Greek in a Nutshell,

An Outline of
GREEK GRAMMAR
with
BRIEF READING LESSONS;

Designed for Beginners in the New Testament.

BY

JAMES STRONG, S.T.D.,

Professor of Exegetical Theology in Drew Theological Seminary

NEW YORK: EATON & MAINS
CINCINNATI: JENNINGS & GRAHAM

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1876, by
NELSON & PHILLIPS,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.

PREFACE.

This little Manual was originally prepared for the NORMAL CLASS, at the request of the editor of that Journal, and was at the same time expected to form an instruction book at the Sunday-School Assembly annually held at Chautauqua. This accounts for its form in twelve series of two pages each. The reading lessons, however, have been made sufficiently full for subsequent study. Of course the simplest elements only of the Greek language can be comprised in such narrow limits; nor can a full vocabulary or ready facility be acquired in so short a course. Nevertheless, a good beginning may be made, and that is "half the battle" in any enterprise. It is believed that a thorough mastery of this small volume will prove a conquest over all the real difficulties of the original tongue of the New Testament.

J. S.

LESSON I.

READING

§ 1. THE ALPHABET.

§ 2. Notes on the Alphabet.

1. α sounds broad, like a in arm, at the end of a word, and before ρ final or ρ followed by a different consonant.

2. γ has the nasal sound, like ng in king, before γ, κ, χ, or ξ.

3. ι has its long sound, like i in machine, at the end of a syllable.

Every letter is sounded, and, with the above exceptions, invariably the same.

2. ACCENT.

§ 3. Each word, except a very few monosyllables, has one of the following accents written over a vowel in it, which marks the place of the spoken tone. A few small words, called enclitics, generally throw their accent, as an acute, on the last syllable of the preceding word.

§ 4. The acute ('), which is the foundation of all the accents, stands on one of the last three syllables. In verbs, with the exception of certain forms, it stands as far toward the beginning of the word as the rules below allow. In other parts of speech it stands on the same syllable as in the ground-form, (that given in the lexicon,) except as required by these rules. When the last syllable has a long vowel or diphthong it stands on the syllable before the last.

§ 5. The grave accent (`) is only written in place of the acute on the last syllable when not before a pause, or when unemphatic. It is understood to belong to all other syllables.

§ 6. The circumflex (~) is placed on a syllable formed by the combination of two, the first of which had an acute and the second a grave; hence only on the last, or next to the last syllable, and only on a long vowel or a diphthong. When the last syllable has a short vowel, such a penult, if accented, takes the circumflex.

3. BREATHINGS, VOWELS, DIPHTHONGS, ETC.

§ 7. A vowel beginning a word takes either the rough breathing, (῾), which is pronounced like h, or else, to show the absence of that, the smooth breathing, (᾿), which has no appreciable sound. Initial ρ and υ always take the rough breathing; and double ρ in the middle of a word takes the smooth breathing on the first, and the rough on the second.

§ 8. The vowels are short, (ε and ο,) long, (η and ω,) or doubtful, (α, ι, and υ,) which last, although naturally short, are sometimes lengthened by derivation.

§ 9. The diphthongs are as follows:--

§ 10. In diphthongs the breathing and accent are written over the second vowel. A capital (initial) letter in other cases takes them before it.

§ 11. The punctuation marks are the comma, (,), the semicolon, (·), the period, (.), and the interrogation point, (;).

LESSON II.

EUPHONIC CHANGES.

§ 12. When two consonants come together the first is made homogeneous with the second, as follows:--

§ 13. Mutes of a different class must have the same degree of hardness according to the following classification:--