Preposition – ἀπό ‘from’

ObjectivesLearning objectives

• The morphology-syntax and semantics of the preposition ἀπό ‘from’

VocabularyVocabulary

GrammarGrammar Topic: Preposition ἀπό ‘from’

Prepositions ending in vowels (like ἀπό) often have special elision rules, which is when one sound drops out. We will call this class “elision prepositions,” and they will usually follow the rules outlined below for ἀπό (variations will be mentioned).

MorphologyMorphology-syntax: Preposition – ἀπό + genitive

• When the word following ἀπό begins with a consonant, there are no spelling changes.
• Whenever the word following ἀπό begins with a vowel, the final ο is replaced with an apostrophe.
• When ἀπό is followed by a word beginning with a rough breathing mark on a vowel, the π becomes φ.
• ἀπό requires a noun in gen case.

SemanticsSemantics: Preposition – ἀπό + genitive

Prepositions with genitive case often indicate motion or direction away from something. Accordingly, ἀπό is often used with motion verbs to indicate movement away from a location or person:

Besides being used with motion verbs, ἀπό may be used with verbs that refer to various kinds of metaphorical separation:

The preposition ἀπό may also indicate the source of something, whether a quality emanating from someone/something, the location where someone is from, the time period when something began, or the cause of something: