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Lesson 9

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Just as we saw in the definite article, all forms begin with τ except the nominative singular and plural in the masculine and feminine. Be sure to notice the rough breathing mark in the forms that do not begin with τ. This, along with the accent on the penult, is the only thing that distinguishes the demonstrative pronoun αὕτη from the third person pronoun αὐτή.

Notice that in the neuter singular both nominative and accusative, the final ν is omitted. But in this respect also the demonstrative pronoun is like the definite article, and also like the relative pronoun and the adjective ἄλλος.

The only surprise here is the seemingly whimsical nature of the diphthong in the stem. The masculine has ου throughout, but the feminine plural has αυ. Moreover, the stem diphthong reverts to ου in the feminine genitive plural. And in the neuter plural, the two stems are equally represented. However, we can make some sense out of this by noticing that there is a consistent rule: Wherever the ending has ο or ω, the stem will have ου, and wherever the ending has α or η, the stem will have αυ.

ἐκεῖνος is thoroughly regular, except that again, the neuter singular nominative and accusative forms do not have the final ν.

Word Order

The normal position for demonstrative pronouns is what we have come to call the predicate position. However, demonstrative pronouns in this position are not necessarily in the predicate part of the sentence. We simply refer to a word in this position as being in the predicate position because in the case of adjectives, it is indeed associated with the predicate. Remember that adjectives in the predicate position must be nominative and are indeed part of the predicate, with a copulative, some form of the verb to be, implied. With demonstrative pronouns, that is not the case. Consider the following examples:

ἐκεῖνος ὁ ἄνθρωπος Dem. Pronoun | Def. Art. |  Noun		= that man
ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῖνος Def. Art. | Noun |  Dem. Pronoun

τοῦτον τὸν ἄνθρωπον Dem. Pronoun | Def. Art. |  Noun		= this man
τὸν ἄνθρωπον τοῦτον Def. Art. | Noun |  Dem. Pronoun

Because a copulative is not implied when a demonstrative pronoun is in this position, in order to say the man is this one, the verb is must be explicitly stated:

ὁ ἄνθρωπός ἐστιν οὗτος		= the man is this one (or, this is the man)
οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἄνθρωπος

Used as a Substantive

Notice that in the last example, the demonstrative pronoun functions as a substantive. Consider the following examples:

οὗτοι ἔχουσιν τὴν ἐξουσίαν (Rev. 11:6)
these have the power

 

αὕτη γὰρ ἐστιν ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ (1 Jn. 5:3)
for this is the love of God

The reflexive pronoun reflects the action back to the subject, and therefore, the English translation will use such words as myself, yourself, themselves, etc.

I see myself

He talks to himself

Because the reflexive pronoun reflects the action back to the subject, it is not itself the subject, but is an an object of the verb. Accordingly, there is no nominative case for reflexive pronoun. Also notice that there are no neuter forms in the 1st and 2nd person singular.

There is some variation of opinion as to the development of the reflexive pronoun. Robertson supposed the personal pronoun was itself originally reflexive, and that the reflexive forms in Hellenistic were a late development (p. 680, 687). On the other hand, in the grammar by Blass & Debrunner, we are told that the reflexive pronouns "surrendered some of their original function to the simple personal pronouns in the NT (as in Hellenistic)" (p. 147f).  Whatever the facts of its history and development may be, whether it was encroaching upon or being replaced by the simple personal pronoun,  and without making any claim as to etymology, it is helpful to notice that the reflexive pronoun visually appears to be a combination of other pronouns you already know. Remember that the simple 1st person pronoun, accusative singular, is ἐμέ. The stem of this word combined with forms of αὐτός will form the 1st person reflexive pronoun.

Remember that the simple 2nd person pronoun, accusative singular, is σέ. This word combined with forms of αὐτός will form the 2nd person reflexive pronoun.

The 3rd person reflexive pronoun has only ε prefixed to forms of αὐτός. Also notice the rough breathing mark.

The plural forms of the reflexive pronoun show no distinction for person.

Even though there is no distinction for person, inasmuch as the pronoun reflects action back to the subject, the person is easily discerned. The following examples will illustrate this:

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οὐ γὰρ ἑαυτοὺς κηρύσσομεν  (2 Cor. 4:5)
for we do not preach ourselves

Because κηρύσσομεν is 1st person plural, we know to translate ἑαυτούς as "ourselves" rather than "yourselves" or "themselves." (Note that Paul is not saying, for we ourselves do not preach. Rather he is saying that they preach Jesus Christ as Lord rather than themselves.)

 

οὐκ ἔχετε ζωὴν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς   (Jn. 6:53)
you (pl.) do not have life in yourselves

Because ἔχετε is 2nd person plural, we know to translate ἑαυτοῖς as yourselves rather than ourselves or themselves.

τὴν ἀγάπην τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ἔχετε ἐν ἑαυτοῖς   (Jn. 5:42)
you (pl.) do not have the love of God in yourselves

Because ἔχετε is 2nd person plural, we know to translate ἑαυτοῖς as yourselves.

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We have already learned to use such words as myself, yourself, and themselves when translating nominative αὐτός used intensively with verbs. But we must clearly distinguish between that usage and this one. Note the following contrasts: