Brushing Up English to Learn Greek

Perry

• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Year: 2014
• eBook ISBN: 9781498206365
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

English may be the biggest obstacle to learning Greek! Greek textbooks use jargon such as "noun," "verb," "morphology," and "syntax," which sometimes sounds foreign. Many of us may remember them from grade school, but the memories may now be foggy from time and disuse. This book is written for hazy memories of English that need a brush up before learning Greek.Different than other aids to learning Greek, Brushing Up English to Learn Greek introduces verbal aspect to beginning students. English emphasizes the time of an action but Greek emphasizes the point of view--or aspect--of an action. This book helps students build a bridge of understanding between the different thought worlds of English and Greek.

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Grammar Jargon

Devotion

For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread . . . (1 Cor 11:23)

Ἐγὼ γὰρ παρέλαβον ἀπὸ τοῦ κυρίου, ὃ καὶ παρέδωκα ὑμῖν, ὃτι ὁ κύριος Ἰησοῦς ἐν τῇ νυκτὶ ᾗ παρεδίδετο ἔλαβεν ἄρτον . . .

These are the first few words of what we call “the Words of Institution,” as Paul taught them to a Christian community in the Greek city of Corinth. Some Christians were treating the communal meal as their own private dinner. As a result, some were going hungry while others became drunk (11:21–22). Paul’s solution was to remind them of the words Jesus used to institute the meal. They had heard the words before but needed to hear them again. The words point their attention at Jesus and the community gathered as his body. Before they eat, they should “discern the body” (11:29), that is, become aware of whole community as Jesus’ body and the bread and wine as his body and blood. They cannot gather and eat the Lord’s Supper as some kind of private meal because there is one body and blood that Jesus gave for the whole community. Paul uses the words they have received to persuade them how to behave when they gather.

In Christian communities, the words of the New Testament have been received and handed on for generations. They didn’t digest all those words at once, but were shaped by them over repeated hearing and use. By the grace of God, the words of the New Testament are handed on to us so that God can work in us and through us. As we begin our study of the Greek New Testament, we will study these words in new ways, praying that the Holy Spirit make us one body gathered around the Word and the Sacraments.

Introduction: Parts of Speech

Although jargon can be an obstacle, we need special words to talk about how a language works and to make comparisons with other languages. Taking time now to understand the jargon will help maximize understanding. I will mark words found in the glossary at the back of the book with an asterisk (*).

*Grammar is the study of the basic principles of a language, which include *Morphology and *Syntax, and the meaning commonly inferred from forming and arranging words.

*Morphology is the way individual words are formed (morphē = “form” in Greek).

Jesus walked on the seashore.

“Walked” is the correct *morphology of the word “walk” to describe an action in the past. What is an example of another form of this word?

*Syntax is the way that multiple words are arranged to form sentences (syn = together; taxis = arrangement). The following sentence is an example of incorrec...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Grammar Jargon
• Chapter 2: Verbs—the Action Words
• Chapter 3: Continuous Active Indicative Present
• Chapter 4: Nominative and Accusative Cases
• Chapter 5: Genitive and Dative Cases
• Chapter 6: Adjectives
• Chapter 7: Prepositions—Fine Tuning Relationships
• Chapter 8: Pronouns—Standing in for Nouns
• Chapter 9: Passive Voice
• Chapter 10: Middle Voice
• Chapter 11: Continuous Past
• Chapter 12: Future Time
• Chapter 13: Aorist Aspect
• Chapter 14: Perfect Aspect
• Chapter 15: Participles
• Chapter 16: Subjunctive—the Mood of Possibility
• Chapter 17: Infinitives—The Verbal Noun
• Chapter 18: Imperatives
• Chapter 19: Relative Pronouns—Relating a Clause to a Noun
• Appendix: For Further Study of Greek Aspect
• Answer Key to Exercises
• Glossary
• Bibliography