Koine Greek: Definite Article

Articles in Koine Greek
RELATED TOPICS	Koine Greek: Nouns Article
SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OPINIONS
CONTENTS

Lesson

Indefinite article

There is no indefinite article in Greek, that is, there is no word for "a". For example

• αδελφος (adelphos) may mean either "brother" or "a brother"

Definite article

The definite article is the word "the". In Koine Greek, the definite article various depending upon the noun's case, gender and number. For example:

• ῾ο αδελφος (ho adelphos) = "the brother" (a masculine, singular, nominative noun)
• ῾οι αδελφοι (hoi adelphoi) = "the brothers" (a masculine, plural, nominative noun)
• ῾η γη (he ge) = "the land" (a feminine, singular, nominative noun)
• το πλοιον (to ploion) = "the boat" (a neuter, singular, nominative noun)

Definite article: Singular form

The following table shows the definite article in its various singular forms depending on case and gender.

Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nom	`ο	`η	το
Gen	του	τη	του
Dat	τω	τη	τω
Acc	τον	την	το

Definite article: Plural form

Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nom	`οι	`αι	τα
Gen	τωn	τωn	τωn
Dat	τοις	ταις	τοις
Acc	τους	τας	τα

Rules regarding usage

The definite article is used much more frequently than in English. It is generally used before names of people and places, and also prior to abstract nouns (abstract nouns are those that describe a concept such as love - Αγαπη)

Links

---

Return to Koine Greek