3.1 Indefinite Article:
3.1.1 Form: Coptic has two distinct indefinite articles, one for the singular ou- and one for the plural han-. Like the definite article, they are prefixed directly to the nouns they modify, examples:
Singular |
Plural |
||
ou.joi | a ship | han.ej/ou | ships, some ships |
ou.rwmi | a man | han.rwmi | men, some men |
3.1.2 Uses:
3.1.2.1 Singular: The indefinite article for singular is used for both masculine and feminine. In English it is translated as 'a' or 'an' before vowel-sounding letters. It is sometimes deleted in Coptic but should always be written out when translating into English.
3.1.2.2 Plural: The indefinite article for the plural is always written out in Coptic. In English it is translated as 'some' or in most cases not translated. Care should be taken in translating the noun that follows it in the plural.
3.2 Genitive (simple possessive): Relationship between two nouns is expressed by the preposition n (m) 'of', as follows:
pi./i m.pi.rwmi | The house of the man |
].seri n.].chimi | The daughter of the woman |
In special cases, the genitive preposition n (m) is replaced with the fuller form nte, as follows:
ou.jwm nte pi.qello | A book of the monk |
pi.bwk nte pi.ouro | The servant of the king |
qen t.kana nte.].galilea | In Cana of Galilee |
3.3 Simple Bipartite Clause - Indefinte Nouns: Refer to lesson 2 for definition.
3.3.1 Affirmative: In the affirmative, the bipartite is formed in the following manner:
Auxiliary verb + Indefinite noun + Prepositional phrase
or
Auxiliary verb + (Indefinite article + Noun )+ Preposition + (Definite article + Noun)
ouon ou.qello hi pi.mwit | A monk is on the road (there is a monk on the road) |
3.3.2 Negative: In the negative, the sentence form is as follows:
Negative auxiliary verb + Indefinite noun + Prepositional phrase
mmon qello hi pi.mwit | There is no monk on the road |
Note: Before the negative auxiliary mmon, the indefinite article for the singular is deleted.
bwk | m. | servant | tebt | m. | fish |
bwki | f. | maidservant | ouon | there is | |
ebiaik | pl. | servants | ouro | m. | king |
eybe- | prep. | about, concerning | ourw | f. | queen |
emrw | f. | harbor | ourwou | pl. | kings, queens |
iaro | m. | river | ouwini | m. | light |
mmon | there is not | ve | f. | heaven | |
mwou | m. | water | v/oui | pl. | heavens |
n- (m) | prep. | of | joi | m. | ship |
nte- | prep. | of | ej/ou | pl. | ships |
ran | m. | name |
A | 1. | hijen pi.joi | 6. | qen ].emrw |
2. | qa ou.wni | 7. | hi pi.iaro | |
3. | qa t.ve | 8. | eybe ou.jwm | |
4. | qen ou.tebt | 9. | eybe han.ourwou | |
5. | qen ni.v/oui | 10. | eybe ou.ouwini | |
B | 1. | ni.tebt m.v.iaro | 4. | ou.bwki nte p.ouro |
2. | pi.ran m.pi.rwmi | 5. | pi.mwou m.v.iaro | |
3. | ni./ou m.p.ouro | 6. | ].chimi m.pi.bwk | |
C | 1. | ouon ou.ouwini qen ni.v/oui | 2. | mmon tebt qen ].emrw |
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