Koine Greek/Prepositions and εἰμί

Prepositions A preposition is a function word that typically combines with a noun phrase to form a phrase which usually expresses a modification or predication (e.g., "the cup is on the table"). The preposition together with its object is called a prepositional phrase. Prepositions in Ancient Greek function similarly to English, but the object of a Greek preposition must be inflected in either the genitive (away from), dative (on, in, under), or accusative (into): εἰς + acc.: into (e.g., εἰς τὸ στόμα — into the mouth) ἐν + dat.: in (e.g., ἐν τῷ στόματι — in the mouth) ἐκ + gen.: from, out of (e.g., ἐκ τοῦ στόματος — out of the mouth) ἐκ becomes ἐξ before a vowel (e.g., ἐξ αἵματος — out of blood) Accents, Elision, and Aspiration Prepositions—with the exception of εἰς, ἐν, and ἐκ—normally have an acute accent. If the preposition has two syllables, the acute falls on the ultima e.g., ἀπὸ τῆς ἐλπίδος — from the hope Prepositions frequently drop their final vowel before a word beginning with a vowel, and in such cases, the preposition has no accent—though περί and πρό don’t allow for elision e.g., ἀπ’ ἐλπίδος — from hope After a preposition drops its final vowel and ends in a stop consonant, that consonant becomes aspirated if the following word begins with an aspirated (i.e., marked with a rough breathing) vowel or diphthong e.g., ἀφ’ αἵματος — from blood Classes of Prepositions Proper Prepositions ἀμφι - If governing the genitive: around / about / concerning. If governing the accusative: around / on both sides (motion or extent). Extremely rare on its own in Koine, but survives via compound verbs. ἀνὰ - each, per. Governs the accusative case. δηνάριον ἀνὰ ἡμέραν - a denarius per day ἀντὶ - instead of / in place of / in exchange for. Governs the genitive case. ὀφθαλμὸν ἀντὶ ὀφθαλμοῦ - an eye for an eye (Matthew 5:38) ἀπὸ - from, i.e., coming from or away from. Governs the genitive case. See ἀπό on Wikitionary ῥῦσαι ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ - deliver us from the wicked [one] (Matthew 6:13) διὰ - If governing the genitive: through, by means of. If governing the accusative: on account of, because of, for (the sake of). Example with genitive: εὐχαριστῶ τῷ Θεῷ μου διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ - I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ (Romans 1:8) Example with accusative: γενομένης θλίψεως ἢ διωγμοῦ διὰ τὸν λόγον - when affliction or persecution arises on account of the word (Matthew 13:21) εἰς - into, to, toward, unto (spatial/purposive), until (temporal), into a state (i.e., resulting in, leading to), for (the sake of). Connotes motion into or toward a goal (think "motion toward" something, whether physical, like a location, or abstract, like a goal) φεῦγε εἰς Αἴγυπτον - flee into Egypt (Matthew 2:13) εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ - leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:21) ἐκ ἐν ἐπὶ κατὰ μετὰ παρὰ περὶ πρὸ πρὸς σὺν ὑπὲρ ὑπὸ Improper Prepositions ἅμα ἄνευ ἄντικρυς ἀντιπέρα ἀπέναντι ἄτερ ἄχρι/ἄχρις ἐγγὺς ἐκτὸς ἔμπροσθέν ἔναντι ἐναντίον ἕνεκα ἐντὸς ἐνώπιον ἔξω ἔξωθεν ἐπάνω ἐπέκεινα ἔσω ἕως κατέναντι κατενώπιον κυκλόθεν κύκλῳ μέσον μεταξὺ μέχρι/μέχρις ὄπισθεν ὀπίσω ὀψέ παραπλήσιον παρεκτὸς πέραν πλὴν πλησίον ὑπεράνω ὑπερέκεινα ὑπερεκπερισσοῦ ὑποκάτω χάριν χωρίς εἰμῐ́ Not to be confused with εἶμῐ, εἰμῐ́ ("to be") is necessary for the formation of the most simple sentence, so its conjugation in the indicative mood is given. Note that "γίγνομαι" supplements the aorist and the present perfect. All forms of the present active indicative except 2nd person singular εἶ are enclitic. + Present Person Singular Plural 1st εἰμῐ́ "I am" ἐσμέν "we are" 2nd εἶ "thou art" ἐστέ "ye are" 3rd ἐστῐ́(ν) "he/she/it is" εἰσῐ́(ν) "they are" + Imperfect Person Singular Plural 1st ἦ(ν)/ἤμην "I was" ἦμεν/ἤμεθα "we were" 2nd ἦσ(θᾰ)/ἦσο "thou wast" ἦτε/ἦσθε "ye were" 3rd ἦν/ἦτο "he/she/it was" ἦσᾰν/ἦντο "they were" Note that the latter forms (e.g., ἤμην) are middle in voice. The active and middle voices here have the same meaning; ἤμην replaces ἦ(ν) for “I was”. + Future Person Singular Plural 1st ἔσομαι "I shall be" ἐσόμεθᾰ "we shall be" 2nd ἔσῃ "thou shalt be" ἔσεσθε "you shall be" 3rd ἔσται "he/she/it shall be" ἔσονται "they shall be"