Conjunctions and Adverbs
Conjunctions
A type of particle (PAR), i.e., a word that has only a single form, that is used
to join grammatical units including words, phrases, clauses, and paragraphs (cf. FNTG 170 and 181).
It is very important that you learn the conjunctions listed on FNTG page 181, paying special attention to the function
of each. For example, the conjunction γάρ typically introduces clauses that are explanatory
or inferential. Learn this chart and learn it well (I recommend that you re-create it and store it in your Evernote
notebook for Greek).
It's also important to note that several conjunctions work at different levels of discourse. For example, the common
conjoiner καί can join words, clauses, and even larger chunks of discourse like paragraphs/sections.
Check out these examples:
- Word level conjoiner: Οὕτως ἡμᾶς λογιζέσθω ἄνθρωπος ὡς ὑπηρέτας Χριστοῦ καὶ οἰκονόμους μυστηρίων θεοῦ (1 Cor 4:1)
A person is to consider us in this way: as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
- Clause level conjunction: Καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ μαρτυρία, ὅτι ζωὴν αἰώνιον ἔδωκεν ἡμῖν ὁ θεός, καὶ αὕτη ἡ ζωὴ ἐν τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ ἐστιν (1 John 5:11)
And this is the testimony: God gave eternal life to us, and this life is in his Son.
Adverbs
A type of particle (PAR), i.e., a word that has only a single form, that is used to
modify verbs and other modifying words (cf. FNTG 170 and 182).
"The role of an adverb is usually limited to the clause in which it appears; unlike conjunctions, adverbs do not play a role
in the larger discourse. Instead they are used to modify items in their clause such as verbs, verbal phrases, and prepositional
phrases" (FNTG 182).
There are a couple more things you need to know. (1) Negators like οὐ (and forms) and
μή are treated as adverbs becuase most of the time they modify the main verb in the clause.
(2) Sometimes καί is adverbial and can be glossed "also/too" or "even"; most of the time,
though not always, this will be the case when it does not appear in first/prime position in the clause (typically following
another conjunction and not functioning as a word conjoiner).
- οὕτως καὶ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου μέλλει πάσχειν ὑπ᾽ αὐτῶν (Mat 17:12)
So also the Son of Man is about to suffer under them.
(3) Remember that some conjunctions are "postpositive," which means they do not appear in prime/first position in the clause
(e.g., γάρ, δέ, μέν [cf. the list on p. 181 in the grammar text]).