The genitive case
The genitive case is used to relate one noun to another. (In fact, this is a characteristic feature of all the languages in the Indo-European family that includes ancient Greek.) While you may often find that nouns in the genitive case are translated with the English preposition “of,” it is important to understand the range of underlying ideas expressed by the genitive in ancient Greek.
Some general uses of the genitive
- Possession: the genitive case represents the possessor of the other noun. In these instances, it might be translated into English with the preposition “of” or with the possessive marker “‘s”. Example: ἡ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς οἰκία “the house of the man” or “the man’s house.” Possessive genitives are usually placed in attributive position.
- Partitive genitive or Genitive of the whole: the genitive expresses a group or a “whole” and the noun it is modifying is part of or one among that group. Example: ἡ βελτίστη γυνὴ πασῶν “the best wife of all.” The partitive genitive is generally in the predicate position.
- Subjective genitive or objective genitive: when a noun is related to a verb or expresses a verbal idea, the genitive can express either the subject or the object of that verbal idea. In English, phrases expressing this kind of idea are completely ambiguous out of context. For example, does the phrase “the fear of the Athenians,” mean that the Athenians are fearing someone? We would call this a subjective genitive, since here we are interpreting the meaning of “the Athenians” as the equivalent of the subject of the verb “to fear.” Or does the phrase mean that someone else fears the Athenians? We call this an objective genitive, since we are interpreting the meaning of “the Athenians” as equivalent to the direct object of the verb “to fear.” Only context can determine the sense. In Greek, however, we get an additional clue from the placement of the gentive:
- Subjective genitives, where the genitive is the “doer” of the implied action, are usually in attributive position. Example: ἡ τοῦ παιδίου βοά “the cry of the baby” or “the baby’s cry.” The baby is doing the action of crying.
- Objective genitives, when the genitive represents the object of the implied action, are usually in the predicate position. Example: πάντων τῶν κακῶν ἡ αἰτία “the cause of all my problems.” The problems are what is being caused.
Later in this module, we will look at uses of the genitive case with prepositions, where it cn express:
- Motion away or separation
- Agent of passive verbs