Lesson 8
Personal Pronouns and αὐτός
First and second person pronouns; three uses of αὐτός.
First and second person
The personal pronouns are ἐγώ ('I') and σύ ('you'), with plurals ἡμεῖς ('we') and ὑμεῖς ('you all'). Their forms decline by case just like nouns: ἐγώ, ἐμοῦ/μου, ἐμοί/μοι, ἐμέ/με.
Because the verb ending already shows the person, a nominative pronoun is redundant unless the writer wants emphasis. ἐγώ λέγω is not just 'I say' but 'I say' — 'I, for my part, say'. When you meet a nominative pronoun, ask what contrast or emphasis it signals.
The first- and second-person singular forms also have short versions: μου, μοι, με and σου, σοι, σε. These are enclitics: small words that normally lean on the preceding word and have no accent of their own. They are the usual unemphatic choice ('my', 'to me'), while the full forms (ἐμοῦ, ἐμοί, ἐμέ) can carry emphasis. In some combinations the preceding word receives an extra accent; the optional note gives examples.
- ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἄμπελος — I am the vine (emphatic ἐγώ)
- λέγει μοι — he/she speaks to me (unemphatic enclitic μοι)
αὐτός
The word αὐτός is three words in one, and you tell them apart by case and position. First, in the oblique cases (genitive, dative, accusative) it is the ordinary third-person pronoun: αὐτοῦ 'of him/his', αὐτῷ 'to him', αὐτόν 'him'. This is by far its most common use.
Second, in predicate position (outside the article) it is intensive, meaning '-self': αὐτὸς ὁ ἀπόστολος is 'the apostle himself'. Third, in attributive position (with the article, ὁ αὐτός) it means 'the same': ὁ αὐτὸς ἀπόστολος is 'the same apostle'.
A memory hook: with the article right before it, think 'same'; without it, think 'self'; in an oblique case with no noun, think 'him/her/it/them'.
- αὐτὸς ὁ ἀπόστολος — the apostle himself (intensive)
- ὁ αὐτὸς ἀπόστολος — the same apostle (identical)
- λέγω αὐτῷ — I speak to him (personal pronoun)
Small words and extra accentsOptional reference
The short pronouns μου, μοι, με, σου, σοι, and σε normally lean on the word before them. These enclitics often have no accent: λόγος μου means 'my word'. They do not always add an accent to that word.
If the preceding word has an acute three syllables from the end, or a circumflex on its next-to-last syllable, it gains an extra final acute: ἄνθρωπός μου ('my man') and δῶρόν σου ('your gift'). If it already has a final acute, it keeps that acute instead of changing it to a grave: ἀδελφός μου ('my brother').
Some small words lean forward instead. These are called proclitics: examples are ὁ, ἡ, οἱ, αἱ, ἐν, εἰς, and οὐ. They normally have no accent. An enclitic immediately after one can give it an accent: εἰς becomes εἴς in εἴς με ('to me'). For reading, recognize the words despite these changes; follow the supplied accents when writing.
- ὁ λόγος μου — my word: no extra accent is needed
- τὸ δῶρόν σου — your gift: δῶρον gains a final acute
Paradigms
ἐγώ, σύ — Personal Pronouns
Lesson 8
| 1st Sg | 1st Pl | 2nd Sg | 2nd Pl | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ἐγώ | ἡμεῖς | σύ | ὑμεῖς |
| Genitive | ἐμοῦ (μου) | ἡμῶν | σοῦ (σου) | ὑμῶν |
| Dative | ἐμοί (μοι) | ἡμῖν | σοί (σοι) | ὑμῖν |
| Accusative | ἐμέ (με) | ἡμᾶς | σέ (σε) | ὑμᾶς |
αὐτός, -ή, -ό — 3rd Person Pronoun
Lesson 8
| Masc. Sg | Fem. Sg | Neut. Sg | Masc. Pl | Fem. Pl | Neut. Pl | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | αὐτός | αὐτή | αὐτό | αὐτοί | αὐταί | αὐτά |
| Genitive | αὐτοῦ | αὐτῆς | αὐτοῦ | αὐτῶν | αὐτῶν | αὐτῶν |
| Dative | αὐτῷ | αὐτῇ | αὐτῷ | αὐτοῖς | αὐταῖς | αὐτοῖς |
| Accusative | αὐτόν | αὐτήν | αὐτό | αὐτούς | αὐτάς | αὐτά |
Vocabulary (12)
- ἐγώ
- I
- σύ
- you (sg.)
- ἡμεῖς
- we
- ὑμεῖς
- you (pl.)
- αὐτός, -ή, -ό
- he, she, it; self; same
- ἤ
- or, than
- ἰδού
- behold, look!
- οὖν
- therefore, then (postpositive)
- νόμος, ὁ
- law
- ἄρτος, ὁ
- bread, loaf
- λαός, ὁ
- people
- δέ
- but, and (postpositive)