Lesson 10: Personal Pronouns and the verb "to be"


e0gw- I ei0mi- I am
sou- You de- but
0au0toj- he ou0- not
au0th- she ou0k- not
au0ton- it ou0c- not

ASSIGNMENT: Memorize the vocabulary list above.

Some notes of importance:

The word de never stands at the beginning of a clause.

In Greek the negative particle is normally found immediately in front of the word is negates.

Now, to the personal pronouns. They are declined as follows:

First Person (I)

Singular Plural
Nom e0gw- I h(meij- we
Gen e0mou- of me h(mwn- of us
L.I.D. e0moi- to me h(min- to us
Acc. e0me- me h(maj- us

(The student should note that the abbreviations for the cases are given above, and will be used from this point on. This should cause no difficulty, as you know the case names by now).

Second Person (you)

Singular Plural
Nom. su- you u(meij- you
Gen. sou- of you u(mwn- of you
L.I.D. soi- to you u(min- to you
Acc. se- you u(maj- you

Third Person (he, she, it)


Masc. Fem. Neuter
Nom au0toj- he au0th- she au0to- it
Gen au0tou- of him au0thj- of her au0tou- of it
L.I.D. au0tw|- to him au0th|- to her au0tw|- to it
Acc. au0ton- him au0thn- her au0to- it


Masc. Fem. Neuter
Nom au0toi- they au0tai- they au0ta- they
Gen au0twn- of them au0twn- of them au0twn- of them
L.I.D. au0toij- to them au0taij- to them au0toij- to them
Acc au0touj- them au0taj- them au0ta- them

ASSIGNMENT: Memorize the personal pronouns above.

A pronoun agrees with the noun it is replacing in case, gender and number (just like an adjective).

Whenever the phrase o( au0toj occurs it must be translated "the same".

All of these pronouns must be carefully translated according to their context. Only practice in this art can help one correctly render these pronouns.

The verb ei0mi (to be) is conjugated below.

ei0mi- I am e0smen- we are

ei0- you are e0ste- you are

e0sti (n)- he, she, it is ei0si(n)- they are

The moveable -n occurs frequently in this verb. When it occurs, simply note it. It does not change the translation at all. It was simply used as a syllable closer.

ASSIGNMENT: Memorize the verb ei0mi as it is conjugated above. Then, translate the following sentences:

1. didaskw touj ui0ouj mou kai legw au0toij parabolhn

2. e0gw ei0mi douloj, su de ei0 a0postoloj

3. oi( a0delfoi h(mwn blepousin h(maj kai h(meij didaskomen au0touj