26

Demonstrative Pronouns

1. οὗτος αὕτη τοῦτο

We have already learned the demonstrative pronouns ἐκεῖνος ἐκείνη ἐκεῖνο (that/those) and ὅδε ἥδε τόδε (this/these). Our final demonstrative pronoun is an important one, and the most common of them all: οὗτος αὕτη τοῦτο (this/these).

The endings of this pronoun are familiar; it is inflected as a FIRST and SECOND DECLENSION pronoun. The accent falls on the PENULT, and follows persistent accent rules.

The inflection of this pronoun, however, exhibits important changes to the stem, namely:

• An initial τ– is added to the stem of all forms EXCEPT for the NOMINATIVE MASCULINE and FEMININE, both SINGULAR and PLURAL, which instead use a ROUGH BREATHING. Note that this pattern is identical to that of the definite article.
• The stem (τ)ουτ– changes to (τ)αυτ– if the case ending includes either an η or an α. Note how this changes the inflection of the neuter plural!

Memorization of this pronoun’s inflection pattern is a must. It is extremely common, and if you do not recognize a particular inflected form, looking up the word in a lexicon presents a challenge: it appears alphabetically in vocabulary lists under the masculine nominative singular form οὗτος!

οὗτος αὕτη τοῦτο this/these (S 333; GPH p. 48)

Singular:

Plural:

Like other demonstrative pronouns, οὗτος αὕτη τοῦτο can serve as an ADJECTIVE, though always in PREDICATE POSITION.

For example:

• οἱ ἄρχοντες διδόασι τὴν ἐλπίδα τοῖς παισίν.
  • The rulers give hope to the children.
• οὗτοι διδόασι τὴν ἐλπίδα τοῖς παισὶ τούτοις.
  • These (men) give hope to these children.

οὗτος αὕτη τοῦτο vs. ὅδε ἥδε τόδε

Notice that the English definitions for οὗτος αὕτη τοῦτο and ὅδε ἥδε τόδε are the same: this/these. While they translate similarly in written English, there sometimes can be a subtle distinction between the two. In general (though there are plenty of exceptions):

• οὗτος αὕτη τοῦτο refers generally and unemphatically to what is already known
• ὅδε ἥδε τόδε refers to what is near (this here table), or about to follow

For example:

• τοῦτο λέγω.
  I am telling you this (what I just said).
• λέγω τόδε.
  I am telling you this (what I am about to say).

2. τοιοῦτος τοιαύτη τοιοῦτο 

Adding the prefix τοι– makes οὗτος αὕτη τοῦτο refer to the quality of someone or something: this type, this kind or this sort (of). The inflection of this pronoun exhibits the following pattern:

• The prefix τοι– is added to all forms, and replaces the initial τ found in some inflected forms of οὗτος αὕτη τοῦτο.
• The stem τοιουτ– changes to τοιαυτ– if the case ending includes either an η or an α.
• The persistent accent is on the penult.

τοιοῦτος τοιαύτη τοιοῦτο this type, this kind, this sort (of) (S 333 e)

Singular:

Plural:

3. τοσοῦτος τοσαύτη τοσοῦτο

Adding the prefix τοσ– makes οὗτος αὕτη τοῦτο refer to the quantity of someone or something: so great, so large. The inflection of this pronoun exhibits the following pattern, which follows closely that of τοιοῦτος τοιαύτη τοιοῦτο:

• The prefix τοσ– replaces the initial τ found in some inflected forms of οὗτος αὕτη τοῦτο.
• The stem τοσουτ– changes to τοσαυτ– if the case ending includes either an η or an α.
• The persistent accent is on the penult.

τοσοῦτος τοσαύτη τοσοῦτο so great, so large (S 333e)

Singular:

Plural:

All, One, None

The next five pronouns all share a pattern:

• The MASCULINE/ NEUTER forms use THIRD DECLENSION endings.
• The FEMININE form uses FIRST DECLENSION endings, and CHANGES its STEM.

1. πᾶς πᾶσα πᾶν 

πᾶς πᾶσα πᾶν all, every, whole, is an important and flexible pronoun. Given its nominative forms, it may seem surprising to know that the stem of this pronoun is παντ-. While its inflectional pattern may seem peculiar at first glance, the reasoning behind the stem changes that occur are familiar and regular.

For the MASCULINE and NEUTER, which both use THIRD DECLENSION endings, note the following inflection patterns:

• When the endings involve adding a –σ– to the stem (i.e. dative plural –σι and the masculine nominative singular -ς), the –ντ drops from the end of the stem. The –α– of the resulting new stem, πασ-, becomes long due to COMPENSATORY LENGTHENING.
• The neuter nominative singular has no case ending. Since –τ cannot end a Greek word, the –τ drops off the neuter nominative and accusative singular. The –α– is lengthened to match the masculine.
• The ACCENT pattern for the masculine and neuter is peculiar. In the SINGULAR, it is accented as though a monosyllabic noun. In the PLURAL, it is accented as though it has a persistent accent on the penult.

For the FEMININE, which uses FIRST DECLENSION endings, note the following inflection patterns:

• In all cases and numbers, the feminine stem originally added a –σ– to παντ-, which produced the stem παντσ-. The –ντ– dropped out by the Classical Period. The –α– of the resulting new stem, πασ-, became long due to COMPENSATORY LENGTHENING.
• The feminine is inflected with a short –ᾰ ending in the NOMINATIVE and ACCUSATIVE SINGULAR, and has its persistent accent on the PENULT. Its inflection, in other words, is similar to that of γλῶττα, γλώττης.

πᾶς πᾶσα πᾶν all, every, whole (S 299; GPH p. 30)

Singular:

Plural:

As an adjective, the translation of πᾶς πᾶσα πᾶν depends upon its position and article:

• Attributive: whole
  • ἡ πᾶσα χώρα the whole country
• Predicate: all
  • πᾶσαι αἱ χῶραι all the countries
• No article: every
  • πᾶσα χώρα every country

2. ἅπας ἅπασα ἅπαν all together

πᾶς πᾶσα πᾶν may be strengthened by adding an initial ἁ- to its form. The new form, ἅπας ἅπασα ἅπαν all together, declines similarly to πᾶς πᾶσα πᾶν, though note the change in accentuation! In all forms, it now is accented as though it has a persistent accent on the antepenult (or penult, if disyllabic).

ἅπας ἅπασα ἅπαν all together

Singular:

Plural:

3. εἷς μία ἕν

The word for one, εἷς μία ἕν, can function as a pronoun or an adjective. Note the following inflection patterns.

For MASCULINE and NEUTER:

• The stem is ἑν-. The ν drops out with the addition of the masculine nominative singular ending –ς, and the vowel is lengthened to a diphthong.
• Both the masculine and neuter follow the monosyllabic accent pattern.

For the FEMININE:

• The word uses a totally different stem, μι– (S 349a). Like πᾶσα, it has a short –ᾰ in the NOMINATIVE and ACCUSATIVE SINGULAR.
• The accent is on the penult of the NOMINATIVE and ACCUSATIVE, and on the ultima for the GENITIVE and DATIVE. Note that the –ι– of the stem results in ᾱ appearing instead of η in all cases.

 εἷς μία ἕν one (S 349; GPH p. 37)

Singular:

4. οὐδείς οὐδεμία οὐδέν 

An important compound of εἷς μία ἕν adds the prefixes οὐ and δε to mean no one, nothing. Note that the accent pattern matches that of εἷς μία ἕν.

οὐδείς οὐδεμία οὐδέν no one, nothing (S 349b)

Singular:

Sometimes Greek uses μή instead of οὐ for not when forming this compound. There is no difference in meaning.

μηδείς μηδεμία μηδέν no one, nothing (S 349b)

Singular:

– τὸ τέλος –