Lesson 2.4 · Nouns
The accusative
The case for the one it is done to.
A word ending in -n is on the
receiving end: the thing being loved, seen, given, made. English
grammar calls it the object.
With the previous lesson you can now read a complete sentence, and read it in any order it comes:
agapatō tos theos ton kosmon.
God loves the world. — theos does the
loving, kosmon is loved.
ton kosmon agapatō tos theos.
Exactly the same sentence, rearranged for
emphasis. The endings decide, not the order.
The pair to know by heart
| Doing it | Done to | |
|---|---|---|
theos | theon | God |
logos | logon | word |
agapas | agapan | love |
huios | huion | son |
One letter apart, every time. If you can see the difference between
-s and -n at the end of a word, you can
follow the backbone of any sentence in the Bible.
eis "into" and pros
"toward" — pros ton theon, "toward God".In the Greek — a familiar letter
Greek marks the object with -ν in a great many words: τὸν λόγον,
τὴν ἀγάπην, τὸν υἱόν. ton theon is πρὸς τὸν θεόν
letter for letter, which is a fair sign of how close the two
sit here.
Practice
Translate the pieces:
tos huios agapatō ton patēronagapatō tos patēros ton huion- Which word is the son in each?
Show the answers
- "The son loves the father."
huiosends in-s, so he does the loving. - "The father loves the son." Now
patērosis doing it andhuionis on the receiving end. huiosin the first,huionin the second — same word, different job, one letter's difference.