# BBG Chapter 13 — Demonstrative Pronouns/Adjectives

## Files

### Exercises

Exercise | Description
--- | ---
exercises/ch13-demonstrative-parsing/ | 20-item drill: parse demonstrative forms and identify adjective vs. pronoun use

### Flashcards

File | Description
--- | ---
ch13-vocab-deck.md | Human-readable card list — 13 vocabulary words
ch13-vocab-deck.txt | Anki import file (File → Import)
ch13-vocab-deck-fd.txt | Flashcards Deluxe import file

### Notebooks

Notebook | What it shows
--- | ---
NT Demonstrative Pronouns | οὗτος vs. ἐκεῖνος frequency, attributive vs. substantival use, case/gender profiles, near/far genre comparison, John's use of ἐκεῖνος for the Paraclete

Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar, Mounce, 4th Edition

## 1. Overview

Greek has two demonstrative words:

Word | Meaning | Type
--- | --- | ---
οὗτος, αὕτη, τοῦτο | "this" (near) | Near demonstrative
ἐκεῖνος, ἐκείνη, ἐκεῖνο | "that" (far) | Far demonstrative

Both function as either adjectives (modifying a noun) or pronouns (standing alone). The key to reading them correctly is learning (1) their forms and (2) their syntactic position relative to the article.

## 2. Paradigm — οὗτος (this)

οὗτος follows a 2-1-2 declension pattern (masculine/neuter 2nd declension, feminine 1st declension) but with significant vowel alternation in the stem. The diagnostic feature is the rough breathing on all nominative and accusative forms, and the alternation between οὑτ-/αὑτ- (with ου/αυ) in the stem.

> Key Diagnostic: If the noun in the stem syllable contains ου or αυ, the demonstrative uses οὑτ-/αὑτ- with rough breathing. This distinguishes it from αὐτός.

### Masculine

Case | Singular | Plural
--- | --- | ---
Nominative | οὗτος | οὗτοι
Genitive | τούτου | τούτων
Dative | τούτῳ | τούτοις
Accusative | τοῦτον | τούτους

### Feminine

Case | Singular | Plural
--- | --- | ---
Nominative | αὕτη | αὗται
Genitive | ταύτης | τούτων
Dative | ταύτῃ | ταύταις
Accusative | ταύτην | ταύτας

### Neuter

Case | Singular | Plural
--- | --- | ---
Nominative | τοῦτο | ταῦτα
Genitive | τούτου | τούτων
Dative | τούτῳ | τούτοις
Accusative | τοῦτο | ταῦτα

> Note: The neuter nominative and accusative are identical (τοῦτο / ταῦτα) — a regular pattern for neuter nouns in Greek. The genitive plural is the same across all three genders (τούτων).

## 3. Paradigm — ἐκεῖνος (that)

ἐκεῖνος is more regular than οὗτος — it follows a standard 2-1-2 pattern almost without exception. The stem is consistently ἐκειν-.

### Masculine

Case | Singular | Plural
--- | --- | ---
Nominative | ἐκεῖνος | ἐκεῖνοι
Genitive | ἐκείνου | ἐκείνων
Dative | ἐκείνῳ | ἐκείνοις
Accusative | ἐκεῖνον | ἐκείνους

### Feminine

Case | Singular | Plural
--- | --- | ---
Nominative | ἐκείνη | ἐκεῖναι
Genitive | ἐκείνης | ἐκείνων
Dative | ἐκείνῃ | ἐκείναις
Accusative | ἐκείνην | ἐκείνας

### Neuter

Case | Singular | Plural
--- | --- | ---
Nominative | ἐκεῖνο | ἐκεῖνα
Genitive | ἐκείνου | ἐκείνων
Dative | ἐκείνῳ | ἐκείνοις
Accusative | ἐκεῖνο | ἐκεῖνα

## 4. Demonstrative as Adjective — Predicate Position

When a demonstrative modifies a noun, it stands in predicate position: the demonstrative appears outside the article-noun group, either before the article or after the noun.

> Rule: Demonstrative adjective = predicate position (demonstrative + article + noun, or article + noun + demonstrative). The noun always keeps its article.

Pattern | Example | Translation
--- | --- | ---
Demonstrative + article + noun | οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρωπος | "this man"
Article + noun + demonstrative | ὁ ἄνθρωπος οὗτος | "this man"
Never: article + demonstrative + noun | *ὁ οὗτος ἄνθρωπος | (ungrammatical)

> Note: This is the opposite of a regular adjective, which uses attributive position (article + adjective + noun). The demonstrative's predicate position is a firm rule in Greek.

## 5. Demonstrative as Pronoun — Substantival Use

When a demonstrative stands without a noun, it functions as a pronoun. Its gender, number, and case come from its antecedent (or from context), and it translates as "this one," "that one," "these things," etc.

Form | Translation options
--- | ---
οὗτος (ms) | "this man," "this one," "he"
αὕτη (fs) | "this woman," "this one," "she"
τοῦτο (n) | "this thing," "this," "it"
ταῦτα (np) | "these things"
ἐκεῖνος (ms) | "that man," "that one," "he"
ἐκεῖνα (np) | "those things"

## 6. Key Diagnostics

Feature | οὗτος | ἐκεῖνος
--- | --- | ---
Rough breathing | Yes — nom./acc. forms only | No rough breathing
Stem vowel | Alternates ου/αυ (οὑτ-/αὑτ-) | Consistent ἐκειν-
Regularity | Irregular vowel alternation | Very regular 2-1-2
Confusion risk | Can resemble αὐτός | Very distinctive

> Note on οὗτος vs. αὐτός: Both have rough breathing in certain forms. The difference: αὐτός always has αυτ- in the stem; οὗτος has οὑτ- (with ου) in the masculine/neuter and αὑτ- (with αυ) in the feminine. Additionally, αὐτός lacks the neuter nominative/accusative τοῦτο/ταῦτα pattern.

## 7. Translation Patterns with GNT Examples

οὗτος as adjective (near):

> οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἦν δίκαιος (Luke 23:47)
> "This man was righteous."
> → οὗτος modifies ὁ ἄνθρωπος; predicate position (demonstrative + art + noun).

οὗτος as pronoun:

> οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός (Matt 3:17)
> "This is my beloved Son."
> → οὗτος stands alone as subject pronoun; ὁ υἱός is the predicate nominative.

ἐκεῖνος as adjective (far):

> ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ὥρᾳ (Matt 8:13)
> "In that hour."
> → ἐκείνῃ in predicate position (dem + art + noun); dative feminine singular.

ἐκεῖνος as pronoun:

> ἐκεῖνος ὑμᾶς διδάξει πάντα (John 14:26)
> "That one will teach you all things."
> → ἐκεῖνος (referring to the Holy Spirit) functions as subject pronoun.

ταῦτα as pronoun (neuter plural):

> ταῦτα εἶπεν Ἰησοῦς (John 11:43)
> "Jesus said these things."
> → ταῦτα as direct object; neuter plural pronoun referring to the preceding discourse.

## 8. Common Errors to Avoid

Error | Correction
--- | ---
Placing article between demonstrative and noun | Demonstrative must be OUTSIDE the art-noun group
Forgetting the noun keeps its article | ὁ ἄνθρωπος ALWAYS has the article when modified by a demonstrative
Confusing οὗτος and αὐτός | Check the stem vowel and whether rough breathing is present
Translating ταῦτα as singular | Neuter plural subject takes singular verb but translates "these things"