Parsing Verbs
8.2 A good place to start when translating a Greek sentence is the verb. In fact, a Greek verb by itself can be an entire sentence (e.g., πάρειμι. I am present). Recall that a Greek verb on its own expresses five pieces of information:
- Person
- Number
- Tense
- Mood
- Voice
8.3 To PARSE a Greek verb means to identify these five qualities about a specific verb form. The verb in our sentence, δίδωσι, is:
- 3rd person
- Singular
- Present
- Indicative
- Active
8.4 REMEMBER: The form of the verb determines its meaning, not its place in the sentence. It can appear anywhere in the sentence with no change in meaning - though there may be a change in emphasis!:
- δίδωσιν ὁ Μάρκος τοῖς ἄρχουσι τὸν παῖδα τοῦ Πείσονος.
- ὁ Μάρκος δίδωσι τοῖς ἄρχουσι τὸν παῖδα τοῦ Πείσονος.
- ὁ Μάρκος τοῖς ἄρχουσι δίδωσι τὸν παῖδα τοῦ Πείσονος.
- ὁ Μάρκος τοῖς ἄρχουσι τὸν παῖδα δίδωσι τοῦ Πείσονος.
- ὁ Μάρκος τοῖς ἄρχουσι τὸν παῖδα τοῦ Πείσονος δίδωσιν.
Parsing Nouns:
8.5 The case of a noun in a Greek sentence conveys its role in relation to the verb or another noun. Given the relatively free word order of a Greek sentence, it is essential to parse each Greek noun before deciding its role in a sentence. Recall the cases, and their functions.
- NOMINATIVE: Usually the subject of the verb.
- GENITIVE: Often a possessive case and translated with of.
- DATIVE: Often the indirect object of the verb and translated with to or for.
- ACCUSATIVE: Often the direct object of the verb.
8.6 ὁ Μάρκος is NOMINATIVE SINGULAR. It is the subject of the verb, regardless of its position in the sentence.
- ὁ Μάρκος δίδωσι τοῖς ἄρχουσι τὸν παῖδα τοῦ Πείσονος.
- δίδωσιν ὁ Μάρκος τοῖς ἄρχουσι τὸν παῖδα τοῦ Πείσονος.
- δίδωσι τοῖς ἄρχουσιν ὁ Μάρκος τὸν παῖδα τοῦ Πείσονος.
- δίδωσι τοῖς ἄρχουσι τὸν παῖδα ὁ Μάρκος τοῦ Πείσονος.
- δίδωσι τοῖς ἄρχουσι τὸν παῖδα τοῦ Πείσονος ὁ Μάρκος.
8.7 τὸν παῖδα is ACCUSATIVE SINGULAR. It is the direct object of the verb, regardless of its position in the sentence.
- τὸν παῖδα ὁ Μάρκος δίδωσι τοῖς ἄρχουσι τοῦ Πείσονος.
- ὁ Μάρκος τὸν παῖδα δίδωσι τοῖς ἄρχουσι τοῦ Πείσονος.
- ὁ Μάρκος δίδωσι τὸν παῖδα τοῖς ἄρχουσι τοῦ Πείσονος.
- ὁ Μάρκος δίδωσι τοῖς ἄρχουσι τὸν παῖδα τοῦ Πείσονος.
- ὁ Μάρκος δίδωσι τοῖς ἄρχουσι τοῦ Πείσονος τὸν παῖδα.
8.8 τοῖς ἄρχουσι is DATIVE PLURAL. It is the indirect object of the verb, regardless of its position in the sentence.
- τοῖς ἄρχουσιν ὁ Μάρκος δίδωσι τὸν παῖδα τοῦ Πείσονος.
- ὁ Μάρκος τοῖς ἄρχουσι δίδωσιν τὸν παῖδα τοῦ Πείσονος.
- ὁ Μάρκος δίδωσι τοῖς ἄρχουσι τὸν παῖδα τοῦ Πείσονος.
- ὁ Μάρκος δίδωσι τὸν παῖδα τοῖς ἄρχουσι τοῦ Πείσονος.
- ὁ Μάρκος δίδωσι τὸν παῖδα τοῦ Πείσονος τοῖς ἄρχουσιν.
8.9 τοῦ Πείσονος is GENITIVE SINGULAR. In our sentence, it is closely linked with τὸν παῖδα, the child of Piso, or Piso’s child. As might be expected, nouns in the GENITIVE case are normally (but not always!) adjacent to the noun to which it is linked.
- ὁ Μάρκος δίδωσι τοῖς ἄρχουσι τὸν παῖδα τοῦ Πείσονος.
- ὁ Μάρκος δίδωσι τοῦ Πείσονος τὸν παῖδα τοῖς ἄρχουσιν.
A noun in the GENITIVE case can also show close affiliation with a certain noun by being located between a noun and its preceding article.
- ὁ Μάρκος δίδωσι τοῖς ἄρχουσι τὸν τοῦ Πείσονος παῖδα.