Session 7

HOW TO DEAL WITH NOUNS AND NOUN FORMS

When you look for participles and nouns, you will see a listing in your analytical lexicon as follows:

  • (Word in Greek), nom. sing. masc. part. aor. 2 (Root of Greek Word), or
  • (Word in Hebrew, Greek) acc. pl. (Root of Greek Word)

The first listing is of a participle and tells you the original Greek word from your text, the case ending (nom.), the number of persons or things involved (sing. or pl.), the gender (masc., fem. or neut.), the form (part.), the tense of the participle (aor.2) and the root Greek word. The second listing is of a noun and because of this it is only necessary to list the original Greek word, the case (acc.), the number (pl.) and the root Greek word. Most of these grammatical forms are familiar to our language and need no explanation.

The case endings, however, are foreign to our way of thinking and need an explanation. Case endings on nouns and participles are used to indicate the usage of the word in the sentence. The case endings are as follows:

  • Nominative: Indicates the subject.
  • Vocative: Indicates direct address (a noun being spoken to).
  • Genitive: Shows description or possession (adjectival). “Of God”
  • Ablative: Indicates separation or source (from, of).
  • Locative: Indicates a point within limits (prepositional-in, among, on, at, by, upon, etc.).
  • Instrumental: Shows instrumentality (with or by).
  • Dative: Indicates the indirect object (to or for).
  • Accusative: Indicates the objective case, showing the direction of the action of the verb in the indicative or subjunctive mood. This case indicates the direct object of the verb.

INFINITIVES

Infinitives are verb forms that are preceded by the word ‘to’ and are translated usually ‘to go, to do, to live,’ etc. They are used verbally-e.g., Matthew 2:2, “We have come to worship Him.” They are also used as nouns, as in Romans 7:18, “For to will is present with me.”

Assignment: Read John 11:31-37. Describe the emotions Jesus experiences. Examine both verbs and nouns to explain your interpretation.