but with the Neuter Law applied.

13. Ancient Greek for Everyone Singular • Nom. τό • Gen.τοῦ • Dat.τῷ • Acc.τό Plural • Nom.τά • Gen.τῶν • Dat.τοῖς • Acc. τά Building a Greek Noun The neuter definite article

14. Ancient Greek for Everyone Singular • Nom. τὸ σῶμα • Gen.τοῦ σώματος • Dat.τῷ σώματι • Acc.τὸ σῶμα Plural • Nom.τὰ σώματα • Gen.τῶνσωμάτων • Dat.τοῖς σώμασι • Acc. τὰ σώματα Building a Greek Noun declension + article of σῶμα -ατος τό body

15. Ancient Greek for Everyone • Next • practice with ἄρχων, ἐλπίς, νύξ, σῶμα • Be able to pronounce and parse a random form. • Be able to link the noun form with the appropriate form of the definite article and vice versa. • Be able to link the case of the form to its function in a sentence.

16. Ancient Greek for Everyone Building a Greek Sentence • Neuter nouns derive from collective feminine nouns, and so originally they were always singular. • This habit persists in ancient Greek in a strange way. Whenever a neuter noun is the subject of a sentence, the verb is 3rd person singular (even if the neuter subject is plural): • τὸ σῶμα δείκνυσι.... “The body shows…” • τὰ σώματαδείκνυσι....“The bodies show…”

17. Ancient Greek for Everyone Unit 3 part 3 Vocabulary: DCC Classical • αἷμα -ατος τό blood • γράμμα -ατος τό letter • ὄνομα -ατος τό name • πνεῦμα -ατος τό wind, breath, spirit • πρᾶγμα -ατος τό thing; (pl.) circumstances, affairs, business • στόμα -ατος τό mouth • σχῆμα -ατος τό form, appearance • σῶμα -ατος τό body • χρῆμα -ατος τό thing, (pl.) money

18. Ancient Greek for Everyone Unit 3 part 3 Vocabulary: NT (New Testament) • αἷμα -ατος τό blood • θέλημα -ατος τό will, wish, desire • ὄνομα -ατος τό name • πνεῦμα -ατος τό wind, breath, spirit • ῥῆμα -ατος τό word, saying • σπέρμα -ατος τό seed, offspring • στόμα -ατος τό mouth • σῶμα -ατος τό body

19. Ancient Greek for Everyone Unit 3 part 3 Vocabulary: Core • αἷμα -ατος τό blood • ὄνομα -ατος τό name • πνεῦμα -ατος τό wind, breath, spirit • στόμα -ατος τό mouth • σῶμα -ατος τό body

20. Ancient Greek for Everyone • Next class • Unit 3 Classical reading. • Be able to: • read the sentences aloud • parse each verb and noun (with article where it appears) • translate the sentences into English.

21. Ancient Greek for Everyone • Next class • Unit 3 Biblical reading. • Be able to: • read the sentences aloud • parse each verb and noun (with article where it appears) • translate the sentences into English.