[B-Greek] Object of verbs

George F Somsel gfsomsel at yahoo.com
Wed Aug 30 11:56:40 EDT 2006


The compilers of dictionaries DID NOT decide that a particular verb takes its object in the dative or genitive case.  They rather OBSERVED that this was the case.  It was the Greeks and others who spoke Greek who determined this.
   
  __________________
  

Marion Fox <mrfox1 at gmail.com> wrote:
    George,
   
  Thanks for the reply. I was unclear in my question. What I really wanted to know is: "How did the writers of the dictionaries decide that a verb takes its object in the dative case?" and "How did the writers of the dictionaries decide that a verb takes its object in the genitive case?" 
   
  I appreciate you patience with my unclear questions. 
   
  Yours in His service,
   
  Marion R. Fox 
  

 
  On 8/30/06, George F Somsel <gfsomsel at yahoo.com> wrote:       I rather hesitate to tell someone to rely on English in order to understand what is going on in Greek, but in this case it frequently works.  
   
  In a number of Greek verbs which take a dative object there is some relationship involved (note that these are simplistic definitions):
   
  PROSKARTEREW -- to be faithful TO someone
  PREPW -- to be pleasing or suitable TO someone
  ECESTIN -- it is authorized or proper FOR someone
  PROSERXOMAI -- to move TOWARDS someone, something
  And, as Yul Brynner continually said in "The King and I" "Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera."
   
  Other than that, all I can say is "Look it up in the dictionary."
   
  ____________

    

Marion Fox <mrfox1 at gmail.com> wrote:

    
  How do we know when the object of a verb is in a case other than the
accusative case? For example, some verbs take their objects in the dative
case, some in the genitive case. 



-- 
Marion Fox

http://www.fivefpublishing.com

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george
gfsomsel
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-- 
Marion Fox

http://www.fivefpublishing.com 


george
gfsomsel
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