Articles: General

Articles

Indefinite Article

a child
an apple

We don't know which child, which apple, just any old one will do.

Here comes a motor-car. A man and a woman are sitting in it. Who are they? We don't know yet.
Greek doesn't have an indefinite article. That's a relief, at least for the time being.

Definite Article:

The man is the doctor (if there is only one) or: a doctor if there are more and we do not know which of them this one is: the old one? the young one? the good one? or the rotten one?

And the woman is Mrs Sutherland, the headmistress of Lawton High.

So articles are definitely a good thing, in languages that have them of course. Like in English, and in Greek, too. The Greeks used the definite article lavishly, even in situations where we don't. Look at the following:

Roses, in general, are beautiful
Mary just loves roses, in general
Paul sees a rose, we don't know which one yet
The rose he's just seen is beautiful
He picks the rose, the beautiful one
He gives the rose, the one he's just picked, to Mary.
Mary eats the rose
Of course, she's a goat.

That was English. Now the same silly little story, even more simplified, but in Greek. Watch out for the differences.

τὰ ῥόδα καλά ἐστιν.
Note: The Greeks say: the roses.
They use the definite article for generalizations, whereas we don't.
We say: Roses are red, violets are blue.
They say: The roses are red, the violets are blue.
We say: Cars are fast.
They say: The cars are fast.
ἡ Μαρία τὰ ῥόδα φιλεῖ.
The Greeks have a tendency to use the definite article with names: the Mary, the Peter, the mister Brown
ὁ Παῦλος ρόδον ὁρᾶ.
τὸ ῥόδον καλόν ἐστιν.
No problem. Like in English.
τὸ ῥόδον συλλέγει.
No problem.
παρέχει τὸ ῥόδον τῇ Μαρίᾳ .
Again, no problem, except of course for the words used, and the funny shapes taken by the definite article in Greek.
ἡ Μαρία τὸ ῥόδον ἐσθίει.
ἡ Μαρία αἶξ ἐστιν.