Adjectives and demonstratives

Adjectives follow their noun

The end of John 3:16 says believers "have eternal life". In Greek that is ζωὴν (zōēn) αἰώνιον (aiōnion), "life" and "eternal". The two words have the same case, number and gender: accusative, singular, feminine. This is the rule for an adjective: it agrees with the noun it describes in case, number and gender. English tells you which noun an adjective belongs to by position; Greek tells you by case, number and gender. Agreement does not always mean identical letters: αἰώνιος is one of the adjectives that use -ος and -ον endings for feminine nouns too, so ζωὴν and αἰώνιον end differently, yet, as the panel shows, both are accusative singular feminine.

If you remember the article lesson, this will feel familiar. The article changes its shape to match its noun, and an adjective does the same. In Matthew 7:17 a good tree produces καρποὺς (karpous) καλοὺς (kalous), "good fruits", both accusative plural masculine. So when you meet an adjective, look for the noun with the same case, number and gender. A dictionary lists an adjective under its nominative singular masculine form.

Here are the lesson's adjectives, each in a real verse. ἀγαθὸν (agathon), "good", is in the same verse, describing the tree (δένδρον ἀγαθὸν). καλός (kalos), also "good" or "fine", is in "the good shepherd" of John 10:11. They are different words, each about 100 times in the New Testament. μεγάλην is a form of μέγας, "great" (about 243 times), in "they rejoiced with great joy" (Matthew 2:10). πολύν is a form of πολύς, "much, many" (about 367 times), in "bears much fruit" (John 15:5). And δίκαιος (dikaios), "righteous" or "just" (about 79 times), describes God in 1 John 1:9.

The article shows how an adjective is used

An adjective is used in one of two main ways, and the article usually shows which.

Attributive: the adjective describes the noun directly. Usually it sits between the article and the noun (ὁ καλὸς ποιμήν), or it follows the noun with the article repeated (ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός). John 10:11 has the second pattern: ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός, "the good shepherd". 1 John 1:2 does the same: τὴν ζωὴν τὴν αἰώνιον, "the eternal life". In John 17:3, "this is eternal life", the adjective is between the article and noun: ἡ αἰώνιος ζωή. With no article at all, as in ζωὴν αἰώνιον in John 3:16, it is simply "eternal life".

Predicate: the adjective says something about the noun, as in "the shepherd is good". It has no article attached and usually goes with a verb "is". In 1 John 1:9 God is πιστός ἐστιν καὶ δίκαιος, "faithful and righteous." In John 6:60 the disciples say σκληρός ἐστιν ὁ λόγος οὗτος, "this saying is hard." Compare: ὁ σκληρὸς λόγος would be "the hard saying", while σκληρός ἐστιν ὁ λόγος is "the saying is hard." This is a rule of thumb that holds in most verses, so keep the context in view.

A third pattern is an adjective standing alone as a noun. In the Lord's Prayer, ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ means "from the evil [thing or person]." Some translations say "from evil," others "from the evil one." The app marks this form as neuter, but the grammar alone does not decide between the two, and scholars differ. In both readings you have an article plus an adjective and no noun, so it reads as "the evil [one or thing]".

πᾶς and οὐδείς

πᾶς (pas) means "all, every" and appears about 1,240 times. In John 3:16, πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων is "everyone who believes". It changes its shape widely, so also learn πάντα (panta), "all things", in John 1:3: nominative plural neuter.

οὐδεὶς (oudeis) means "no one, nothing" and appears about 232 times. It begins John 14:6: "No one comes to the Father except through Me." It is another adjective that is often used as a noun.

Demonstratives: "this" and "that"

The demonstratives point to something: "this" and "that". They change with case, number and gender, and the app labels them demonstrative pronouns. They can stand alone ("this one") or go with a noun ("this word").

οὗτος (houtos) begins John 1:2: "He was in the beginning with God", picking up the Word of verse 1. ἐκεῖνος (ekeinos) appears in John 9:25, where it refers to the man who answers. The forms of οὗτος occur about 1,380 times together, and ἐκεῖνος about 242 times. As a start, treat οὗτος as "this (near)" and ἐκεῖνος as "that (far)".

The important point is that a demonstrative stands outside the article. English puts "this" before the noun. Greek often writes ὁ λόγος οὗτος, with the article and noun together and the demonstrative beside them, as in οὗτος in John 6:60. It may also come first: ταῦτα τὰ σημεῖα, "these signs" (John 3:2). Either way it agrees with its noun in case, number and gender. ταύτην in John 2:11 is accusative singular feminine, "this", and goes with ἀρχὴν, "beginning", even though the verb stands between them: "this he did as the beginning of the signs".

Summary

An adjective agrees with its noun in case, number and gender. An article attached to it usually means attributive use ("the good shepherd"); no article with "is" usually means predicate use ("He is righteous"). An adjective with an article and no noun reads as a noun, as in τοῦ πονηροῦ, "the evil [one or thing]". Watch the shapes of πᾶς and οὐδείς, and remember that οὗτος "this" and ἐκεῖνος "that" stand outside the article and match their noun.

Words in this lesson

• πᾶςpasall1,240 times in the NT
• ἀγαθόςagathosgood102 times in the NT
• καλόςkalosgood100 times in the NT
• μέγαςmegasgreat243 times in the NT
• πολύςpolusmuch367 times in the NT
• δίκαιοςdikaiosjust79 times in the NT
• ἐκεῖνοςekeinosthat242 times in the NT
• οὐδείςoudeisnone232 times in the NT

Practice