5.32 Exercises: Practice Sentences

The following notes should help you in understanding the Practice Sentences provided by Croy. You might also find it very helpful to look at a Segmented Version of the sentences.

1. δίκαιος καὶ ἅγιος ὁ κύριος οὐρανοῦ.

Notice that the verb - "is" - is implied but not expressed in this sentence. There is a subject in the nominative - ὁ κύριος - and a compound predicate: δίκαιος καὶ ἅγιος.

2. λέγουσιν ὅτι πιστεύουσι τῷ λόγῳ τοῦ θεοῦ, ἔργα δὲ καλὰ οὐκ ἔχουσιν.

Notice that from context you can guess that the subjects of λέγουσιν and πιστεύουσι are probably the same, but this is only based on the meaning of the sentence. Grammatically, there is no information about the subjects of those verbs, except for the fact that it is a thid-person plural subject. The verb πιστεύουσι takes a dative, where in English you would expect a prepositional phrase ("believe in..."). In the second part of the sentence, the postpositive particle connects the first statement with the second statement. Can you tell what case the phrase ἔργα καλὰ is in?

3. ἡ γῆ ἀγαθὴ ὅτι ὁ κύριος τῆς γῆς ἔχει δούλους ἀγαθούς.

Notice that the first statement contains a predicate adjective, with an implied form of the verb "to be" ("is"). The second statement is a subordinate clause introduced by ὅτι, meaning "because." Remember that ὅτι can mean either "that" or "because" ("on account of the fact that"), depending on the context.

4. ὁ υἱὸς ὁ πρῶτος διδάσκει τὰ μικρὰ τέκνα γράφειν;

Notice that this statement is actually a question, as indicated by the final punctuation (";"). Notice also that the subject of the verb is a definite noun phrase with a braided adjective, while the object of the verb is a definite noun phrase with a wrapped adjective. The verb διδάσκει can take a direct object plus an infinitive ("teach someone to ____").

5. πιστὴ ἡ καρδία τοῦ μικροῦ δούλου, ἀλλὰ κακὰ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ κυρίου τοῦ οἴκου.

The first statement contains a predicate adjective πιστὴ, with an implied form of the verb "to be" ("is"). The second statement also contains a predicate adjective, κακὰ. What is the gender, number, and case of this adjective?

6. δικαία ἡ βασιλεία κὰι πιστοὶ οἱ ἄνθρωποι τῆς βασιλείας.

This sentence contains two predicative adjectives, δικαία and πιστοὶ, each with an implied form of the verb "to be" (the first implied verb would be in the singular, the second would be in the plural).

7. οἱ νεκροὶ οὐκ ἔχουσιν δόξαν, οὐ γὰρ βλέπουσι τὰ ἀγαθὰ τῆς ζωῆς.

Notice how the postpositive particle γὰρ is put in second position in its statement. The adjective ἀγαθὰ is being used substantively, i.e. as a noun ("good things").

8. ὁ πρῶτος ἄνθρωπος λέγει τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ, ἀλλὰ ἡ ἐκκλησία θέλει ἀκούειν τῆς φωνῆς τοῦ ἐσχάτου ἀνθρώπου.

The subject of the first verb is a noun-adjective phrase - ὁ πρῶτος ἄνθρωπος - with the definite article and noun wrapped around the adjective. Notice the two genitive phrases in the second statement. The first genitive, τῆς φωνῆς , is the idiomatic object of ἀκούειν (when ἀκούειν means "listens to", it takes the genitive). The second genitive, τοῦ ἐσχάτου ἀνθρώπου, is a genitive of possession ("whose voice? the last person's voice"). Notice that this genitive phrase contains a definite article and a noun wrapped around an adjective.

9. οἱ ἀδελφοὶ οἱ πονηροὶ οὐ λαμβάνουσι τὴν ἀληθείαν τοῦ θεοῦ.

The subject of the verb, οἱ ἀδελφοὶ οἱ πονηροὶ , is a nominal phrase with the definite articles "braiding" the noun and the adjective.

10. αἱ ἡμέραι πονηραὶ ἀλλὰ ὁ οἶκος τοῦ κυρίου ἅγιος.

Notice that the first statement contains a predicate adjective πονηραὶ with an implied form of the verb "to be" ("are"). The second statement also contains a predicate adjective ἅγιος with an implied form of the verb "to be" ("is").

11. ἡ ἐσχάτη βασιλεία οὐκ ἔχει νόμους κακούς.

Notice that the subject of the verb is a nominal phrase - ἡ ἐσχάτη βασιλεία - with the definite article and the noun wrapped around the adjective. The object of the verb is an indefinite noun phrase, with a noun and an adjecctive: νόμους κακούς.

12. ἡ μικρὰ ἀδελφὴ οὐ θέλει βλέπειν τὸ τέκνον τὸ νεκρόν, ὁ γὰρ θάνατος οὐ καλός.

Notice that the subject of the verb is a nominal phrase - ἡ μικρὰ ἀδελφὴ - with the definite article and the noun wrapped around the adjective. The object of the verb, however, is a braided phrase: τὸ τέκνον τὸ νεκρόν. Notice that in the second statement the postpositive particle γὰρ has come between the definite article and its noun. The adjective in the second statement, καλός, is a predicate adjective, with an implied form of the verb "to be" ("is").