Personal and Relative Pronouns
In Greek, there are two main types of pronouns: personal pronouns and relative pronouns. Personal pronouns include words like I, you, he, she, it, we, and they. Relative pronouns include words like who, which, and that.
Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns substitute for nouns and encode person (1st, 2nd, 3rd), number (singular, plural), and case (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative).
First Person (“I / we”)
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ἐγώ (I) | ἡμεῖς (we) |
| Genitive | μου (of me, my) | ἡμῶν (of us, our) |
| Dative | μοι (to/for me) | ἡμῖν (to/for us) |
| Accusative | με (me) | ἡμᾶς (us) |
Second Person (“you / y'all”)
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | σύ (you) | ὑμεῖς (y'all) |
| Genitive | σου (of you, your [sg.]) | ὑμῶν (of you, your [pl.]) |
| Dative | σοι (to/for you) | ὑμῖν (to/for y'all) |
| Accusative | σε (you) | ὑμᾶς (y'all) |
Third Person (“he, she, it / they”) — αὐτός
The forms of αὐτός function as third-person pronouns and are fully inflected for gender, number, and case. Usage notes:
- As the ordinary 3rd-person pronoun (usually in gen./dat./acc.): “him, her, it, them.”
- As intensive in predicate position (not between article and noun): “himself, herself, itself, themselves” (e.g., ὁ ἀνὴρ αὐτός = “the man himself”).
- Meaning “same” in attributive position with the article: ὁ αὐτὸς ἀνήρ = “the same man.”
αὐτός — Singular
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | αὐτός | αὐτή | αὐτό |
| Genitive | αὐτοῦ | αὐτῆς | αὐτοῦ |
| Dative | αὐτῷ | αὐτῇ | αὐτῷ |
| Accusative | αὐτόν | αὐτήν | αὐτό |
αὐτός — Plural
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | αὐτοί | αὐταί | αὐτά |
| Genitive | αὐτῶν | αὐτῶν | αὐτῶν |
| Dative | αὐτοῖς | αὐταῖς | αὐτοῖς |
| Accusative | αὐτούς | αὐτάς | αὐτά |
Relative Pronouns (ὅς, ἥ, ὅ)
Relative pronouns introduce relative clauses and agree with their antecedent in gender and number, while their case is determined by their function inside the relative clause.
Relative Pronouns — Singular
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ὅς | ἥ | ὅ |
| Genitive | οὗ | ἧς | οὗ |
| Dative | ᾧ | ᾗ | ᾧ |
| Accusative | ὅν | ἥν | ὅ |
Relative Pronouns — Plural
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | οἵ | αἵ | ἅ |
| Genitive | ὧν | ὧν | ὧν |
| Dative | οἷς | αἷς | οἷς |
| Accusative | οὕς | ἅς | ἅ |
Examples
- ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὅς λέγει = “the man who speaks.”
- τὸ βιβλίον ὅ βλέπεις = “the book which/that you see.”
Key Learning Tips
- Agreement rules: Personal pronouns replace nouns and do not agree with them; relative pronouns agree with their antecedent in gender and number, but take their own case from their role in the relative clause.
- Case functions: Nominative = subject; Genitive = possession/“of”; Dative = indirect object/“to, for” (and many prepositions); Accusative = direct object.
- αὐτός nuances: “same” in attributive position with the article (ὁ αὐτὸς ἀνήρ), “self” in predicate position (ὁ ἀνὴρ αὐτός), ordinary 3rd-person pronoun in the oblique cases.