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John 10:41 «πάντα δὲ ὅσα εἶπεν Ἰωάννης περὶ τούτου ἀληθῆ ἦν»

Posted: June 17th, 2012, 11:29 pm
by Mike Baber
There is a few other examples I noticed in the Gospel according to John, but I don't recall where they are exactly.

In John 10;41, we have the plural subject πάντα ("all things") with the singular verb ἦν and the singular predicate adjective ἀληθῆ. What is the reason for there not being a plural verb and plural predicate adjective to correspond with the plural subject πάντα? I'd assume the subject is taken as a collective singular. Any alternative?

Re: John 10:41 «πάντα δὲ ὅσα εἶπεν Ἰωάννης περὶ τούτου ἀληθῆ

Posted: June 18th, 2012, 1:22 am
by Barry Hofstetter
Mike, it's standard in Greek that a neuter plural subject may take a singular verb. Αληθή is a neuter plural.

Re: John 10:41 «πάντα δὲ ὅσα εἶπεν Ἰωάννης περὶ τούτου ἀληθῆ

Posted: June 18th, 2012, 1:53 am
by Mike Baber
Thanks Barry. So, in this particular verse, would you translate it as "was true" or "were true"?

Re: John 10:41 «πάντα δὲ ὅσα εἶπεν Ἰωάννης περὶ τούτου ἀληθῆ

Posted: June 18th, 2012, 5:25 am
by David Lim
Mike Baber wrote:Thanks Barry. So, in this particular verse, would you translate it as "was true" or "were true"?
English grammar requires a plural verb to match a plural subject (in this case "all [things] as many as John said"), so "were true" is the only grammatically correct translation if the subject is rendered as in the original. I suppose a paraphrase need not bother with the grammatical number, such as "every single thing that John said about him was true.", but I personally prefer a literal one.