CASE. The subject of the discourse, i. e. the person or thing spoken of, is expressed in the nominative case. In every sentence, therefore, there must be a nominative expressed or understood, to which the other words in the sentence have a reference; and as the name of an object alone, without some affirmation concerning it, conveys no idea, every nominative likewise (unless used as an attributive merely) must have a verb referring to it, expressed or understood. The genitive case is made use of, when a noun expresses the particular class or kind which another belongs to, or makes a part of. This case generally answers to the English preposition of, sometimes to the preposition from. The dative case is used, when the junction of one object with another, made by means of the subject of discourse, is to be signified; it answers to the English preposiions to or for. The accusative case marks the object to which the action of the sentence is directed. In English, it is generally the same with the nominative. The vocative case is used in immediate addresses to a person in the way of interrogation, prayer, command, or exclamation. These are the radical and proper uses of the different cases; figurative and elliptical forms of speech, however, frequently give rise to other modes of applying them, which the subsequent rules of syntax will point out. As all the cases, except the nominative, imply a noun to be subordinate in the sentence, they can only be used when governed in one way or other. The manner, therefore, in which these different cases are to be applied in a sentence, falls to be explained under the respective governing words. GENDER, Nouns signifying objects of the male sex, are properly of the masculine gender; objects of the female sex, of the feminine gender; and objects not admitting the distinctions of sex, of the neuter gender. But, in Greek, this rule is very frequently departed from; inanimate objects being made masculine or feminine, according to the terminations of their names; and objects male or female, in many cases made neuter. GENERAL RULES. I. Two substantive nouns agree in case, when the one is used as attributive, descriptive, or appellative of the other; as, This rule holds good, though one or more words intervene between the two substantives; as, ་ ὁ Θεὸς ἐστὶ πνεῦμα, ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐλάλησε ὥσπερ παιδίον, Acts xvi. 14. γυνὴ ὀνόματι Λυδία, God is a spirit. the man spoke as a child. II. One substantive governs another in the genitive, when the latter expresses the class or kind which the former belongs to, or makes part of; as, Sometimes, though rarely, an exception occurs to this rule, both substantives being put in the same case; as, III. An adjective agrees with the substantive whose attribute it expresses, in number, case, and gender; as, This agreement takes place, though one or more words intervene; as, δένδρον ἐστὶ μέγα, ἀνὴρ ὃς εἶπε δοκεῖ δίκαιος εἶναι, the tree is great. the man who said it seems to be just. The substantive, when of the neuter gender, is sometimes omitted; as, (supply os, disposition,) the wise disposition, used to signify wisdom. Tisti zanov, (supply zçayμa, thing,) virtue is lovely. From this rule there are three exceptions. 1. Two or more substantives, though in the singular, have the adjective in the plural; as, If the nouns so connected differ in gender, the adjective agrees with the masculine rather than the feminine, and with the feminine rather than the neuter; as, James ii. 15. ἀδελφὸς ἢ ἀδελφὴ γυμνοί, a brother or a sister naked. ἡ ὄνος καὶ τὸ θηρίον εἰσὶ πάντως διάφοραι, the she ass and the beast of prey are entirely dissimilar. Frequently, however, when all or any of the substantives signify things without life, the adjective is put in the neuter, xenara, (things,) being understood. νάρδος καὶ χρυσὸς δοκοῦσι ἀγαθὰ, ἡ δυναστεία καὶ ὁ πλοῦτος εἰσὶ αἱρετα, power spikenard and gold appear good. 2. An adjective sometimes agrees in gender and number, not with the substantive immediately expressed, but with another implied in that one, and understood; as, ἡγέομαι τὸ πλῆθος εἶναι ἀνόητους, I reckon the multitude to be foolish. Mat. xxvii. 19, 20. μαθητεύσατε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, βαπτίζοντες αὐτοὺς, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them. In such instances, vegánovs, or some similar word is understood. 3. An adjective in the nominative or accusative, sometimes has its proper substantive in the genitive, a preposition being understood; as, φαῦλοι τῶν ἀνθρώπων, wicked men, ix being understood. IV. Adjectives which in English, require after them the prepositions of, from, ο than, in Greek, govern the genitive; as, V. Adjectives which in English, require after them the prepositions to, for, in, or by, in Greek, govern the dative; as, The price at which a thing is bought or sold, though preceded in English by the preposition for, is put in the genitive in Greek; as, VI. Adjectives denoting measure or distance, whether of time or space, require an accusative after them; as, THE accidents of the article are the same with those of the noun, viz. NUMBER, CASE, and GENDER, and used in the same way. GENERAL RULES. I. The article agrees with the noun to which it relates, in gender, number, and case; as, II. The article is always placed before the noun to which it relates; but the nou n does not in every case follow it immediately; several words often intervene; thus, III. The noun to which the article relates, is frequently not expressed; in this case, some connected noun is always understood, and must be supplied in order to complete the construction; as, 66 1. The article joined with a substantive noun expressed, gives it a determinate or definitive sense, such as in English is denoted by the article the; goτns, a prophet;"gorns, "the prophet." An object may require to be marked out in this definite or determinate manner—by being in itself of so peculiar a nature, that only one of its species is known, or supposed to be known; as, John i. 1. ó nóyos, “the word;" 'Iwavons Ó BARTIOTÙS, “John the Baptist;"-by being distinguished by additional characters or circumstances, which apply to one of the kind exclusively; as, ἡ διαθήκη τοῦ ̓Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ, "the covenant of Jesus Christ ;"—by being mentioned more than once in the same discourse, which, at every subsequent recurrence, renders it necessary to indicate that the very thing formerly spoken of, is meant to be again pointed out; as, Matth. xxi. 19. uz ienpáván, "the fig-tree withered away," viz. the fig-tree mentioned in the beginning of the verse, where the article was omitted. In all these and similar cases, the article is used to denote the definite sense of the noun.* This is the primary and radical use of the article, to which all the rest are either more immediately or more remotely referable. 2. When two substantive nouns are connected by the substantive verb to form a proposition or affirmation, the article joined with one of them, whether first or last in the sentence, denotes that the one to which it is joined is the subject of the proposition, the other without the article being the predicate or attribute only; thus, in John iv. 24. TrμL o Ords, "God is a spirit ;" sos must be the subject having the article, and 2, which has none, the attribute; but in John i. 1. Oɛos u ó nóyos, "the word was God," Osos, which has not the article, must be the predicate of the proposition, and néos, which has it, the subject. Thus also, 1 Tim. vi. 5, 6. vomitoria Togoμòr εἶναι τὴν εὐσέβειαν.—ἔστι δὲ πορισμὸς μέγας ἡ εὐσέβεια μετὰ αὐταρκείας.—Supposing that godliness is gain:—but godliness with contentment is great gain. 3. The article is used to express a whole class or species of things; as, 4. The article is frequently, though not always, put before proper names; as, 5. The article sometimes supplies the place of a possessive pronoun; but in this case the genitive of one of the personal pronouns is understood; as, ó naτng, “my father;" supply iμov. * From this general rule of using the article always when a definite sense is intended, exceptions sometimes, though rarely, occur. When an object is spoken of, so obvious or striking that it can hardly be mistaken, it may be expressed without the article; as, Phil. ii. 1. zaví Túμaros, "fellowship of the Spirit," because here there could be no doubt what spirit the apostle had in view. + Perhaps the 3d and 4th cases properly belong to the uses of the article with the noun understood, both of them being resolved by supplying some noun after the article; as, ó (v) voewes," the (being) man," ¿ (avre) 'Iáxwor," the (man) James;" but as in both cases there is a noun expressed, agreeing with the article, it is unnecessary to go into a further analysis of them in an elemental treatise. 6. Although the article has no vocative case, yet it is often used with a noun in the nominative, when the nominative of both must be taken as together constituting a vocative case; as, Mat. xxvii. 29. χαῖρε ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων, hail, king of the Jews. καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· ὁ Κύριός μου καὶ ὁ Θεός μου, and said unto him, my Lord, and my God. II. Where the Noun to which the Article relates, is not expressed, but understood. 1. The article is frequently used before a genitive case, to denote that some noun referred to is understood, and must be supplied to complete the sense, the connection of the passage, or the knowledge of the reader pointing out what that word to be supplied should be; as, Mat. x. 3. Rom. viii. 5. Ιάκωβος ὁ τοῦ ̓Αλφαίου, (supply υἱὸς,) τὸ τῆς συκῆς, (supply σημείον,) τὰ τῆς σαρκὸς, (supply ἔργα,) James the (son) of Alpheus. the (things) of Cæsar. 2. The article, joined with an adjective in the neuter gender, expresses the abstract of the quality signified by the adjective; as, τὸ ἀμελὲς, το σοφόν, carelessness, supply os, or some similar word. 3. The article sometimes supplies the place of the relative pronoun; as, ἐπιστολὴ τὴν ἔγραψε ἐστὶ καλὴ, the letter which he wrote is pretty. The article, when used in this way, is frequently followed by a participle instead of a verb; as ἀνὴρ ὁ λέγων, the man who says, instead of λével. the people who are wise, instead of govovor. Sometimes even the participle referred to is not expressed but understood; as, Mat. vii. 11, ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, your father who is in heaven, ὢν for ἐστὶ being understood. 4. The article in the neuter gender joined with the infinitive mode of a verb, is used for a verbal noun, expressing the action of the verb without any affirmation; the article thus used is regularly declined, the verb remaining unchanged; thus, The same construction takes place, though an accusative be joined with the verb to express the agent; thus, Mat. vi. 8. Mat. xiii. 4. πρὸ τοῦ ὑμᾶς αἰτήσαι, before your asking. In this mode of construction, some connected word, such as xgóvos, time, zgāžis, action, gaya, circumstance, must be supposed to be understood after the article. 5. The article is used before adverbs or prepositions, to denote the objects to which they refer; the proper noun being always understood; as, οἱ πέλας, τὰ πάλαι, neighbours, supply ages. former (things,) supply ngayμaтa. οἱ ἀμφὶ Ἰωάννην, the disciples) of John, supply άνδρες οι μαθηταί. οἱ περὶ ἱερὰ, the (persons engaged) about sacred things, the priests, supply droges |