Lesson 8: Pronouns — Greek Course

LESSON 8 · Unit II — The Noun System · ~50 minutes + drilling

By the End of This Lesson

Decline the personal pronouns ἐγώ ("I"), σύ ("you"), and αὐτός ("he/she/it")
Use αὐτός in its three distinct functions (third-person, intensive, identical)
Recognize and decline the demonstratives οὗτος ("this") and ἐκεῖνος ("that")
Translate clauses with the relative pronoun ὅς, ἥ, ὅ
Distinguish the interrogative τίς ("who?") from the indefinite τις ("someone")
Memorize the 14 pronoun headwords for this lesson

Personal Pronouns — 1st and 2nd Person

'I,' 'we,' 'you (singular),' 'you (plural).' These are irregular — they don't fit any noun declension — but they're so common you'll memorize them quickly.

ἐγώ — 'I, we'

	Singular ('I')	Plural ('we')
Nom	ἐγώ	ἡμεῖς
Gen	ἐμοῦ / μου	ἡμῶν
Dat	ἐμοί / μοι	ἡμῖν
Acc	ἐμέ / με	ἡμᾶς

σύ — 'you (sg), you (pl)'

	Singular	Plural
Nom	σύ	ὑμεῖς
Gen	σοῦ / σου	ὑμῶν
Dat	σοί / σοι	ὑμῖν
Acc	σέ / σε	ὑμᾶς

Two forms — emphatic and enclitic The singular forms of ἐγώ and σύ have two versions separated by a slash. The first (ἐμοῦ, ἐμοί, ἐμέ; σοῦ, σοί, σέ) is emphatic — used when stressed, after prepositions, or at the start of a clause. The second (μου, μοι, με; σου, σοι, σε) is enclitic — unaccented, leaning on the preceding word. Often translation barely changes; emphasis is a writerly nuance, not a grammatical requirement.

The plurals don't have this distinction. ἡμεῖς and ὑμεῖς differ by a single letter — η vs υ at the start. Lots of NT confusion lives in that one-letter swap. Train your eye on it.

⚠ Greek doesn't normally need pronouns as subjects The verb ending already tells you the subject: λέγω = "I say" — no ἐγώ needed. So when a writer does include the nominative pronoun, it's emphatic: ἐγὼ λέγω = "I say (I, in particular)." Famous case: ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν in the Sermon on the Mount — "But I say to you..." The bare ἐγώ is doing real work.

αὐτός — Three Functions in One Word

No word is more frequent in the NT (after the article and καί) than αὐτός. It does three jobs depending on context. Learn the paradigm once; the three functions are a matter of position and case, exactly like adjectives.

αὐτός, αὐτή, αὐτό — full paradigm

	Masculine		Feminine		Neuter
	sg	pl	sg	pl	sg	pl
Nom	αὐτός	αὐτοί	αὐτή	αὐταί	αὐτό	αὐτά
Gen	αὐτοῦ	αὐτῶν	αὐτῆς	αὐτῶν	αὐτοῦ	αὐτῶν
Dat	αὐτῷ	αὐτοῖς	αὐτῇ	αὐταῖς	αὐτῷ	αὐτοῖς
Acc	αὐτόν	αὐτούς	αὐτήν	αὐτάς	αὐτό	αὐτά

Three functions of αὐτός 1. Third-person personal pronoun (most common). When αὐτός stands alone, not modifying any noun, it means "he/she/it/they": βλέπω αὐτόν = "I see him." The case tells you what role it plays in its clause; the gender comes from whatever it refers to.

2. Intensive ("-self") — when in predicate position with a noun (article + noun + αὐτός, no second article): ὁ ἀπόστολος αὐτός = "the apostle himself." Compare English "I myself saw it." The pronoun emphasizes identity.

3. Identical ("the same") — when in attributive position (article + αὐτός + noun): ὁ αὐτὸς ἀπόστολος = "the same apostle." This is the article-position rule from Lesson 6 applied to a pronoun.

The position rule is the same as for adjectives: inside the article-noun unit = attributive; outside = predicate. The function changes with the position.

Demonstratives — οὗτος and ἐκεῖνος

οὗτος ("this") and ἐκεῖνος ("that"). They behave like 2-1-2 adjectives but always sit in predicate position when modifying a noun (there's an article on the noun, but never on the demonstrative).

οὗτος, αὕτη, τοῦτο — 'this'

Note the alternation between ου and αυ in the stem (it tracks the article: ὁ→ου, ἡ→αυ, τό→τοῦτο)

	Masculine		Feminine		Neuter
	sg	pl	sg	pl	sg	pl
Nom	οὗτος	οὗτοι	αὕτη	αὗται	τοῦτο	ταῦτα
Gen	τούτου	τούτων	ταύτης	τούτων	τούτου	τούτων
Dat	τούτῳ	τούτοις	ταύτῃ	ταύταις	τούτῳ	τούτοις
Acc	τοῦτον	τούτους	ταύτην	ταύτας	τοῦτο	ταῦτα

ἐκεῖνος, ἐκείνη, ἐκεῖνο — 'that'

Pure 2-1-2 adjective endings, like καλός — no irregularity

	Masculine		Feminine		Neuter
	sg	pl	sg	pl	sg	pl
Nom	ἐκεῖνος	ἐκεῖνοι	ἐκείνη	ἐκεῖναι	ἐκεῖνο	ἐκεῖνα
Gen	ἐκείνου	ἐκείνων	ἐκείνης	ἐκείνων	ἐκείνου	ἐκείνων
Dat	ἐκείνῳ	ἐκείνοις	ἐκείνῃ	ἐκείναις	ἐκείνῳ	ἐκείνοις
Acc	ἐκεῖνον	ἐκείνους	ἐκείνην	ἐκείνας	ἐκεῖνο	ἐκεῖνα

⚠ Always predicate position With a noun: οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρωπος or ὁ ἄνθρωπος οὗτος — both mean "this man." There is no second article in front of the demonstrative. If you tried to write "ὁ οὗτος ἄνθρωπος" you'd be wrong — that pattern (article + οὗτος + article + noun) doesn't exist.

Without a noun, the demonstrative stands alone: οὗτος λέγει = "this [man] says" / "this one says."

The Relative Pronoun ὅς, ἥ, ὅ

"Who," "which," "that" — used to introduce subordinate clauses. Crucial for reading Greek prose at all complexity. Almost identical in form to the article — but with rough breathing and an accent.

ὅς, ἥ, ὅ — 'who, which, that'

	Masculine		Feminine		Neuter
	sg	pl	sg	pl	sg	pl
Nom	ὅς	οἵ	ἥ	αἵ	ὅ	ἅ
Gen	οὗ	ὧν	ἧς	ὧν	οὗ	ὧν
Dat	ᾧ	οἷς	ᾗ	αἷς	ᾧ	οἷς
Acc	ὅν	οὕς	ἥν	ἅς	ὅ	ἅ

The agreement rule A relative pronoun gets its gender and number from its antecedent (the noun it refers back to), but its case from its function in its own clause.

Example: ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὃν βλέπω = "the man whom I see." The antecedent ἄνθρωπος is masculine singular, so the relative is masculine singular. But it's the direct object of βλέπω in the relative clause, so it's accusative: ὅν. Antecedent ≠ relative case.

Compare: ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὃς βλέπει = "the man who sees." Same antecedent (masc sg), but here the relative is the subject of βλέπει, so it's nominative: ὅς.

⚠ Article vs. relative — distinguish them Compare: article ὁ, relative ὅς. Article ἡ, relative ἥ. Article οἱ, relative οἵ.

The relative always has an accent; the article (in some forms) does not. Both have rough breathing on the masculine and feminine forms. The relative's genitive, dative, and accusative forms are completely different from the article's forms — that's where you can tell most easily.

Other Pronouns — Brief Tour

Reflexive: ἑαυτοῦ — 'himself, herself, itself; themselves'

No nominative (you can't be the subject of an action you're doing to yourself in Greek thinking — use intensive αὐτός instead). Treat as oblique-case-only.

	Masc sg	Fem sg	Neut sg	Pl (all genders)
Gen	ἑαυτοῦ	ἑαυτῆς	ἑαυτοῦ	ἑαυτῶν
Dat	ἑαυτῷ	ἑαυτῇ	ἑαυτῷ	ἑαυτοῖς, ἑαυταῖς
Acc	ἑαυτόν	ἑαυτήν	ἑαυτό	ἑαυτούς, ἑαυτάς, ἑαυτά

Reciprocal: ἀλλήλων — 'one another, each other'

Always plural by definition. No nominative (logically impossible — there can be no nominative subject in mutual action). Only three forms.

	Masc	Fem	Neut
Gen	ἀλλήλων	ἀλλήλων	ἀλλήλων
Dat	ἀλλήλοις	ἀλλήλαις	ἀλλήλοις
Acc	ἀλλήλους	ἀλλήλας	ἄλληλα

Interrogative τίς, τί — 'who? what?'

3rd-declension endings. Always accented (acute on iota), always direct question.

	Masc / Fem		Neuter
	sg	pl	sg	pl
Nom	τίς	τίνες	τί	τίνα
Gen	τίνος	τίνων	τίνος	τίνων
Dat	τίνι	τίσι(ν)	τίνι	τίσι(ν)
Acc	τίνα	τίνας	τί	τίνα

⚠ Interrogative vs. indefinite — accent only τίς, τί with acute accent = interrogative ("who? what?"). Direct question.
τις, τι enclitic, no accent (or accent borrowed from preceding word) = indefinite ("someone, something, a certain").

Same letters, same paradigm, different meanings — distinguished only by the accent. τί λέγει; = "What is he saying?" but τι λέγει = "He is saying something." That tiny mark carries the meaning.

πᾶς — 'all, every, whole'

Technically an adjective, traditionally taught with pronouns because it's so frequent and irregular. Uses 3rd-declension endings for masculine and neuter, 1st-declension for feminine. Behavior depends on position.

πᾶς, πᾶσα, πᾶν — 'all, every, whole'

	Masculine		Feminine		Neuter
	sg	pl	sg	pl	sg	pl
Nom	πᾶς	πάντες	πᾶσα	πᾶσαι	πᾶν	πάντα
Gen	παντός	πάντων	πάσης	πασῶν	παντός	πάντων
Dat	παντί	πᾶσι(ν)	πάσῃ	πάσαις	παντί	πᾶσι(ν)
Acc	πάντα	πάντας	πᾶσαν	πάσας	πᾶν	πάντα

Position determines meaning Predicate position (πᾶς + article + noun, or article + noun + πᾶς): means "all" or "all of."
→ πᾶς ὁ κόσμος or ὁ κόσμος πᾶς = "all the world / the whole world"

Attributive position (article + πᾶς + noun): means "the whole."
→ ὁ πᾶς νόμος = "the whole law" (Galatians 5:14)

No article (πᾶς + noun): means "every" (singular) or "all" (plural).
→ πᾶς ἄνθρωπος = "every person"; πάντες ἄνθρωποι = "all people"

Sentences

οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός.

— houtos estin ho huios mou ho agapētos.

"This is my beloved Son." (Matt 3:17, paraphrased.) Demonstrative οὗτος as subject. μου = enclitic genitive of ἐγώ ("of me" → "my"). ἐστιν ("is") is from εἰμί — formally introduced in Lesson 13 but already useful here.

ὁ θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν, καὶ ὁ μένων ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ ἐν τῷ θεῷ μένει.

— ho theos agapē estin, kai ho menōn en tē agapē en tō theō menei.

"God is love, and the one remaining in love remains in God" (1 John 4:16). Notice ὁ μένων = "the [one] remaining" — a substantival participle (Lesson 21).

οἱ μαθηταί, οὓς ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐκάλεσεν, ἀκολουθοῦσιν αὐτῷ.

— hoi mathētai, hous ho Iēsous ekalesen, akolouthousin autō.

"The disciples whom Jesus called are following him." οὕς is the masculine accusative plural relative pronoun — accusative because it's the object of "called" in its own clause. αὐτῷ is the dative of αὐτός — "to him" / "him" (verbs like ἀκολουθέω take dative objects).

πάντες οἱ ἄνθρωποι ἁμαρτάνουσιν, ἀλλὰ ὁ Χριστὸς σώζει αὐτούς.

— pantes hoi anthrōpoi hamartanousin, alla ho Christos sōzei autous.

"All people sin, but Christ saves them." πάντες in predicate position = "all (the people)." αὐτούς = masc acc pl of αὐτός, "them," referring back to ἄνθρωποι.

τίς ἐστιν ὁ πατήρ μου;

— tis estin ho patēr mou?

"Who is my father?" Interrogative τίς (acute accent) introducing a direct question. Greek question mark ; at the end (looks like English semicolon).

Translation Exercises

Translate

ἐγὼ λέγω ὑμῖν, ὑμεῖς δὲ οὐκ ἀκούετε. [ἀκούετε = "you (pl) hear"]
ταῦτα πάντα λέγει ὁ Χριστὸς τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ.
ἐκεῖνος ὁ προφήτης ἐστὶν ὁ αὐτὸς ὃν ἠκούσατε. [ἠκούσατε = "you (pl) heard"]
ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλους, ὅτι ἡ ἀγάπη ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν.
τίς ἐστιν αὕτη ἡ γυνή;
ὁ μαθητής, ᾧ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἔδωκεν τὴν ἐντολήν, μένει ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ. [ἔδωκεν = "gave"]

Answers 1. "I say to you, but you do not hear." (Both pronouns emphatic — they're stated.)
2. Christ says all these things to his disciples. (ταῦτα πάντα = "these all" / "all these things," neuter accusative plural. αὐτοῦ = "his.")
3. That prophet is the same [one] whom you heard. (Three pronouns at work: ἐκεῖνος demonstrative, ὁ αὐτός attributive = "the same," ὅν relative.)
4. Let us love one another, because love is from God. (1 John 4:7. ἀλλήλους = "one another," masc acc pl reciprocal.)
5. Who is this woman? (αὕτη = fem nom sg of οὗτος, predicate position with ἡ γυνή.)
6. The disciple, to whom Jesus gave the commandment, remains in the house. (ᾧ = masc dat sg relative — dative because it's the indirect object of ἔδωκεν.)

Watch — Bill Mounce companion lecture

BBG Ch 11

BBG Ch 11 First and Second Person Personal Pronouns Open on YouTube ↗

Mounce splits pronouns across chapters 11–14 (ἐγώ/σύ, αὐτός, demonstratives, relative). This Chapter 11 overview opens the pronoun unit; the others are linked from his channel sidebar.

Practice — drill the concepts

Six drill sets for pronouns — personal pronouns ἐγώ and σύ; the αὐτός paradigm and its three functions (personal/intensive/identical); demonstratives οὗτος and ἐκεῖνος; the relative pronoun ὅς with its agreement rule; and τίς/τις/πᾶς.

Vocabulary — Lesson 8 14 pronouns & pronoun-related

Greek	Translit.	Meaning
αὐτός, ή, ό	autos	he/she/it; same; -self
ἐγώ	egō	I
σύ	sy	you (sg)
ἡμεῖς	hēmeis	we
ὑμεῖς	hymeis	you (pl)
οὗτος, αὕτη, τοῦτο	houtos	this; he, she, it
ἐκεῖνος, η, ο	ekeinos	that; that one
ὅς, ἥ, ὅ	hos	who, which, that (relative)
ἑαυτοῦ	heautou	himself, herself, itself
ἀλλήλων	allēlōn	one another, each other
τίς, τί	tis	who? which? what? (interrogative)
τις, τι	tis	someone, a certain (indefinite)
πᾶς, πᾶσα, πᾶν	pas	all, every, whole
ὅστις, ἥτις, ὅ τι	hostis	whoever, whichever