Module 48

Word Order: Scheppers’ Colon Hypothesis

© 2025 Philip S. Peek, CC BY 4.0 https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0441.18

Module 48 Summary

In this module we consider the colon—not to be confused with the punctuation mark—as the intonation unit which Greek uses as the essential building block for creating sentences, contributing to a natural reading and enriched understanding of Ancient Greek.

The Colon (κῶλον) Hypothesis, Frank Scheppers

Building on previous work by J. Wackernagel, E. Fraenkel, and K.J. Dover, this study develops the hypothesis that a number of Ancient Greek word order rules (most notably but not exclusively Wackernagel’s Law) apply to the ‘colon’, rather than to syntactic units such as the clause. In Part I of the book, a number of such word order rules are investigated, on the basis of a partly quantitative and partly qualitative analysis of a corpus comprising the whole Corpus Lysiacum and four Platonic dialogues. It is argued that the presence of colon boundaries is not just a word order phenomenon that can be invoked ad hoc to explain ‘exceptions’. On the contrary: the basic hypothesis in this study (‘The Colon Hypothesis’) is that the colon is the ‘elementary discourse unit’, i.e. that Ancient Greek discourse essentially comes in cola. Thus, the colon can be considered as being essentially the same phenomenon as the ‘intonation unit’ or ‘information unit’ (IU) as it is observed in spoken discourse in modern languages (Frank Scheppers The Colon Hypothesis ix).

Wackernagel’s Law

Enclitics tend towards the second position (P-2) of the clause or sentence.

Sheppers’ Modification

Postpositives tend towards the second position (P-2) of a colon and prepositives toward the first position (P-1). Mobiles are not prohibited from occupying first or last position.

Additional Technical Terminology

Though we will continue to classify words as clitic or full, in this module, we also describe clitics as introductive, prepositive, or postpositive. Remember that clitics are prohibited from occupying either first or last position. Thus, any clitic that is designated as an introductive or prepositive cannot occupy last position. Clitics that are postpositives cannot occupy first position. Thus, clitics help build a colon. The additional technical vocabulary will assist us in segmenting sentences into cola and in determining how the cola relate to each other.

The Colon, κῶλον (plural: Cola and κῶλα)

The colon is the elementary discourse unit (intonation unit) underlying syntax and word order, by which sentences are built and meaning is created. Think of cola as differently hued bricks used to create sentences. Also think of them as the amount of information able to be processed cognitively at any one time, or as a cognitive chunk in short term memory. And think of them as small sections of a sentence that are pronounced as a unit, sometimes creating an expectation to be fulfilled and other times fulfilling an expectation.

A colon is characterized by a phonological demarcation—conceived of as a pause—which is like an intonation unit in modern linguistics. This sentence shows two cola: καὶ ἡ γυνὴ (very slight pause) ἐπορᾷ με the woman (very slight pause) looks at me. Some examples of cola include these:

  1. Verbal constituents such as clauses (finite), clauses (infinitive), genitive absolutes, dynamic infinitive constructions, and participial phrases.
  2. Members of structures that are coordinated, correlative, corresponsive, or parallel.
  3. Constituents, such as apposition, exclamations, interjections, oath formulas, parenthesis, reporting verbs (ἔφη, οἶμαι) in some instances, and vocatives.

Focal Status

Words that are important tend toward first position (P-1) of a colon, clause, or sentence: ὑμᾶς ἂν ἠξίουν, ἐμοὶ δοῦναι τὴν χάριν I would deem you worthy of giving me thanks. ὑμᾶς occupies first position and is given primary focal status.

Clitics: Introductives, Prepositives, Postpositives

Introductives. Some clitics tend toward first position (P-1) of a colon, clause, or sentence. Clitics that often serve as introductives include ἀλλά; ἆρα; ἀτάρ; εἰ; εἶτα; εἴτε; ἔνθα; ἐπεί; ἐπειδή; ἐπείτε; εἶτα; ἕως; ἦ; ἵνα; μηδέ; μήτε; μῶν; ὅθεν; ὅμως; ὅπου; ὅπως; ὅς, ἥ, ὅ; ὅτε; ὅτι; οὐδέ; οὔκουν; οὔτε; πῶς; ὡς; ὥστε.

Prepositives. Clitics that cannot take last position of a colon, clause, or sentence include the article ὁ, ἡ, τό, conjunctions, and prepositions. Each of these can be described as prepositive, preceding the word that they have a relationship with.

Postpositives. Other clitics tend toward second position (P-2) of a colon, clause, or sentence. Clitics that tend toward second position include the following: ἄν, ἄρα, αὖ, γάρ, γε, δέ, δή, μέν, μέντοι, μήν, νυν, οὖν, περ, ποτε, που, τε, τις, τοι, τοίνυν. Throughout this series most of these have been identified as enclitics or postpositives.

  1. Note that when two or more clitics are adjacent to each other, each is considered as having P-2:

κατίδωμεν (P-1) γὰρ δή τι (P-2) σχῆμα (P-3).

  1. Α clitic that typically takes P-2 may be deferred:

ἐν (P-1) τῇ ἀντωμοσίᾳ (P-2) γάρ (P-3),
περὶ (P-1) πολλοῦ (P-2) ἄν (P-3),
ἀλλὰ (P-1) τοῦτο (P-2) μέν (P-3).

Also note that I encourage you to think of prepositional phrases as one whole utterance. In this case our number of positions changes to ἐν τῇ ἀντωμοσίᾳ (P-1) γάρ (P-2).

Full Words

Μost Greek words can occupy many different places in a sentence. If a word can occupy first and last position, it is classified as a full word. Common full words are adverbs, adjectives, interjections, nouns, and verbs. Pronouns can be full words or clitics.

An Example from Scheppers

This example comes from Scheppers’ analysis of Lysias, Against Simon 17. Take note of the cola, the cola types, and Scheppers’ English translation. Following Scheppers’ analysis, I offer my own analysis and commentary, both based on my own experience in trying to read and not translate Ancient Greek.

[17] ἤδη δὲ αὐτοῖς οὖσι παρὰ τὴν Λάμπωνος οἰκίαν ἐγὼ μόνος βαδίζων ἐντυγχάνω, δεινὸν δὲ ἡγησάμενος εἶναι καὶ αἰσχρὸν περιιδεῖν οὕτως ἀνόμως καὶ βιαίως ὑβρισθέντα τὸν νεανίσκον, ἐπιλαμβάνομαι αὐτοῦ.

Cola

Cola Translation

1. ἤδη δὲ αὐτοῖς οὖσι παρὰ τὴν Λάμπωνος οἰκίαν

And they are already near Lampon’s house

2. ἐγώ

when I

3. μόνος βαδίζων

walking by myself

4. ἐντυγχάνω,

encounter them

5. δεινὸν δὲ ἡγησάμενος εἶναι καὶ αἰσχρόν

and considering it a monstrous and shameful thing

6. περιιδεῖν

to stand by and watch

7. οὕτως ἀνόμως καὶ βιαίως ὑβρισθέντα τὸν νεανίσκον

while the boy was being brutalized so lawlessly and violently

8. ἐπιλαμβάνομαι αὐτοῦ

I grab hold of him.

A Practiced Reading Example

Compare and contrast the above analysis with the one I offer below, based on how I have learned through experience to read the excerpt, trying to process and understand each word as it is encountered in time.

Cola

Cola Translation

1. ἤδη δέ

and already

2. αὐτοῖς

them

3. οὖσι παρὰ τὴν Λάμπωνος οἰκίαν

being at Lampon’s house

4. ἐγώ

I

5. μόνος βαδίζων

walking alone

6. ἐντυγχάνω.

encounter.

7. δεινὸν δὲ ἡγησάμενος εἶναι

And considering it terrible

8. καὶ αἰσχρόν

and shameful

9. περιιδεῖν

to ignore

10. οὕτως ἀνόμως καὶ βιαίως ὑβρισθέντα

one being mistreated so lawlessly and forcefully

11. τὸν νεανίσκον

the young man

12. ἐπιλαμβάνομαι αὐτοῦ.

I grab hold of him.

As I read, I assign each cola a meaning that I adjust as the sentence unfolds. In assigning meaning, I am looking at the relationships between individual words and cola. Consider the following:

ἤδη δέ has a relationship with οὖσι.

αὐτοῖς has a relationship with ἐντυγχάνω.

οὖσι has a relationship with αὐτοῖς and παρὰ τὴν Λάμπωνος οἰκίαν.

ἐγώ has a relationship with ἐντυγχάνω.

μόνος βαδίζων has a relationship with ἐγώ and ἐντυγχάνω.

δεινόν and αἰσχρόν have a relationship with περιιδεῖν.

ἡγησάμενος has a relationship with εἶναι δεινόν, αἰσχρόν, and ἐπιλαμβάνομαι.

περιιδεῖν has a relationship with δεινόν, αἰσχρόν, and ὑβρισθέντα.

οὕτως ἀνόμως καὶ βιαίως has a relationship with ὑβρισθέντα.

νεανίσκον has a relationship with ὑβρισθέντα.

ἐπιλαμβάνομαι has a relationship with ἐγώ and αὐτοῦ.

If the above is confusing, do not worry. The process is simple and one that you will come to understand better through repetition, since you use it every time you read. When reading, you must identify a word’s function and its relationship to other words.

Relationships create expectations in the reader. If you consider each individual word of this sentence in English:

The

Old

Man

The

Boat

you get a sense for how each word has a relationship with another word in the sentence and how these relationships create expectations that are fulfilled as the sentence unfolds. The old has a relationship with the verb man, as does the boat, the first serving as the subject and the second as the object.

When presented with the first word of the Greek sentence, ἤδη, we read on to see what ἤδη modifies. And so ἤδη creates an expectation that οὖσι fulfills. Likewise ἐγώ creates in us the expectation of a first-person singular finite verb. This expectation is fulfilled once we read ἐντυγχάνω. Similarly ἐπιλαμβάνομαι creates an expectation that an object will follow and αὐτοῦ fulfills that expectation.

This segmentation of the sentence into cola leads naturally to this punctuation:

ἤδη δὲ αὐτοῖς οὖσι παρὰ τὴν Λάμπωνος οἰκίαν, ἐγὼ μόνος βαδίζων ἐντυγχάνω. δεινὸν δὲ ἡγησάμενος εἶναι καὶ αἰσχρὸν περιιδεῖν οὕτως ἀνόμως καὶ βιαίως ὑβρισθέντα, τὸν νεανίσκον, ἐπιλαμβάνομαι αὐτοῦ.

Commas could surround μόνος βαδίζων, and the first of the commas surrounding τὸν νεανίσκον could be omitted.1 The period after ἐντυγχάνω represents the closure that the finite verb brings to its object αὐτοῖς. Though differing in some specifics from Scheppers’, my analysis mostly agrees with his.

Scheppers cites as consequences of adopting his colon hypotheses two benefits: (1) a natural reading of Ancient Greek and (2) greater insight into the language. The correspondence between my practiced method of reading and Scheppers’ researched method suggests to me that attempting to read Greek naturally can lead us to an effective way of reading the language without translating.

Module 48 Practice Translating

Translate the sentences below, which have been adapted slightly from Lucian’s True Story (Ἀληθῆ Διηγήματα 2.4-6). Use your memory to identify endings and their functions. If you forget an ending, consult the Adjective, Αdverb, Noun, and Pronoun Chart or the Verb Chart at the back of the book. If you forget a function, consult the Case and Function Chart in Appendix I. Check your understanding with the answers 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.

[4] μείναντες δὲ ἡμέρας ἐν τῇ νήσῳ πέντε, τῇ ἕκτῃ ἐξωρμήσαμεν, αὔρας μέν τινος παραπεμπούσης, λειοκύμονος δὲ οὔσης τῆς θαλάττης. ὀγδόῃ δὲ ἡμέρᾳ πλέοντες οὐκέτι διὰ τοῦ γάλακτος, ἀλλ᾽ ἤδη ἐν ἁλμυρῷ καὶ κυανέῳ ὕδατι, καθορῶμεν ἀνθρώπους πολλοὺς ἐπὶ τοῦ πελάγους διαθέοντας, ἅπαντα ἡμῖν προσεοικότας, καὶ τὰ σώματα καὶ τὰ μεγέθη, πλὴν τῶν ποδῶν μόνων. ταῦτα γὰρ φέλλινα εἶχον, ἀφ᾽ οὗ δή, οἶμαι, καὶ ἐκαλοῦντο Φελλόποδες. ἐθαυμάσαμεν οὖν ἰδόντες οὐ βαπτιζομένους, ἀλλὰ ὑπερέχοντας τῶν κυμάτων καὶ ἀδεῶς ὁδοιποροῦντας. οἱ δὲ καὶ προσῄεσαν καὶ ἠσπάζοντο ἡμᾶς Ἑλληνικῇ φωνῇ. ἔλεγον δὲ καὶ εἰς Φελλὼ τὴν αὑτῶν πατρίδα ἐπείγεσθαι. μέχρι μὲν οὖν τινος* συνωδοιπόρουν ἡμῖν παραθέοντες. εἶτα ἀποτραπόμενοι τῆς ὁδοῦ ἐβάδιζον, εὔπλοιαν ἡμῖν ἐπευξάμενοι. μετ᾽ ὀλίγον* δὲ πολλαὶ νῆσοι ἐφαίνοντο, πλησίον μὲν ἐξ ἀριστερῶν Φελλώ, ἐς ἣν ἐκεῖνοι ἔσπευδον, πόλις ἐπὶ μεγάλου καὶ στρογγύλου φελλοῦ κατοικουμένη. πόρρωθεν δὲ καὶ μᾶλλον ἐν δεξιᾷ πέντε μέγισται καὶ ὑψηλόταται*. καὶ πῦρ πολὺ ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν ἀνεκαίετο. κατὰ δὲ τὴν πρῷραν μία πλατεῖα καὶ ταπεινή*, σταδίους ἀπέχουσα οὐκ ἐλάττους πεντακοσίων.

[5] ἤδη δὲ πλησίον ἦμεν, καὶ θαυμαστή τις αὔρα περιέπνευσεν ἡμᾶς, ἡδεῖα καὶ εὐώδης, οἵαν φησὶν συγγραφεὺς Ἡρόδοτος ἀπόζειν τῆς εὐδαίμονος Ἀραβίας. οἷον γὰρ ἀπὸ ῥόδων καὶ ναρκίσσων καὶ ὑακίνθων καὶ κρίνων καὶ ἴων, ἔτι δὲ μυρρίνης καὶ δάφνης καὶ ἀμπελάνθης, τοιοῦτον ἡμῖν τὸ ἡδὺ προσέβαλλεν. ἡσθέντες δὲ τῇ ὀσμῇ καὶ χρηστὰ ἐκ μακρῶν πόνων ἐλπίσαντες, κατ᾽ ὀλίγον ἤδη πλησίον τῆς νήσου ἐγινόμεθα. ἔνθα δὴ καὶ καθεωρῶμεν λιμένας τε πολλοὺς περὶ πᾶσαν ἀκλύστους καὶ μεγάλους, ποταμούς τε διαυγεῖς ἐξιέντας ἠρέμα εἰς τὴν θάλατταν, ἔτι δὲ λειμῶνας καὶ ὕλας καὶ ὄρνεα μουσικά, τὰ μὲν ἐπὶ τῶν ἠϊόνων ᾄδοντα, πολλὰ δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν κλάδων. ἀήρ τε κοῦφος καὶ εὔπνους περιεκέχυτο τὴν χώραν. καὶ αὖραι δέ τινες ἡδεῖαι πνέουσαι ἠρέμα τὴν ὕλην διεσάλευον, ὥστε καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν κλάδων κινουμένων τερπνὰ καὶ συνεχῆ μέλη ἀπεσυρίζετο, ἐοικότα τοῖς ἐπ᾽ ἐρημίας αὐλήμασι τῶν πλαγίων αὐλῶν. καὶ μὴν καὶ βοὴ σύμμικτος ἠκούετο ἄθρους, οὐ θορυβώδης, ἀλλ᾽ οἵα γένοιτ᾽ ἂν ἐν συμποσίῳ, τῶν μὲν αὐλούντων, τῶν δὲ ἐπᾳδόντων, ἐνίων δὲ κροτούντων πρὸς αὐλὸν κιθάραν.

[6] τούτοις ἅπασι κηλούμενοι, κατήχθημεν. ὁρμίσαντες δὲ τὴν ναῦν, ἀπεβαίνομεν τὸν Σκίνθαρον ἐν αὐτῇ καὶ δύο* τῶν ἑταίρων ἀπολιπόντες. προϊόντες δὲ διὰ λειμῶνος εὐανθοῦς ἐντυγχάνομεν τοῖς φρουροῖς καὶ περιπόλοις. οἱ δὲ δήσαντες ἡμᾶς ῥοδίνοις στεφάνοιςοὗτος γὰρ μέγιστος παρ᾽ αὐτοῖς δεσμός ἐστινἀνῆγον ὡς τὸν ἄρχοντα, παρ᾽ ὧν δὴ καθ᾽ ὁδὸν ἠκούσαμεν ὡς μὲν νῆσος εἴη τῶν Μακάρων προσαγορευομένη. ἄρχοι δὲ Κρὴς Ῥαδάμανθυς. καὶ δὴ ἀναχθέντες ὡς αὐτόν, ἐν τάξει τῶν δικαζομένων ἔστημεν τέταρτοι.

Notes

  1. μέχρι μὲν οὖν τινος: supply χρόνου.
  2. μετ᾽ ὀλίγον: supply χρόνον.
  3. μέγισται καὶ ὑψηλόταται: supply νῆσοι.
  4. πλατεῖα καὶ ταπεινή: supply νῆσος.
  5. δύο: accusative

Adverbs, Conjunctions, Interjections, Prepositions, and Verbs

ἀδεῶς fearlessly

ἠρέμα still, quietly, gently, softly

ἀείδω or ᾄδω sing

*θαυμάζω wonder, marvel; admire; wonder at + gen.

ἀνάγω lead up; (middle) set sail

καθοράω see, look down on

ἀνακαίω or ἀνακάω kindle, light up

κατάγω lead down; bring back; (passive) put into land, land

*ἀπέχω hold off, keep off or away; be away from, be distant from

κατοικέω settle in, colonize; administer, govern; (intransitive) lie, be situated

ἀποβαίνω leave, depart

κηλέω charm, bewitch, enchant, beguile, fascinate

ἀπόζω smell of ‘x’ in gen.; (impersonal) there comes a smell from + gen.

*κινέω move; set in motion; urge on

ἀπολείπω leave over or behind

κροτέω make to rattle; knock, strike

ἀποσυρίζω whistle aloud

*μένω stay, remain, wait, await

ἀποτρέπω* (aorist: ἔτρεψα or ἐτραπόμην) turn away from + gen.; dissuade, deter ‘x’ in acc. from ‘y’ in gen.

ὁδοιπορέω travel, walk

ἀσπάζομαι greet, welcome

ὁρμίζω bring to a safe anchorage, bring into harbor, moor, anchor

αὐλέω play on the aulos

*οὐκέτι no more, no longer, no further

βαδίζω walk, go

παραθέω run beside or alongside

βαπτίζω dip, plunge, sink

παραπέμπω send past, convey past

*δέω, δήσω bind, tie, fetter; bind ‘x’ in acc. by ‘y’ in gen.

περιεκέχυτο see περιχέω

διαθέω run about

περιπνέω breathe round, exhale a scent of

διασαλεύω shake, shake violently; reduce to anarchy

περιχέω pour, spread, or scatter round or over

δικάζω judge, serve as judge or juror; (middle) plead a case, participate in a suit; (passive) be accused

*πλέω (πλώω) sail

ἐλπίζω expect; hope for, hope

πνέω blow, breath; live; breathe or smell of + gen.

*ἔνθα there, where; then, when

πρόειμι go forward

ἐντυγχάνω meet with, come upon + dat.

προσβάλλω strike, dash against; add in addition; approach, meet + dat.

ἐξίημι send out, let ‘x’ in acc. go out, dismiss; take out; discharge; (middle) get rid of; divorce

πόρρωθεν at a distance

ἐξορμέω be out of harbor, run to sea

*προσαγορεύω address, speak to, say

*ἔοικα (perf. with pres. sense) be like, look like + dat.; be likely, seem probable

πρόσειμι go to or towards, approach

ἐπᾴδω or ἐπᾰείδω sing

προσέοικα be like, resemble + dat.

ἐπείγω press down, weigh down; (middle) hasten

σπεύδω seek eagerly, strive (+ inf.); (intrans.) rush, hasten

ἐπεύχομαι pray

συνοδοιπορέω travel with, walk with

ἥδομαι (aorist ἥσθην) enjoy, take pleasure + dat. or + part.

ὑπερέχω hold ‘x’ in acc. over or above ‘y’ in gen., hold or stay above ‘x’ in gen.; excel, outdo

Adjectives and Nouns

ἀήρ, ἀέρος mist, haze; air, breeze

μέλος, -εος (-ους) τό limb; phrase, song

ἀθρόος, -α, -ον, (-ος, -ον or -ους, -ουν) in crowds, heaps, or masses, crowded together

μουσικός, -ή, -όν musical; elegant

ἄκλυστος, -ον unwashed by waves

μυρρίνη, -ης ἡ a branch or wreath of myrtle

ἁλμῠρός, -ά, -όν salt, briny

νάρκισσος, -ου ὁ narcissus

ἀμπελάνθη, -ης ἡ vine in bloom

*νῆσος, -ου ἡ island

Ἀραβία, -ας ἡ Arabia

ὄγδοος, -η, -ον eighth

ἀριστερός, -ά, -όν on the left, left; ominous

ὄρνεον, -ου τό bird

αὔλημα, -ατος τό piece of music for the flute

ὀσμή, -ῆς ἡ a smell, scent, odor

αὐλός, -οῦ pipe, flute

*πατρίς, πατρίδος ἡ fatherland

αὔρᾱ, -ᾱς ἡ breeze

πεντᾰκόσιοι, -αι, -α five hundred

βοή, -ῆς ἡ loud cry, shout

*πέντε five

γάλα, γάλακτος τό milk

περίπολος, -ον going the rounds, patrolling; (noun) watchman, patrol

δάφνη, -ης ἡ the laurel, sweet bay

πλάγιος, -α, -ον (-ος, -ον) placed sideways, slanting, aslant

δεξιός, -ά, -όν on the right; fortunate; dexterous, skillful, clever; (f.) right hand

πλᾰτύς, -εῖα, -ύ wide, broad

δεσμός, -οῦ ὁ bond

πλησίος, -ᾱ, -ον near, close to + gen. or dat.; πλησίον (adverb) near, hard by + gen.

διαυγής, -ές transparent, translucent; radiant

όνος, -ου hard work, toil, suffering

ἕκτος, -η, -ον sixth

*πούς, ποδός foot

*ἐλάσσων, -ονος; ἐλάσσον, -ονος less, fewer, smaller

πρῷρα, -ᾱς ἡ the forepart of a ship, a ship’s head, prow, bow

Ἑλληνικός, -ή, -όν Hellenic, Greek

*πῦρ, πυρός τό fire

ἔνιοι, -αι, -α some

Ῥαδάμανθυς, -ος ὁ Rhadamanthus

ἐρημία, -ας ἡ desert, wilderness; solitude, loneliness

ῥόδῐνος, -η, -ον made of or from roses

*ἑταῖρος, -ου ὁ companion, comrade

ῥόδον, -ου τό rose

εὐανθής, -ές blooming, budding

Σκίνθαρος, -ου ὁ Skintharos

εὐδαίμων, -ονος; εὔδαιμον, -ονος fortunate, wealthy, happy

*στάδιον, σταδίου τό (plural is οἱ or τά) stade; race-course

εὔπλοια, -ᾱς ἡ a fair voyage

στέφανος, -ου crown, wreath

εὔπνοος, -ον or εὔπνους, -ουν breathing well or freely; sweet-smelling

στρογγύλος, -η, -ον round, spherical

εὐώδης, -ες sweet-smelling, fragrant

συγγρᾰφεύς, -ῆος (-έως) ὁ historian, writer, author

*ἡδύς, ἡδεῖα, ἡδύ pleasant, glad

σύμμικτος, -ον (-ος, -η, -ον) mixed, commingled, promiscuous

ἠϊών, -όνος ἡ shore, beach

συμπόσιον, -ου τό drinking-party, symposium

Ἡρόδοτος, -ου ὁ Herodotos, a historian from Halikarnassos

συνεχής, -ές holding together, continuous

θαυμαστός, -ή, -όν wonderful, marvellous

*τάξις, -ιος (-ηος, -εως) ἡ battle-array, order, rank

θορυβώδης, -ες noisy, uproarious, turbulent

τᾰπεινός, -ή, -όν low, low-lying

ἴον, -ου τό the violet

τερπνός, -ή, -όν delightful, pleasant

κιθάρα, -ας ἡ lyre, lute

*τέταρτος, -η, -ον fourth

κλάδος, -ου ὁ branch, shoot of a tree, twig

ὑάκινθος, ου ὁ or hyacinth

κοῦφος, -η, -ον light, nimble

*ὕδωρ, ὕδατος τό water

Κρής, Κρητός ὁ, ἡ Cretan, of or from Crete

ὕλη, -ης forest, woodland; material

κρίνον, -ου τό lily

ὑψηλός, -ή, -όν (-ός, -όν) high, lofty

κυάνεος, -ά, -όν dark-blue, glossy-blue

φέλλῐνος, -η, -ον made of cork

κῦμα, -ατος τό wave, flood; sprout, foetus

Φελλόποδες, -ων Phellopodes

λειμών, -ῶνος grassy place, meadow

φελλός, -οῦ ὁ the cork-tree, cork

λειοκύμων, -ονος; λειοκύμον, -ονος smoothly swelling, calm

Φελλώ, -εος (-οῦς) ἡ Corkland

λιμήν, -ένος harbor

φρουρός, -οῦ ὁ watcher, guard

μάκᾰρος, -α, -ον mostly of men, blessed, happy

φωνή, -ῆς ἡ sound, voice

μέγεθος, -εος (-ους) greatness, magnitude, size, height, stature

χρηστός, -ή, -όν useful, serviceable; good, honest, worthy

μέγιστος, -η, -ον largest, greatest, strongest

Module 48 Practice Parsing Greek Sentences

Parse each word of the below sentence.

Identify the part of speech of all words. For interjections, identify them. For nouns, give case and function. For verbs, give person, number, tense, mood, and voice. For adverbs, identify them and state what they modify. For conjunctions, identify them, noting whether they are coordinating or subordinating. For prepositional phrases, give the preposition and the preposition’s object. For adjectives, identify the case and state what noun or pronoun they agree with in gender, number, and case. If the adjective is used as a noun, give case and function. If the adjective is a participle, identify it as an adjective and state what it modifies. When parsing, remember to use the Case and Function Chart in Appendix I.

ἤδη δὲ πλησίον ἦμεν, καὶ θαυμαστή τις αὔρα περιέπνευσεν ἡμᾶς, ἡδεῖα καὶ εὐώδης, οἵαν φησὶν συγγραφεὺς Ἡρόδοτος ἀπόζειν τῆς εὐδαίμονος Ἀραβίας.

Check your answers with those in the Answer Key.

Module 48 Practice Identifying Clitics and Full Words

Translate this sentence so that you understand it well. Read the sentence out loud, trying your best not to translate it into English. Pick out the clitics and the full words, and then check your answers with those in the Answer Key.

ἤδη δὲ πλησίον ἦμεν, καὶ θαυμαστή τις αὔρα περιέπνευσεν ἡμᾶς, ἡδεῖα καὶ εὐώδης, οἵαν φησὶν συγγραφεὺς Ἡρόδοτος ἀπόζειν τῆς εὐδαίμονος Ἀραβίας.

Module 48 Top 251–550 Vocabulary to be Memorized

Adverbs and Verbs

ἕπομαι (imp. εἱπόμην), ἕψομαι, ἑσπόμην, ------, ------, ------ follow, pursue + dat.

κατέχω hold fast; detain, hold back, withhold; possess + gen.

ὀνομάζω, ὀνομάσω, ὠνόμασα, ὠνόμακα, ὠνόμασμαι, ὠνομάσθην name, call

παύω, παύσω, ἔπαυσα, πέπαυκα, πέπαυμαι, ἐπαύθην make to end, stop; (middle and passive) rest or cease from + gen.

περ (enclitic) very, however much

στρατεύω, στρατεύσω, ἐστράτευσα, ------, ἐστράτευμαι ἐστρατεύθην wage war, launch a campaign; (mid.) march

ὧδε in this way, thus, so very

Adjective and Nouns

ἔπος, ἔπεος (ἔπους) τό word, speech, song

πεζός, πεζή, πεζόν on foot, on land; πεζῇ on land, by foot

τάξις, τάξιος (τάξηος, τάξεως) ἡ battle-array, order, rank

Module 48 Reading Morphologically by James Patterson

Athematic Aorists

Athematic aorists are asigmatic aorists that do not use theme vowels in the personal markers. The personal markers that we use for the asigmatic aorist (and past progressive) are actually the combination of connecting theme vowels (ο and ε) and personal markers (/ν, /ς, /μην, /σο, and so on). We just have not needed to consider them separately, until now. Those personal markers without the theme vowels included are these:

Active

Middle

/μεν

/μην

/μεθα

/τε

/σο***

/σθε

/ø*

/σαν**

/το

/ντο

*In the active, the third person singular had once been (the same marker we find in Latin: amō, amās, amat). But τ cannot end a Greek word, so it dropped.

**Normally the third person plural /σαν replaces the expected /ν in the active.

***In the middle, the second person singular /σο does not lose σ even when combined with a base that ends in a vowel.

To form the athematic aorist, these personal markers are added directly to the base. Because the base is also the root of these verbs, where “root” refers to the smallest unit of a word that carries only meaning, these are sometimes called root aorists.

Remember that short vowels like to lengthen when markers are added to them:

Base

Aorist

English Equivalent

ἁλο/ (ἀλίσκομαι)

ἑάλων (ἐ/σαλο/ν)

get caught, captured

γνο/ (γιγνώσκω)

ἔγνων

know

βα/ (βαίνω)

ἔβην

go

δυ/ (δύνω)

ἔδῡν

dive, enter

στα/ (ἵστημι)

ἔστην

stand

Now that we have discussed the vast majority of asigmatic aorist verbs in Greek, thematic and athematic, here is a reminder about how they mark progressive aspect:

Base

Progressive

English Equivalent

Aspect Marker

ἁλο/

> ἁλίσκομαι

get caught

inceptive or interative σκ

ἀγ/

> ἄγω

lead

zero-marker

αἰσθ/

> αἰσθάνομαι

perceive

ν suffix

βα/

> βαίνω

go

ν suffix and yod metathesis

βαλ/

> βάλλω

throw

ν suffix assimilates to λ

γεν/

> γίγνομαι

become, be

reduplication with ι

δραμ/

run

[uses the base θρεχ/ in the progressive]

δυ/

> δύνω

dive, enter

ν suffix

ἑλ/

take

[uses the base αἱρε/ in the progressive]

ἐλθ/

come, go

[uses the bases ἐρχ/ and ί/ in the progressive]

εὑρ/

> εὑρίσκω

find

inceptive or interative σκ

ϝεπ/

say

[uses the base λεγ/ in the progressive]

ϝερ/

say

[uses the base λεγ/ in the progressive]

ϝιδ/

> εἴδω

see

basic e-grade

θαν/

> ἀποθνῄσκω

die

inceptive or interative σκ

ἱκ/

> ἱκνέομαι

arrive

ν suffix

λαβ/

> λαμβάνω

take

ν infix and suffix

λαθ/

> λανθάνω

escape notice

ν infix and suffix

λαχ/

> λαγχάνω

obtain by lot, fate

ν infix and suffix

λιπ/

> λείπω

leave

basic e-grade

μαθ/

> μανθάνω

learn

ν infix and suffix

ὀλ/

> ὄλλυμι

destroy

ν suffix

παθ/

> πάσχω

experience

inceptive or interative σκ

πετ/

> πίπτω

fall

reduplication with ι

πιθ/

> πείθω

persuade

basic e-grade

πυθ/

> πυνθάνομαι

learn by hearsay

ν infix and suffix

στα/

> ἵστημι

stand

reduplication with ι

σπ/

> ἕπομαι

follow

basic e-grade

σχ/

> ἔχω

have, hold

basic e-grade

ταμ/

> τέμνω

cut

basic e-grade and ν suffix

τυχ/

> τυγχάνω

happen

ν infix and suffix

φυγ/

> φεύγω

flee

basic e-grade

Notes

  1. In παθ/σκ/ω > πάσχω, the dental stop θ drops before σ, but the aspiration in θ remains and aspirates the κ in σκ.

  1. 1 Scheppers argues that it is wrong to print a comma after ὑβρισθέντα. Since participles are felt as nouns and ancient Greek grammar did not distinguish between a noun or adjective, calling both ὄνομα, and since a pause is natural after ὑβρισθέντα when reading aloud and not translating, I think a comma in that position is sensible.

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