Module 26

Additional Common Adjectives: πᾶς, μέγας, πολύς, ἡδύς, ἀληθής, and -ᾱς, -ᾱσα, -αν

Adjectives

Remember that Greek and English adjectives have the same function, though the Greek adjective has endings and the English adjective does not. Adjectives in both languages are words that describe nouns. In the phrase the happy and sad blues, the, happy, and sad describe the noun blues. The Greek adjective has endings because the endings enable it to agree in gender, case, and number with the noun it modifies.

Additional Common Adjectives

Review the below paradigms carefully and note that you have already memorized the majority of the endings. Remember that the letter nu in parentheses is a nu-movable. It may be added to the ending when the following word begins with a vowel or at the end of clauses or verses. Otherwise, it is left off.

1. Τhe adjectives ἅπᾱς, ἅπᾱσα, ἅπᾱν all, each, every, whole and σύμπᾱς, σύμπᾱσα, σύμπᾱν all, whole, entire decline like πᾶς, πᾶσα, πᾶν.
2. The stem for the masculine and neuter, παντ-, differs from the stem, πασ-, for the feminine.
3. The letter nu in the masculine and neuter dative plural is a nu-movable. It may be added to the ending when the following word begins with a vowel or at the end of clauses or verses. Otherwise, it is left off.

   μέγας, μεγάλη, μέγα big, great
   Singular M F N N μέγας μεγάλη μέγα A μέγαν μεγάλην μέγα G μεγάλου μεγάλης μεγάλου D μεγάλῳ μεγάλῃ μεγάλῳ V μεγάλε μεγάλη μέγα	Plural M F N N μεγάλοι μεγάλαι μεγάλα A μεγάλους μεγάλᾱς μεγάλα G μεγάλων μεγάλων μεγάλων D μεγάλοις μεγάλαις μεγάλοις V μεγάλοι μεγάλαι μεγάλα
   Singular M F N N μέγας μεγάλη μέγα G μεγάλου μεγάλης μεγάλου D μεγάλῳ μεγάλῃ μεγάλῳ A μέγαν μεγάλην μέγα V μεγάλε μεγάλη μέγα	Plural M F N N μεγάλοι μεγάλαι μεγάλα G μεγάλων μεγάλων μεγάλων D μεγάλοις μεγάλαις μεγάλοις A μεγάλους μεγάλᾱς μεγάλα V μεγάλοι μεγάλαι μεγάλα

1. πολύ is often found in the accusative as an accusative of respect. It translates well into English as the adverb very.

1. The Adjective εὐθύς, εὐθεῖα, εὐθύ straight, direct declines like ἡδύς, ἡδεῖα, ἡδύ sweet.
2. The letter nu in the masculine and neuter dative plural is a nu-movable. It may be added to the ending when the following word begins with a vowel or at the end of clauses or verses. Otherwise, it is left off.

   ἀληθής, ἀληθές true
   	Singular
   	M/F	N
   N	ἀληθής	ἀληθές
   A	ἀληθέα, ἀληθῆ	ἀληθές
   G	ἀληθέος, ἀληθοῦς	ἀληθέος, ἀληθοῦς
   D	ἀληθεῖ	ἀληθεῖ
   V	ἀληθές	ἀληθές
   	Plural
   	M/F	N
   N	ἀληθέες, ἀληθεῖς	ἀληθέα, ἀληθῆ
   A	ἀληθεῖς	ἀληθέα, ἀληθῆ
   G	ἀληθέων, ἀληθῶν	ἀληθέων, ἀληθῶν
   D	ἀληθέσι (ν)	ἀληθέσι (ν)
   V	ἀληθέες, ἀληθεῖς	ἀληθέα, ἀληθῆ
   	Singular
   	M/F	N
   N	ἀληθής	ἀληθές
   G	ἀληθέος, ἀληθοῦς	ἀληθέος, ἀληθοῦς
   D	ἀληθεῖ	ἀληθεῖ
   A	ἀληθέα, ἀληθῆ	ἀληθές
   V	ἀληθές	ἀληθές
   	Plural
   	M/F	N
   N	ἀληθέες, ἀληθεῖς	ἀληθέα, ἀληθῆ
   G	ἀληθέων, ἀληθῶν	ἀληθέων, ἀληθῶν
   D	ἀληθέσι (ν)	ἀληθέσι (ν)
   A	ἀληθεῖς	ἀληθέα, ἀληθῆ
   V	ἀληθέες, ἀληθεῖς	ἀληθέα, ἀληθῆ

1. The adjectives ψευδής, ψευδές false and ἀκριβής, ἀκριβές exact, accurate, precise decline like ἀληθής, ἀληθές.
2. In the dative singular the intervocalic sigma dropped out (εσι) and the vowels contracted to form -εῖ.
3. The letter nu in the masculine/feminine and neuter dative plural is a nu-movable. It may be added to the ending when the following word begins with a vowel or at the end of clauses or verses. Otherwise, it is left off.

Mixed Declension Adjectives

As is the case with -ων, -ουσα, -ον (Module 20), the masculine and neuter genders decline like nouns of sets 9 and 10. The feminine declines like short-alpha nouns of set 3.

1. After removing the past indicative augment, add these endings to the third principal parts of first aorist ω-verbs.
2. Note that technically these forms are participles, which are defined as verbal adjectives. For now, treat these forms like any other adjective, making sure that you know what noun the participle agrees with in gender, case, and number; or supplying a noun based on the participle’s gender and number; or supplying a noun from context for the participle to modify. In part I of the 21st-Century series, aorist participles are glossed like so, ἄρξᾱς, ἄρξαντος ὁ ruling, having ruled.
3. The letter nu in the masculine and neuter dative plural is a nu-movable. It may be added to the ending when the following word begins with a vowel or at the end of clauses or verses. Otherwise, it is left off.
4. Τhe endings for the second aorist participle are the same as those for the present and future participles. To refresh your memory, see Module 20. These endings are also similar to the participle of εἰμί, ὤν, οὖσα, ὄν without the breathings: λιπών, λιποῦσα, λιπόν leaving, having left. Note the fixed accent. Participles will be explained fully in Part II of the 21st-Century series.

Practice Translating Additional Adjectives. Check your understanding with the translations in the Answer Key, making sure that you understand why each word translates as it does. Now go back and read each sentence two or three times, noticing with each rereading how much better your understanding of the sentence becomes. Make this a habit and you will improve quickly.

1. πάντα ῥύει; οὐδὲν ἀσφαλές.
2. ἡδὺ φαγέειν, πίνειν, γελάειν.
3. πολλὰ λέγειν ἀλλὰ οὐ πολὺς χρόνος.
4. μέγα βιβλίον τὸ ἴσον τῷ μεγάλῳ κακῷ.
5. ὁ ποταμὸς εἰς θάλατταν ῥύει εὐθύ.
6. ἔφη πολλοὺς μισήσειν τοῦτον, ὃς κακὰ ἀεὶ λαλέειν ἐθέλει.
7. τοῖς ἀχρημάτοις κλέπτειν ἀναγκαίως ἔχει πολύ.
8. ἐπεὶ τῆς ἡμέρᾱς ὀψὲ ἦν, οἶνος ἡμῖν καὶ λόγος πολύς.
9. ὥστε χρόνος τὰ κρυπτὰ πάντα πρὸς τὸ φῶς ἄγει.
10. γέλως ἄκαιρος πᾶσι βροτοῖς φέρει δεινὸν κακόν.

Vocabulary

1. The asterisk indicates the top 250 most frequently occurring vocabulary, which you are to memorize.

Homer

Homer, Ὅμηρος, lived about 750 BCE. He is conventionally credited with the composition of the epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey. The Iliad centers on the character of Akhilleus and the Trojan War, both dating to about 1100 BCE. The Odyssey concerns Odysseus and his attempt to return home at the end of the ten-year Trojan War. In the poems Homer speaks of his own modern day (c. 750 BCE) and refers to it regularly. When telling the stories of Akhilleus and Odysseus, he refers to these events as existing in ancient times. Of the many accounts of Homer’s life, the most common is that he was a blind bard from Ionia—blindness being associated with excellence in the poetic craft.

The Homeric Question asks who authored the epics. One view holds that Homer did and exalts him and the genius of his work. At the other extreme, scholars question Homer’s existence, do not believe that one person authored both epics, and believe the poems are the result of layers of different poems combined through the years into a single faulty and incomplete whole. Some scholars, who conclude that Homer authored both epics, accept the argument that the epics are the result of layering but argue that they form a beautifully complete whole. In his own day and for many centuries later, scholars and lay people considered Homer’s poetic ability so good that many poets shied away from writing epic poetry.

This textbook offers a small selection from the Odyssey where Penelope and her husband in disguise, Odysseus, interrogate each other, verbally sparring as the reader wonders if Penelope has seen through her husband’s disguise and who is testing whom.

Practice Translating. Translate the sentences below, which have been adapted from Homer’s Odyssey (Ὀδύσσεια). Remember the meanings and functions of the cases presented in Module 7. Use your memory to identify endings and their functions. If you forget an ending or a function, consult the Adjective, Adverb, Noun, and Pronoun Chart in Appendix VIII and the Case and Function Chart in Appendix I. Check your understanding with the translations in the Answer Key, making sure that you understand why each word translates as it does. Now go back and read each sentence two or three times, noticing with each rereading how much better your understanding of the sentence becomes. Make this a habit and you will improve quickly.

Adverbs and Verbs

Adjectives, Nouns, and Pronouns

1. The asterisk indicates the top 250 most frequently occurring vocabulary, which you are to memorize.

Practice Parsing Greek Sentences. Parse each word of the sentences found below. For nouns and pronouns, give their case and function. For verbs, give their person, number, tense, mood, and voice. For adverbs and conjunctions, identify them. For prepositional phrases, give the preposition and the preposition’s object. For adjectives, tell what noun they agree with in gender, number, and case.

τί νομίζεις τὴν δημοκρατίαν πoλλῷ ἡδίονα τυραννίδος;

ὁ δ’ ἂψ ἐλθὼν ἄρʼ ἕζεται ἐπὶ μελάθρῳ· φωνῇ δὲ βροτείᾳ κατερητύει φώνησέν τε·

Check your answers with those in the Answer Key.

Module 26 Top 250 Vocabulary to be Memorized. Like learning the alphabet and endings, memorizing vocabulary is essential to acquiring language. The better you memorize the top 250 most frequently occurring vocabulary words the greater mastery of the language you will have.

Adjectives and Nouns

δίκαιος, δικαίᾱ, δίκαιον just

ὀλίγος, ὀλίγη, ὀλίγον few, little, small

πάθος, πάθεος (πάθους) τό suffering; experience; passion; emotion

πλεῖστος, πλείστη, πλεῖστον most, greatest, largest

φύσις, φύσιος (φύσηος, φύσεως) ἡ nature

Verbs

δέω, δεήσω, ἐδέησα, δεδέηκα, δεδέημαι, ἐδεήθην want, lack, miss, stand in need of, want + gen.; long or wish for + gen.; ask for ‘x’ in gen. or acc. from ‘y’ in gen., τοῦτο (or τούτου) ὑμῶν δέομαι I ask you for this

ἵστημι, στήσω, ἔστησα (trans.) or ἔστην (intrans.), ἕστηκα (intrans.), ἕσταμαι, ἐστάθην stand, make stand, place

καθίστημι (trans.) appoint, establish, put into a state; (intrans.) be established, be appointed, enter into a state

κεῖμαι, κείσομαι, ------, ------, ------, ------ lie