Elementary New Testament Greek, 2014a

5: Adjectives, The Verb “to Be” and Nouns of the 1st Declension
The words righteous, wicked, and poor happen to be adjectives, since they normally
are used to modify nouns:
adjective will likely match the gender of that noun. But more typically, the gender of
a substantival adjective will suggest these (rather common-sense) values:
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…the righteous businessman…
…the wicked businessman…
…the poor businessman…
But if we think about it, we can actually sense that the lines offered above actually
entice us to “supply” or “understand” unwritten, implied nouns:
The righteous (persons) always help the poor (persons);
The wicked (persons) always abuse the poor (persons).
In other words, adjectives (in both English and in Greek) can actually function like
nouns under certain circumstances. In Greek, such a role for adjectives is usually
signaled by the Substantive Position, article-adjective-(no noun). Let’s consider our
original example sentence, rst as we have seen it before, and then with two of its
adjectives set into Substantive Position:
The good angel is giving the good book to the good children.
The good (one) is giving the good book to the good (ones).
You can imagine how important the surrounding context will be when you encounter
an adjective in Substantive Position. Just what noun we should “understand” can
usually be discerned from the context:
I saw seven hats on the shelf. I decided to buy the blue (one).
[obviously a hat]
I saw seven books on the shelf. I decided to buy the blue (one).
[obviously a book]
I saw seven scarves on the shelf. I decided to buy the blue (one).
[obviously a scarf]
If the adjective (in Substantive Position) is replacing a noun easily identied in the
immediate context (or a noun easily supplied by conventional wisdom), then the
Masculine:male person(s) [or male and/or female if generic]
….the good man…(male)
….the good one… (generic)
….the good men… (male)
….the good ones… (generic)
Feminine: female person(s)
….the good woman…
….the good women…
Neuter: non-person(s)
….the good thing…
….the good things…
Translational
“helping” Words
“man” “men”
“one” or “ones”
“woman” “women”
“thing” or “things