"And" and Postpositive Conjunctions

10.2 “And”

• καί: As a conjunction, καί is used to connect words, clauses, and sentences. If used as an adverb, καί means even, also.
• τε (enclitic): Like καί, τε is used to link clauses and sentences. However, τε rarely links individual words in Greek prose. τε…καί in a sentence is a slightly weaker version of καί…καί, both…and. As a monosyllabic enclitic, τε rarely has an accent.
• δέ: This little word is used most often to delineate, and slightly contrast, a clause or sentence from the one that precedes it. How to translate this slight contrast depends upon context. Sometimes and works well, other times but. At still other times it is difficult to distinguish between the two, and the word is best left untranslated (S 2834, G 669a).
• μέν…δέ: When used together, these two words mark a contrast between one word or clause, marked by μέν, and another, marked by δέ. Sometimes the pair can be translated on the one hand (μέν)…on the other hand (δέ). In other contexts, the μέν is best left untranslated, and the δέ translated as and or but. Often, however, μέν…δέ is not translated in English (S 2904, G 669a).

10.3 POSTPOSITIVE POSITION

In Greek, some conjunctions always follow the word that they link. Such conjunctions are called POSTPOSITIVE. All the and words in Greek are postpositive except for καί. As a result of the frequency of postpositive conjunctions, it is often the case that the second word – or third, if it follows a noun with a definite article – in a clause or sentence is a conjunction. A postpositive conjunction can never be the first word in a sentence.

Consider the following examples:

• χρήματα καὶ ὑπάρχοντα δίδομεν.
  • We give money and property.
• δίδομεν τὰ σπέρματα καὶ δίδοτε τὸ ὕδωρ.
  • We give the seeds and you give the water.
• τὰ σπέρματα δίδομεν, ὑπάρχοντα δὲ δίδοτε.
  • We give the seeds and you give property.
• τὰ σπέρματα μὲν δίδομεν, ὕδωρ δὲ δίδοτε.
  • We give the seeds and you give water.

10.4 And...Not

• οὔτε/μήτε: and…not
  • οὔτε is used with indicative verbs.
  • μήτε is used with infinitives.
  • Note that they are simply combinations of οὐ and μή with τε.