A Short Grammar of Classical Greek: Part III, Syntax - III. Pronouns

125. 1. The reflexive pronouns (62) are used

a) directly, when they refer to the subject of that sentence (or clause) in which they stand [Direct Reflexives], as in: γνῶθι σαυτόν know thyself.

Δίδωμί σοι ἐμαυτὸν δοῦλον καὶ σύμμαχον.

Ὁ σοφὸς ἐν αὐτῷ περιφέρει τὴν οὐσίαν.

b) indirectly, when they stand in subordinate (dependent) clauses and refer to the subject of the principal sentence (or clause) [Indirect Reflexives], as in:

Ὀρέστης φεύγων ἔπεισεν Ἀθηναίους ἑαυτὸν κατάγειν to restore him.

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PRONOUNS.

2. Instead of the indirect reflexive of the third person,

a) either the oblique cases of αὐτός may be used, in which case the statement is taken objectively from the point of view of the writer:

Λέγουσι Ξενοφῶντι, ὅτι μεταμέλοι αὐτοῖς (se paenitere).

b) or the forms οἱ (encl. οἱ) and σφίσιν (rarely σφῶι, σφᾶς) are employed:

Κῦρος ἠξίου ἀδελφὸς ὢν βασιλέως δοθῆναι οἱ (sibi) ταύτας τὰς πόλεις. - (ἐρίζονταί οἱ : An. 1, 2, 8).

126. Possessive pronouns. - The relation of property may be expressed by the individualizing article (see 117, 1). But more frequently this is done by means of the possessive pronouns and the possessive genitive of the personal pronouns. See 64, 3.

Σοὶ τοῦτο δίδωμι, ὅτι μου τὴν μητέρα τιμᾷς.

Καὶ ὑμεῖς ἅπαντες τοὺς ὑμετέρους παῖδας ἀγαπᾶτε.

Κἄπὶ τοῖς σαυτῆς κακοῖσι κἀπὶ τοῖς ἐμοῖς γελᾷς.

Ἀστυάγης τὴν ἑαυτοῦ θυγατέρα μετεπέμψατο καὶ τὸν παῖδα αὐτῆς.

Μᾶλλον πιστεύετε τοῖς ὑμετέροις αὐτῶν ὀφθαλμοῖς ἢ τοῖς τούτου λόγοις (cf. vestra ipsorum opera).

127. The intensive pronoun αὐτός admits of a variety of uses:

1. self, ipse, e.g. ὁ υἱὸς αὐτός filius ipse, the son himself.

2. in the oblique cases: of him, of her, of it, etc., eius, etc. It never heads a sentence. ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ filius eius, his son; στέργω αὐτόν I love him. See 61. 63.

3. with the article: the same, idem, ὁ αὐτὸς υἱός.

4. καὶ αὐτός (et ipse) means: himself, himself too, likewise, in turn.

Σοφοῖς ὁμιλῶν καὐτὸς ἐκβήσῃ σοφός.

5. with ordinal numbers αὐτός assigns to a person a prominent place among others:

τρίτος αὐτός himself the third = he with two others.

Στρατηγὸς ἦν Ξενοκλείδης πέμπτος αὐτός.

6. for αὐτοῖς ἀνδράσιν and ὁ αὐτός τινι see 158, 3.

128. Demonstrative pronouns (see 65).

1. ὅδε this one (here or there), points ahead to what is present, what is before and connected with one’s self, or to what follows.

Οὗτος this, that, the said, points back to what has been previously mentioned, to what precedes.

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SYNTAX.

Ἐκεῖνος that, yonder, that - yonder, that - over there, points to things absent or remote in reality or only in thought.

ἥδε ἡ ἡμέρα this (the present) day, τόδε τὸ ὄρος the m. before me (or us). ἥδε ἡ χείρ (this) my hand, this hand of mine.

Τεκμήριον δὲ τούτου (i.e. of what was said) καὶ τόδε (the following).

Ταῦτα μὲν δὴ σὺ λέγεις, παρ’ ἡμῶν δὲ ἀπάγγελλε τάδε.

Τοιάδε and τοιοῦτος, τοσόσδε and τοσοῦτος, ὧδε and οὕτως etc. are to be distinguished as ὅδε and οὗτος.

Κλέαρχος μὲν τοσαῦτα εἶπε· Τισσαφέρνης δὲ ὧδε ἀπεκρίνατο.

2. Observe that ὅδε (like hic) points to what concerns and is near (in place, time or thought) the person speaking, οὗτος (like iste) to what concerns the person spoken to, ἐκεῖνος (like ille) to what is remote in some way or other with respect to the person speaking. Moreover, these pronouns must often be rendered by adverbs.

ὅδε ἕστηκα here I am (stand). - Ἡρόμην, ὅπου αὐτὸς εἴη. Οὗτος, ἔφη, ὄπισθεν προσέρχεται there he comes behind you. Νῆες ἐκεῖναι ἐπιπλέουσι ships are coming yonder. (Note the omission of the article in cases such as this.)

Note 1. - “He who,” “that which” are expressed by οὗτος ὅς, as in: οὗτος ὃς λέγει, or ὁ with the participle (201), as in: ὁ λέγων.

Αἱρεῖσθε τὸν ἐροῦντα him, the person, who is to speak.

Note 2. - καὶ οὗτος is sometimes used in the sense of καὶ αὐτός et ipse, ipse quoque (127, 4); so also, though less frequently, καὶ ἐκεῖνος: too, likewise.

Ἀγίας καὶ Σωκράτης καὶ τοῦτο ἀπεθανέτην A. and S. too.

Note 3. - καὶ οὗτος (= et is, atque is) introduces an additional qualification to a noun previously mentioned, καὶ ταῦτα (= idque) adds a supplementary remark to a previous statement: and that too, and besides, and yet, although.

Ἀπόρων ἐστὶ καὶ ἀμηχάνων, καὶ τούτων πονηρῶν, . . . and that too, besides.

Μένωνα οὐκ ἐζήτει, καὶ ταῦτα παρ’ Ἀριαίου ὢν τοῦ Μένωνος ξένου although.

129. Relative pronouns and adverbs (66. 68. 69).

1. ὅς who, that, which, what, and the other simple relatives (οἷος, ὅσος, οὗ, ὅτε, ὡς) point to some definite object (individualizing force: limited signification).

ὅστις whoever, whichever, whatever, and the other compound relatives (ὅπ. . . .) point either to some quality of a person (or thing) or to a whole class (generic force: unlimited signification).

Ἔστιν Δίκης ὀφθαλμός, ὃς τὰ πάνθ’ ὁρᾷ.

Μακάριος, ὅστις οὐσίαν καὶ νοῦν ἔχει.

Note 1. - Therefore ὅστις (not ὅς) is always used after negatives: οὐκ ἔστιν ὅστις, οὐδείς ἐστιν ὅστις, τίς ἐστιν ὅστις; likewise πᾶς ὅστις any person who (plur. πάντες ὅσοι as many as).

Note 2. - Note the following idiomatic expressions:

ἔστιν ὅστις some, ἔστιν ὅτε sometimes, ἔστιν οὗ somewhere, here and there,

ἔστιν ᾧ to some, ἔστιν οἷ and εἰσίν οἵ some, sunt qui, nonnulli.

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PRONOUNS.

Ἔστιν ὅτε καὶ οἷς βέλτιον τεθνάναι ἢ ζῆν sometimes and for some death is better than life.

Note 3. - ὅς has demonstrative force (116) in καὶ ὅς (anti) he, ἦ δ’ ὅς said he.

Οὐδεὶς ἀντέλεγε, καὶ ὅς ἡγεῖτο . . . no one contradicted; whereupon he advanced.

ὅσπερ points to things that are known: qui quidem. An. 3, 2, 10. (See 66, 2.)

ὅσγε adds at once a reason: quippe qui. An. 1, 6, 5.

2. A relative pronoun, whose antecedent is in the genitive or dative case, is often put in the same case instead of in the accusative. This is called assimilation or attraction of the relative pronoun. If the antecedent is a demonstrative, it is dropped; if a noun, it is usually placed, without the article, at the end of the relative clause. For example: οὐδὲν ὧν = οὐδὲν τούτων ἅ.

Ἄξιοι ἔσεσθε τῆς ἐλευθερίας, ἧς κέκτησθε of the liberty you enjoy.

Οἱ χρησμῳδοὶ ἴσασιν οὐδὲν ὧν λέγουσιν nothing of what they say.

Νῦν ἐπαινῶ σε ἐφ’ οἷς λέγεις τε καὶ πράττεις for what you say.

Τούτους ἄρχοντας ἐποίει ἧς κατεστρέφετο χώρας rulers of whatever land he conquered.

Ἡριππίδας ἐπορεύετο σὺν ᾗ εἶχε δυνάμει with what force he had.

Note. - The antecedent (a noun or a pronoun) is sometimes assimilated to the relative. This is called inverted assimilation.

Ἀνεῖλεν αὐτῷ ὁ Ἀπόλλων θεοῖς οἷς ἔδει θύειν.

3. When two (or several) relative clauses follow in succession, and the case of the second relative pronoun differs from that of the first, it is either dropped or replaced by αὐτός (less frequently by οὗτος or ἐκεῖνος) or a personal pronoun is used.

Ἀριαῖος, ὃν ἡμεῖς ἠθέλομεν βασιλέα καθιστάναι, καὶ (sc. ᾧ) ἐδώκαμεν καὶ (sc. παρ’ οὗ) ἐλάβομεν πιστά, ἡμᾶς κακῶς ποιεῖν πειρᾶται.

Ποῦ δὴ ἐκεῖνός ἐστιν ὁ ἀνήρ, ὃς συνεθήρα ἡμῖν, καὶ σὺ μάλ᾽ ἐθαύμαζες αὐτόν;

Καὶ νῦν τί χρὴ δρᾶν; ὅστις ἐμφανῶς θεοῖς ἐχθαίρομαι, μισεῖ δέ μ’ Ἑλλήνων στρατός.

130. Interrogative pronouns and adverbs (67; 69).

τίς, ποῖος, πόσος, ποῦ, πότε, πῶς are used directly and indirectly.

ὅστις, ὁποῖος, ὁπόσος, ὅπου, ὁπότε, ὅπως are used in indirect questions only.

Τίς τε καὶ πόθεν πάρει;

Μάθε πρῶτον, τίνες εἰσίν. Οὐκ ἴστε ὅ,τι ποιεῖτε.

Note. - Ὅς, ἥ, ὅ may take the place of the indirect interrogative pronoun. Ἀκούσατε, ᾧ τρόπῳ ὑμῖν ἡ δημοκρατία κατελύθη. - Compare 179, 1.