Number – εἷς/δύο ‘one/two’

ObjectivesLearning objectives

The morphology and syntax of the numbers ἕν and δύο

VocabularyVocabulary

Greek	Gloss	Part of speech	Paradigm
ἔμπροσθεν τῆς	in front of	preposition
καλεῖται τι	(he) is called something (acc)	phrase
θεωρεῖ τινα	(he) observes something/one (acc)	verb	C.a.β
ἡ δύναμις, -εως	the power	noun	B.a.γ.v
ἡ χάρις, -εως	the gift	noun	B.a.γ.v
ἡ πίστις, -εως	the faith	noun	B.a.γ.v

MorphologyMorphology: Number – εἷς/δύο ‘one/two’

Both the masc and neut have 3rd declension endings built on the stem ἑν- (the ν drops out in the nom sg and lengthens the vowel and accent)
The neut ἕν is the default counting form
The fem form μία has 1st declension endings
In all gen and dat forms, the ending draws the accent to the final syllable
δύο ‘two’ is not declined for case or gender except that the dat form is δυσί

Morphology: Number – εἷς/δύο ‘one/two’

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	εἷς	μία	ἕν
Genitive	ἑνός	μιᾶς	ἑνός
Dative	ἑνί	μιᾷ	ἑνί
Accusative	ἕνα	μίαν	ἕν

SyntaxSyntax: Number - ἕν, δύο

Syntactically, numbers behave similarly to adjectives. When used without an article, they may come before or after a noun:

Example 243Anarthrous

NoteBefore the noun:

οὗτοι οἱ ἔσχατοι μίαν ὥραν ἐποίησαν (Matt 20:12)

These last did one hour

NoteAfter the noun:

καὶ ἰδὼν συκῆν μίαν

And seeing one fig tree on the road

Although numbers are not very common with the article, they appear between the article and noun when they do appear:

Example 244Articular

οὗτοι οἱ δύο υἱοί μου (Matt 20:21)

These two sons of mine

Also like adjectives, numbers can be used without modifying a noun when it is clear from the context what is being referred to:

Example 245Referring to an implied noun

καὶ ἔσονται οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν (Mark 10:8)

And the two will become one flesh

From the context, it is clear that οἱ δύο is referring to οἱ δύο ἄνθρωποι ‘the two people,’ though this is not explicitly spelled out.

End of Chapter 26Take the Chapter 26 exam9 questions covering all 4 lessons in this chapter

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