The meaning of a preposition depends upon the case of the object, which means the object must be identified first. The preposition's form does not change with case, however, the terminal vowel will change if the next word begins with a vowel - the final vowel on the preposition is dropped and replaced with an apostrophe. If the next word has a rough breathing vowel, the preposition's final consonant also changes (as well as the vowel being lost); eg μετά ὧν -> μεθ' ὧν
Preposition | Accusative | Dative | Genitive | Example Hold the cursor over the Bible verse to see the translation |
---|---|---|---|---|
ἀνά | up , motion upwards | καὶ ἀναβλέψασαι θεωροῦσιν ὅτι ἀνακεκύλισται λίθος· ἦν γὰρ μέγας σφόδρα. (Mark 16:4) | ||
ἀντί | in the place of, instead of, because (?) | ᾿Ιησοῦν, ὃς ἀντὶ τῆς προκειμένης αὐτῷ χαρᾶς ὑπέμεινε σταυρὸν (Heb 12:2) | ||
ἀπό | away from, from, out of, because of, of, by, from | πολλῷ οὖν μᾶλλον δικαιωθέντες νῦν ἐν τῷ αἵματι αὐτοῦ σωθησόμεθα δι᾿ αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῆς ὀργῆς. (Rom 5:9) | ||
διά | on account of, because of, for the sake of, (through) | through, by means of, during, trhought out | σωθήσεται δὲ διὰ τῆς τεκνογονίας, ἐὰν μείνωσιν ἐν πίστει καὶ ἀγάπῃ καὶ ἁγιασμῷ μετὰ σωφροσύνης.(1 Tim 2:15) | |
εἰς | into, toward, in for, throughout for, in order to, to so that, with the result that for against (disadvantage) line-height:1.3em; in place of ἐν |
πρὸς τὸν καταρτισμὸν τῶν ἁγίων εἰς ἔργον διακονίας, εἰς οἰκοδομὴν τοῦ σώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ.(Eph 4:12) | ||
ἐκ | out of, from away from because of of means: by, from |
πίετε ἐξ[1]αὐτοῦ πάντες (Matt 26:27) | ||
ἐν | in, within, while, during with because of by, with (instrumental) with respect to (reference) according to the standard of |
αὐτὸς δὲ βαπτίσει ὑμᾶς ἐν Πνεύματι ῾Αγίῳ. (Mark 1:8) | ||
ἐπί | on, upon, to, up to, against for, over a period of |
on, upon, against, at near at, during on the basis of |
on, upon, at, near at the time of, during on the basis of |
ὃς τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν αὐτὸς ἀνήνεγκεν ἐν τῷ σώματι αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸ ξύλον,(1 Pet 2:24) |
κατά | in accordance with, along, toward, up to at, during for the purpose of with respet to |
down (from), against, throughout | Ὁι ἄνδρες ὁμοίως, συνοικοῦντες κατὰ γνῶσιν (1 Peter 3:7) | |
μετά | after , behind | with, in company with | ἔρχομαί σοι ταχύ καὶ πολεμήσω μετ᾿ αὐτῶν ἐν τῇ ῥομφαίᾳ τοῦ στόματός μου (Rev 2:16b) | |
παρα | beside, along, at the side of | beside, near, in sight of | from beside, from, in the presence of | Εγένετο ἄνθρωπος ἀπεσταλμένος παρὰ Θεοῦ, ὄνομα αὐτῷ ᾿Ιωάννης· (John 1:6) |
περί | around, near about reference to, with regard |
concerning on behalf of, for |
᾿ Οὐκ ἐπίστευσαν οὖν οἱ ᾿Ιουδαῖοι περὶ αὐτοῦ (John 9:18) | |
πρό | before, in front of, at rank: before before (in time) |
ἐπ᾿ ἐλπίδι ζωῆς αἰωνίου, ἣν ἐπηγγείλατο ὁ ἀψευδὴς Θεὸς πρὸ χρόνων αἰωνίων (Titus 1:2) | ||
προς | for, for the purpose of to, towards so that, with the result that against with, in company with |
πᾶσα γραφὴ θεόπνευστος καὶ ὠφέλιμος πρὸς διδασκαλίαν, πρὸς ἐλεγμόν, πρὸς ἐπανόρθωσιν, πρὸς παιδείαν τὴν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ (2 Tim 3:16) | ||
συν | with, together with, association with | συνέχομαι δὲ ἐκ τῶν δύο, τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ἔχων εἰς τὸ ἀναλῦσαι καὶ σὺν Χριστῷ εἶναι· πολλῷ γὰρ μᾶλλον κρεῖσσον· (Phil 1:23) | ||
ὑπέρ | over, above more than, beyond |
on behalf of, for sake of concerning, with reference to in place of, instead of |
Οὐκ ἔστι μαθητὴς ὑπὲρ τὸν διδάσκαλον οὐδὲ δοῦλος ὑπὲρ τὸν κύριον αὐτοῦ.(Matt 10:24) | |
ὑπο | under, below | by (action by someone), through (with verb) | Τοῦτο δὲ ὅλον γέγονεν ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ Κυρίου διὰ τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος· (Matt 1:22) | |
χωρις | without, apart from |
(…) indicates rare occurrence or with controversy
[1] Note the final consonant changes due to a vowel begining the next word
References and definitions were taken from: Wallace, DB (1996) Greek Grammar. Beyond the Basics, Zondervan, Grand Rapids
Mark 16:4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away—for it was very large
Hebrew 12:2 [Jesus] who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross
Romans 5:9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
1 Timothy 2:15 Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control.
Ephesians 4:12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, (ESV)
Mat 26:27b "Drink of it, all of you (ESV)
Mark 1:8 but he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
1 Peter 2:24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree
Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works
1 Peter 3:7 Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding (NKJV)
Rev 2:16b I will make war with them with the sword of my mouth.
Titus 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
John 1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John
John 9:18 But the Jews did not believe concerning him
2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness
Philippians 1:23 For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.
Matthew 10:24 "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.
Matthew 1:22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying
|
|
Return to Greek Language Cards
NOTE WELL: These pages do not replace texts by professional Greek Scholars. They are a summary of basic grammar for use by the Author. The Author makes no warranties of any kind, either express or implied, as to the accuracy or completement of the information provided.
Always refer to Texts authored by professional Greek Scholars
Note: These pages are based on "Gentium" font, else Palatino Linotype. "Gentium Plus" can be down loaded from SIL international at: <https://software.sil.org/gentium/>
This work © 2025 David Simon (https://www.life-everlasting.net) is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-BC-ND 4.0)
This license requires that reusers give credit to the creator. It allows reusers to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form and for noncommercial purposes only.