Quantifier – πᾶς ‘all’ singular

ObjectivesLearning objectives

The morphology, syntax, and semantics of the quantifier πᾶς (sg)

VocabularyVocabulary

Greek	Gloss	Part of speech	Paradigm
ἔξω	outside	adverb
ποῖος, -α, -ον	what kind?	question word	A.a.β
ἀποκτείνω σε	(I) kill you (acc)	verb	C.a.ια
καταβαίνω ἀπὸ τόπου	(I) descend from a place (gen)	verb	C.a.στ
εἴτε	whether … or	conjunction
εἰς τὸ μέλλον	for the future	phrase

MorphologyMorphology: Quantifier – πᾶς singular

πᾶς has 3rd declension endings in masc and neut, and 1st declension endings in fem
The masc/neut stem is ‘πάντ-’, and the fem stem is ‘πᾶσ-’
In the masc nom sg, the ‘-ς’ ending makes the ντ drop out, and in the neut nom and acc sg, just the τ drops out; the circumflex accent signals the letters dropping out
The fem endings follow the mixed -α/-η pattern (see 8.3.4.1)

Morphology: Quantifier – πᾶς singular

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	πᾶ-ς	πᾶσ-α	πᾶ-ν
Genitive	παντ-ός	πάσ-ης	παντ-ός
Dative	παντ-ί	πάσ-ῃ	παντ-ί
Accusative	πάντ-α	πᾶσ-αν	πᾶ-ν

SyntaxSyntax: Quantifier – πᾶς

Words like all or some are quantifiers, which give the quantity of the noun they modify. Although πᾶς ‘all/every’ is often called an adjective in NT grammatical studies, its syntax suggests otherwise. Adjectives appear in several different slots when used attributively to modify nouns (17.3.3.2). If we only look at a phrase like πᾶν δένδρον, we might conclude that the syntax is no different from an adjective, since we could also say καλὸν δένδρον. However, the addition of the article reveals that the quantifier πᾶν is not in the same place as the adjective καλόν. The article with each phrase would be πᾶν τὸ δένδρον and τὸ καλὸν δένδρον. In other words, the quantifier normally comes before the article rather than after as an adjective does, suggesting that πᾶς belongs to a different grammatical category.

SemanticsSemantics: Quantifier – πᾶς singular

In the singular, πᾶς is usually found without the article and means ‘every’:

Example 156Without article

πᾶν δένδρον [every tree] which does not bear fruit will be cut down (Matt 3:10)

With the article, it is usually found with the participle or with mass or collective nouns. Mass nouns are nouns that cannot be counted, such as water (see Semantics A). We do not normally say I saw two waters if we saw two lakes. Collective nouns refer to a group that is composed of individuals. A word like team refers to a single group that is made up of individual members. Participles are similar to collective nouns in that they refer to anyone who does a certain action:

Example 157Before a participle (with article)

καὶ πᾶς ὁ ἀκούων μου τοὺς λόγους τούτους (Matt 7:26)

And everyone who hears these words of mine

Example 158Before a collective noun (with article)

πᾶς ὁ ὄχλος [all of the crowd] was standing on the shore (Matt 13:2)

From these examples, a basic pattern emerges. If you want to refer to every individual and the noun itself refers to an individual, you leave off the article, e.g. πᾶς ἀδελφός. If you want to refer to every individual who is a member of a group, you add the article, e.g. πᾶς ὁ ὄχλος. The group may be designated by someone who does a particular action, as we see with the participle, or the group may be named by the noun itself, as in collective or mass nouns (see Semantics B for a more thorough explanation).

End of Chapter 18Take the Chapter 18 exam10 questions covering all 4 lessons in this chapter

Become a fluent reader of the biblical languages

Biblingo is the only language-learning app (mobile and web) that provides everything you need to go from zero knowledge of Greek, Hebrew, and Latin to reading the Bible in its original and historic languages — all in one place.

Start Free Trial