Noun – Dative singular

ObjectivesLearning objectives

Accent changes based on the length of the final vowel
The morphology of the dative sg
The uses of the dative sg as a recipient and instrument

VocabularyVocabulary

Greek	Gloss	Part of speech	Paradigm
ὁ ἀδελφός	the brother	noun	B.a.β.i
ἡ νύμφη	the bride	noun	B.a.α.i
ὁ κόσμος	the world	noun	B.a.β.i
τὸ θυσιαστήριον	the altar	noun	B.a.β.ii
τὸ παιδίον	the kid	noun	B.a.β.ii
φέρω τήν	(I) bring the (acc)	verb	C.a.α

PhonologyPhonology: Accents Changing with Vowel Length

Although we said in 2.3.3 that the acute accent cannot go further back than the antepenultima, even this is only possible when the final syllable in the word has a short vowel. When the final syllable has a long vowel, an acute accent can only go as far back as the penultima.

This rule applies to a new case you will learn in this lesson called the dative case. To form the dative case (abbreviated dat), you will use an ω with an iota subscript on the end of the word (-ῳ). This long vowel causes the accent to shift to the penultima in a word like ἄνθρωπος:

(14) ἄνθρωπ-ος (nom – ends with short ο vowel) (15) ἀνθρώπ-ῳ (dat – ends with long ῳ vowel)

Just as an acute accent can only be on the antepenultima if the final syllable is short, the circumflex can only be on the penultima if the final syllable is short. Long final syllables cause a circumflex on the penultima to change to an acute.

(16) δοῦλ-ος (nom – ends with short ο vowel) (17) δούλ-ῳ (dat – ends with long ῳ vowel)

One final rule is that when a word is already accented with an acute on the ultima, it will change to a circumflex when the final syllable is lengthened, such as when an iota subscript is added.

(18) ἀδελφή (nom – ends with long η) (19) ἀδελφῇ (dat – ends with longer ῃ)

MorphologyMorphology: Noun – Dative singular

The ι marks the dat, often found as a subscript.
The form of the dat article is identical to the ending besides the initial τ.
The ending is long, so the relevant accent rules for long vowels must be applied (see 3.1.3 above).

Morphology: Noun – Dative singular

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	ὁ ἄνθρωπ-ος	ἡ ἀδελφ-ή	τὸ τέκν-ον
Dative	τῷἀνθρώπ-ῳ	τῇἀδελφ-ῇ	τῷτέκν-ῳ
Accusative	τὸν ἄνθρωπ-ον	τὴν ἀδελφ-ήν	τὸ τέκν-ον

SyntaxSyntax-semantics: Noun – Dative case (1 – Recipient; 2 – Instrument; 3 – Alternations)

Noun – Dative: all 3 parts on one page →Also in Lesson 30.1, Lesson 46.1

The dative may appear in a variety of places in the clause, though it often appears close to the verb. It may introduce a recipient (20) or an instrument (21), among other functions that will be learned later on:

Example 20Recipient

He gave the disciples [dat] the loaves (Matt 14:19)

Example 21Instrument

She wiped off his feet with her hair [dat] (John 11:2)

A recipient normally receives an object that transfers possession by virtue of the event named by the verb (such as giving).2 An instrument is an object that is used to perform the action named by the verb, such as hair being used to wipe feet off. These functions are largely dependent upon the verb that is used.

Sometimes the dative can also “alternate” with certain prepositions, meaning that a sentence can either have the dative or a prepositional phrase:

Example 22Dative marking recipient

And they brought him [dat] a deaf person (Mark 7:32)

Example 23Preposition πρός marking recipient

And they came and brought πρός [to] him a paralytic (Mark 2:3)

In both verses from Mark, the same verb φέρω ‘bring’ is used. In Mark 7:32, the recipient is marked with dative case, and there is no preposition; in Mark 2:3, the recipient is referred to with πρός plus the pronoun in accusative case. This is called the dative alternation, which is an alternation wherein a noun in dative case or a prepositional phrase can be used to refer to someone with the same semantic role in the sentence (namely as recipient). English has a similar alternation: John is bringing Mica fruit (dative case) is equivalent to John is bringing fruit to Mica (prepositional phrase).

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