lesson 9 index printable pages

9.5b: Examples of Aorist Forms

                                                      main clause  

1) [λόγῳ    μ’ ἔπεισας, φαρμάκῳ σοφῷ]  [Menander]

dat means DO            V               appositive to the dat of means

You persuaded me with speech (= words), a wise remedy.

                                           main clause  

2)  [ἐδεξάμην σε εἰς τὸν οἶκόν μου,] ἀλλ’

V              DO      εἰς  +  accusative   gen   

                                           main clause  

 [ἐκεῖνοι οἱ πονηροὶ οὐκ ἐδέξαντο.]

      ................    S    .........................                       V

I welcomed you into my house, but those rascals did not welcome // you //.

                              main clause                                                        

3) ὁ τύραννος ἐκέλυε]

..............    S    ............            V          

                          dependent clause (indirect command)

(τοὺς διακόνους γεύσασθαι τῶν σιτίων)

  S  in accusative            V in the infinitive    gen w/ γεύσασθαι

dependent clause (temporal)

 (πρὶν αὐτὸς ἐσθίειν).

  conj      emphatic w/S     V in the infinitive

Thε tyrant used to order his attendants to taste the food before eating //it// himself.

4) (ἐπειδὴ ταῦτα  ὑμεῖς ἠρωτήσατε,) [τάδε ἀπεκρινάμεθα ἡμεῖς.]

conj               D O        S                     V                         D O                    V                       S

When / since  you (pl) asked that (=what precedes), we answered this (=what follows).

Notes to the sentences

1)  Remember that the dative not only denotes the indirect object but very often represents the means by which an action is performed.  See  5.4

A noun attached to another noun or a pronoun to explain it is called "appositive."  (cf  Mary, my cousin, came yesterday)

3) While verbs meaning to "think" or "say" may take an indirect statement, verbs meaning "to command" may take an indirect command.  Its construction is comparable to English "I told her to come early").  Their subject is in the accusative and the verb is in the infinitive. 

πρίν + infinitive = before.  This is a temporal clause, which for now we will not analyze in further detail.

4)  In reporting what someone else has said, we find ταῦτα "those things, that" referring to words already mentioned, and τάδε "these things, this" pointing to words about to be reported.